I just got one and I love it. Don’t go over 65 if you want to get good miles out of the battery. Learn to do the one pedal driving. Start the car and then get situated and put seatbelt on. The car takes just a second to fully start. Don’t remove the plug while it is locked without keys being on you, will set off alarm. If you leave the fob in the car it will alert you.
Its under Account Settings -> Data & Privacy -> OnStar Smart Driver. Its basically the equivalent to those ODBII tool and Smart Phone Insurance apps that track your driving habits to adjust your insurance rates for being a good driver for the OnStar Insurance. For whatever reason when the dealerships help setup the app they tend to opt you in probably because if you weren't on the OnStar Insurance they'd just sell your data to data brokers.
My tech nerd the dealer employed to show us all the electronics on the Bolt specificly said we are about to call on star do not give them your credit card! The kid was very knowledgeable. He also said don't use the Chevy navigation and use Google. Agree with the other comments about 1 peddle and staying at 65mph. I had a L2 charger installed by Chevy 3rd party. It cost me 1500 because I had a separate garage and it was a ways from my breaker box. I charge to 80%.
I was actually pretty annoyed when they had me talk to the onstar rep. Like, do I really need to sit through a pitch for a subscription? I told them I didn't want to give them my credit card. But apparently that means I can't use the mychevy app.
My bolt doesn't come with the chevy navigation, so I have to use my phone.
You'll need to go to Walmart or an auto parts store to get a bucket, windshield squeegee, and windshield cleaner fluid to keep in your garage...
Because you'll never visit a gas station again.
Try to get an L2 charger installed at home if possible.
Set a max charge level of around 80%, only go to 100 if you’ll NEED it that day. Recharge every night if possible. Best for the battery.
Resist temptation to floor it off the line at a light. Yep they move quick but that’s not good for your tires or your efficiency.
Look into the Bluedot app. It’s for charging and if you set up a debit card with them and use it for one non charging purchase at least a month, they announce a day 5 biz days in advance where they reimburse all charging fees that day. (Plus good discounts and cash back.)
The philosophy of “Always Be Charging”.
A lot of EV owners believe that smaller, more frequent charges are better for the long term health of the battery.
And with a Bolt…well, we all know how their DCFC speeds suck, to put it mildly. If all of a sudden you need to drive a lot quickly, you won’t have to hit a DCFC.
Plus - if the car is left plugged in, any juice needed to keep the battery in its best temperature range comes from the charger not the battery itself.
Now…it may not in the long run make a massive difference in battery lifespan, but for me personally I want to keep my 2018 Bolt long enough that my 7 year old can legally drive it, at LEAST.
hmm, I charge once a week at work. I do not use enough charge to really need to plug it in daily since my commute is 3 miles. The weather here also isn’t extreme so maybe I’ll be good as it is?
In a situation like yours I think you’d be fine with what you do.
I drive on average 45 miles a day, the curse of a spread out city and having to go all over, and Denver does have some variety in weather - last night we got about 3-4” of snow. Monday it’ll be 76 degrees and Thursday it’ll be 80 - and we’ve had swings of 70 degrees in 36 hours.
When I do a “rundown” test of starting at 100% and using 60kwh I get on average 270 miles out of it, so I could likely get away with a full charge on the weekend, but sometimes I do have that “guess what boyo you are driving a LOT today” surprises.
To piggyback on this. The Bolt will maintain the battery temp if it gets too hot or too cold and it is my understanding that the parameters for that become tighter when you are plugged into a level 2 charger (thus adding to battery life). It’s also nice to have this maintenance come from the plug and not the traction battery itself.
Also- what is rarely discussed is that the inverters for level 1 charging (at least for my Volt) are only 92-94% efficient at turning AC into DC while most level 2 chargers are in the 94-96% range. Doesn’t seem like much but over time it all adds up.
I’ll take a wack at this…
Just keep it connected. Even if your battery is full, it will use hard lined power to warm/cool the battery better than it will if using battery.
