Does the Bolt EV battery lose its ability to charge to higher km in cold weather?
Asked by Sundar Dec 16, 2017 at 12:29 PM about the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
hi there. I have a Chevy Bolt Premier that I purchased in Mar. 2017. Up until about a month ago I was getting an overnight charge in the range of 320km - 360 + km. In the past month or so, when temperatures have dropped, the charge max has dropped to around 220km. That's significant. Is this expected or is there something I'm not doing correctly, or a way to mitigate the loss of km?
6 Answers
Congratulations you just paid a lot of money for a physics lesson. Batteries produce power with a chemical reaction which does not work nearly as well in cold weather. EV's are a lot of hype which you are finding out. If you store your car in a heated garage the range should increase a bit at least until the battery gets cold.
The only practical solution is to find charging stations and charge it up where ever you go.
F_O_R - thanks for the answer, though I don't agree that EVs 'are a lot of hype'. Whether I get 320 km or 220km, it's more than enough for a few days' use. At the end of the month my electric bill is still no more than 1/5 of my gas bill, when I was driving a gas engine.
Be one with the planet and don't use the lights, radio or the heater which will extend the range a bit. Just wait until you start getting charged for road use which will even things out a bit. In the meantime enjoy!
Mine too, only reducing heat seemed to improve the range...
While it is true that the range does not reach the levels it does in warmer weather, with use, the battery warms a bit. At 0 degrees F, full charge on mine was only 161 miles but, after a 10 mile drive, it rose to 182 miles of range. Use of the cabin heater rather than the heated seats and steering wheel really chews up energy. The heat in a gasoline powered car is waste heat - and actually, when you consider weight and efficiency, only about 2% of the energy released by burning a gallon of as moves the payload, you, to you destination. 98% goes to move the car. There is a lot of waste heat - but you pay for it nonetheless.
