Chevy Bolt EV Battery Health After 100,000 Miles

Nice data ! Good to see that GM batteries are holding up (unlike Nissan's). This data would really help to sell EVs to the masses, showing that GM makes EVs worth owning long term (rather than some other EVs which seem to be good until the lease ends). Too bad that GM is going upscale with Cadillac EVs rather than towards affordability, and gave up on the Voltec system. Oh well.

have a ‘17 Volt w 43k trouble free miles on it and I watch my energy screen to keep track of kw used with each charge. I also have a 60 mile round trip to the nearest town with shopping so make that same trip regularly. Hardly any traffic, some 55mph mtn road, some 65mph freeway, which means I can keep the cruise set on the 8’s and very nearly duplicate that same trip each time. The author noted the temps while charging but the biggest difference I see is with the temps while driving. Hot weather has the AC on high, a warmer battery too, cold weather means heater/defroster/lights/wipers and a colder battery. The trip is right on the edge of my range and while I make it all on the battery in ideal conditions, I sometimes have the generator kick on with between 1&3 miles left on my trip. I generally use between 14.0-14.2 kWh before the generator kicks in and that seems governed by outside temps and my right foot if I sometimes get sporty. I have yet to notice any degradation in my battery but then, it’s only 3 years, 43k miles.

Passed 98,500 today in my 17 Chevy Volt. Last week I got 67 electric miles on a commute that was 95% 70 mph highway.

The Chevy Volt batteries are THE BEST!!! Let's compare. I have driven my 2017 Chevy Volt for 90,000 miles with 87,500 electric miles. It's only slightly degraded. It used to show 14.1 kWH consumed before the Engine kicks in, now it is showing 13.9 kWH before the engine kicks in. I still get 78 miles to a full charge though, and my lifetime MPGe is 154, that includes the use of gasoline in that lifetime display from the center console. Now the Volt's battery pack is 18.4 kWH which means that during it's entire life, each kWH battery capacity has been used for 4,755 miles. And asssuming proportional degradation, it has only degraded 1.4%. A P85 Tesla has degraded 2.5% after 72,000 miles, but each kWH battery capacity was only used for 847 miles and yet the degradation is higher. Compare the two values, my volt 4,755 miles/kWH degrading at 1.4% versus Tesla 847 miles/kWH degraded at 2.5%. IT'S HUGE DIFFERENCE at least for my case.

Eric, great article, thank you for taking the time. The Chevy Spark EV batteries also had held up very well.

Any ICE car with 105,000 will have lost at least 5% range as well. And it would be running much dirtier than when it was new.

Eric you are the reason I bought my bolt ev, we have over 17500 miles on it since july 01 2019. the best car I have ever had. my first electric car and it is a dream to own and drive. no problems at all. never want to buy another junk gas car. please keep posting your videos would like to know what you think about what gm is doing. hope you feel better soon bro, bought my for 26700 before any rebates, tesla can't say that. it really is the closet thing to a peoples all electric car. we need more cars like this that can go long range for less money,

I purchased my 2019 Bolt Premiere on May 19, 2019. I've driven it for approximately 19600 miles thus far. I live about 55 mi from Chicago. I find the car to be the least maintenance car I ever owned. My wife says they should target this car to women, because it's "JUST LIKE THE MAN YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE DEPENDABLE AND LOW MAINTENANCE". It is a very practical car. Now to the range. This year we had a relatively mild winter in the midwest. I found the most range estimates on the coldest day was approximately 165 miles. Kind of put the kabash on taking it to Fl. We could take the chance of going to Fl anyway, but found during research that fast chargers were lacking in particular Alabama. I57 in Illinois is a fast charger desert. Destin area were we stay. has a total of 7 stations no fast chargers. This is the reason why I took my ICE Ford Ranger. I averaged approximately 22mpg. This is the reality. I was going to purchase a Tesla Model 3, but read about dismal experiences with the customer service. I trust that in the future Electrify America will just put the CCS chargers in All interstates. Longest trip I took was about 200 miles one way. and plug it overnight in a campground for 3 bucks. I have a portable Mustart 40amp Since getting my Bolt I've been averaging prior to Covid 19 about $350 to $400 per month savings in gas. Also about 37% by switching our electric service plan to hourly rate. we charge the car at home using a 50amp circuit. Much better than gooing to the gas station. I fuel up my truck about once a month. I can't remember putting in more than 25 bucks in fuel, other than when we went to Fl. My point is this. If you have more than one car make your second car electric. If you only need one car make it electric, because in the long run you'll get to enjoy your retirement more. Less stress, in your life is always a good thing in old age specially. I know this is a very long post, please accept my apologies. My only wish for you and your families is that you remain safe and healthy. Looking at the future, do you think, the possibility exists that we would be able to swap the batteries for solid state in the future. I usually keep a car for at least 10 years and sure as heck don't want to go car shopping in my 80s, that is, if the pandemic doesn't get me. God Bless and peace