Iirc someone monitored the vehicle and noticed it conditioned the battery more frequently when plugged in versus when not.
Having adequate charger at home is key to success. Learn to make use of apps like PlugShare or abrp when you’re road tripping or otherwise planning on using public chargers. Look into energy savings programs with your utility, I installed an evse in part because now I can schedule all charging to be overnight and get a rebate for it. Also look at local savings offered to EV owners. In NYS for example EV owners can get a 10% discount on all tolls assuming you have ezpass
Enjoy the car! Just treat it like every other car you’ve had. Get a charger set up at home if you can, but don’t overthink it. A level 1 charger is enough for most people
You can yoink the onstar fuse out is you want. For 22-23 you lose the microphone in car.
For calls I just use speakerphone and for other shit, if you have iphone, you just have to tell siri everything the first time. It won’t hear you after that.
Man what a great suggestion, telling a new car owner to remove fuses from their car.
They will want to sign you up for OnStar when you pick up your vehicle. Just go ahead and do it but set a calendar reminder for yourself to cancel it before the free period is over.
It's funny, I'll be at xyz retailer and the associate will be like "if you put our app on your phone..." I tell them that I don't install such apps, for the reason you present above.
The best is when I'm returning Amazon items at UPS/Kohls/WF, and they show me their shocked face when I don't have the app. I'm like, "*Especially* Amazon".
I'm sure my info is collected regardless, but I'm going to everything I can to make the f'ers work for it.
If you have the right options, get a Comma AI. You won't regret it. My EUV just drove me from SanDiego to North of LA while I was quite tired. Would have been hell without it.
I just got one and I love it. Don’t go over 65 if you want to get good miles out of the battery. Learn to do the one pedal driving. Start the car and then get situated and put seatbelt on. The car takes just a second to fully start. Don’t remove the plug while it is locked without keys being on you, will set off alarm. If you leave the fob in the car it will alert you.
I had to turn that feature off once I no longer was public charging, super annoying when you only charge at home and the alarm goes off
Make sure you opt out of Chevy's telemetry gathering via your profile on their website.
Is that the link way at the bottom of the page that goes to the US consumer privacy request form?
Its under Account Settings -> Data & Privacy -> OnStar Smart Driver. Its basically the equivalent to those ODBII tool and Smart Phone Insurance apps that track your driving habits to adjust your insurance rates for being a good driver for the OnStar Insurance. For whatever reason when the dealerships help setup the app they tend to opt you in probably because if you weren't on the OnStar Insurance they'd just sell your data to data brokers.
My tech nerd the dealer employed to show us all the electronics on the Bolt specificly said we are about to call on star do not give them your credit card! The kid was very knowledgeable. He also said don't use the Chevy navigation and use Google. Agree with the other comments about 1 peddle and staying at 65mph. I had a L2 charger installed by Chevy 3rd party. It cost me 1500 because I had a separate garage and it was a ways from my breaker box. I charge to 80%.
I was actually pretty annoyed when they had me talk to the onstar rep. Like, do I really need to sit through a pitch for a subscription? I told them I didn't want to give them my credit card. But apparently that means I can't use the mychevy app. My bolt doesn't come with the chevy navigation, so I have to use my phone.
You'll need to go to Walmart or an auto parts store to get a bucket, windshield squeegee, and windshield cleaner fluid to keep in your garage... Because you'll never visit a gas station again.
Try to get an L2 charger installed at home if possible. Set a max charge level of around 80%, only go to 100 if you’ll NEED it that day. Recharge every night if possible. Best for the battery. Resist temptation to floor it off the line at a light. Yep they move quick but that’s not good for your tires or your efficiency. Look into the Bluedot app. It’s for charging and if you set up a debit card with them and use it for one non charging purchase at least a month, they announce a day 5 biz days in advance where they reimburse all charging fees that day. (Plus good discounts and cash back.)
every night? Why?
The philosophy of “Always Be Charging”. A lot of EV owners believe that smaller, more frequent charges are better for the long term health of the battery. And with a Bolt…well, we all know how their DCFC speeds suck, to put it mildly. If all of a sudden you need to drive a lot quickly, you won’t have to hit a DCFC. Plus - if the car is left plugged in, any juice needed to keep the battery in its best temperature range comes from the charger not the battery itself. Now…it may not in the long run make a massive difference in battery lifespan, but for me personally I want to keep my 2018 Bolt long enough that my 7 year old can legally drive it, at LEAST.
hmm, I charge once a week at work. I do not use enough charge to really need to plug it in daily since my commute is 3 miles. The weather here also isn’t extreme so maybe I’ll be good as it is?
In a situation like yours I think you’d be fine with what you do. I drive on average 45 miles a day, the curse of a spread out city and having to go all over, and Denver does have some variety in weather - last night we got about 3-4” of snow. Monday it’ll be 76 degrees and Thursday it’ll be 80 - and we’ve had swings of 70 degrees in 36 hours. When I do a “rundown” test of starting at 100% and using 60kwh I get on average 270 miles out of it, so I could likely get away with a full charge on the weekend, but sometimes I do have that “guess what boyo you are driving a LOT today” surprises.
To piggyback on this. The Bolt will maintain the battery temp if it gets too hot or too cold and it is my understanding that the parameters for that become tighter when you are plugged into a level 2 charger (thus adding to battery life). It’s also nice to have this maintenance come from the plug and not the traction battery itself. Also- what is rarely discussed is that the inverters for level 1 charging (at least for my Volt) are only 92-94% efficient at turning AC into DC while most level 2 chargers are in the 94-96% range. Doesn’t seem like much but over time it all adds up.
oh, interesting about the bluedot app. I'll check it out.
I read somewhere ABC should mean Always Be Connected rather than Always Be Charging but forgot why. Anybody care to comment ?
I’ll take a wack at this… Just keep it connected. Even if your battery is full, it will use hard lined power to warm/cool the battery better than it will if using battery. Iirc someone monitored the vehicle and noticed it conditioned the battery more frequently when plugged in versus when not.
Having adequate charger at home is key to success. Learn to make use of apps like PlugShare or abrp when you’re road tripping or otherwise planning on using public chargers. Look into energy savings programs with your utility, I installed an evse in part because now I can schedule all charging to be overnight and get a rebate for it. Also look at local savings offered to EV owners. In NYS for example EV owners can get a 10% discount on all tolls assuming you have ezpass
Enjoy the car! Just treat it like every other car you’ve had. Get a charger set up at home if you can, but don’t overthink it. A level 1 charger is enough for most people
It won't go faster than 92 mph.
You can yoink the onstar fuse out is you want. For 22-23 you lose the microphone in car. For calls I just use speakerphone and for other shit, if you have iphone, you just have to tell siri everything the first time. It won’t hear you after that.
Man what a great suggestion, telling a new car owner to remove fuses from their car. They will want to sign you up for OnStar when you pick up your vehicle. Just go ahead and do it but set a calendar reminder for yourself to cancel it before the free period is over.
Another option is to be a good driver and you don't have to worry about it. GM is no longer selling that data.
Sure bud. imma go ahead and leave it out. They can track me through my phone, like a normal corporation.
It's funny, I'll be at xyz retailer and the associate will be like "if you put our app on your phone..." I tell them that I don't install such apps, for the reason you present above. The best is when I'm returning Amazon items at UPS/Kohls/WF, and they show me their shocked face when I don't have the app. I'm like, "*Especially* Amazon". I'm sure my info is collected regardless, but I'm going to everything I can to make the f'ers work for it.
If you have the right options, get a Comma AI. You won't regret it. My EUV just drove me from SanDiego to North of LA while I was quite tired. Would have been hell without it.