I have a 2012 Volt with 83600 miles, lifetime MPGe of 194. Not sure of total electric vs. total gas, but majority is electric and only 442 gallons of gas used over just short of six years. Although the car would show 12 plus kwh being used before the generator turned on, it is now showing just 9 kwh, and then it is to the generator.

Took the car to the dealer today as the 8 year/100,000 mile warranty on the battery is approaching, and I interpreted the 9 kwh discharge max as a battery degradation issue. Miles of range have been as high as 51 on a charge, and as low as 21 in the winter. GM relies on something they call Document ID: 5406682 to assert that the minimum warranted battery capacity is 33.6 Amp/hrs, and according to them, all the cells of my car tested at 3.98 volts and the battery at 37.8 Amp/hrs. They say no warranty claim, and nothing wrong with the battery.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that somewhere over 25% of the battery capacity is gone (the car would regularly show 12 kwh plus (12.4 would be high) discharged before generator took over, and on recharging using a 220 volt charger at home, 13+ kwh would go in to fully recharge a battery (I kept track for years until about two years ago when Blink stop provided charging data). So it seems like more than 25% of capacity is gone. That number is higher than what I've seen on several posts, yet GM maintains that the battery is within (its') specs.

Thinking about buying a used 1 owner 2019 bolt with 94k miles. It was a commercial vehicle hence the high mileage. Price is $14,995. Is it safe to buy one with that many miles?

I have a 2017 Chevy Bolt @~70K miles now....no mechanical problem at all!
But the battery's maximum charge is not 140 miles only....I think by the time it get to 100K, I have to replace them??
Hope that batteries will be cheaper in next couple of years!

I now own 3 Chevy Bolts. Although I have only owned them now for a few months, I find them great. I use them as delivery vehicles in my business. I bought one 2017 used as an experiment, then suddenly had to replace 2 other cars, so bought 2 new 2021s. The newer models do get more battery life. I think/assume it is due to the reprogramming of the 2017 overcharging issue. I hope Chevy fixes the real problem and not just keep it limited to 90% charge, as I truly need the full range on a daily basis! But again, overall.... SO FAR SO GOOD!

It's hard to measure battery range, especially without knowing what the reserve is that the Bolt has built in.
Most electric cars have eg: a 120 or 300 mile range, plus an additional 10% that isn't user accessible.
Tesla unleashed that during a hurricane state of emergency in Florida through a software update.
Nissan has a similar 3 to 5% of 'hidden range', that should give you pretty consistent range the first 100k miles, at which you can still say you have 95% of factory range, not accounting for a few percent of the reserve cells that have been swapped out through the software, with the bad cells.
The battery degradation curve is made to look as straight and linear as possible, all until a certain point (usually ~80%), after which the remaining cells will rapidly discharge and lose power.
All it takes is one time sitting still for a few months.

I have a 2018 Bolt EV. bought in Nov 2018. when i first bought it full charge was about 238 miles. the first day to work in commuter traffic i learned about the hilltop reserve. I always keep hilltop reserve on as i commute 72 miles a day in stop and go traffic and this allows me to regen right from the house ( limited me to about 215 mile capacity). now 2.5 years and 31K miles later I regularly can only charge to 160-165 with an occasional 180 mile capacity ( i still have hilltop reserve on). I live in Phoenix and the maximum charging capacity I can get is between Dec and Feb. In the summer the A/C can use 5-6KW ( tested at a light with a/c on max and off, delta in usage). I haven't taken any actual numbers for capacity. but if i use the 238-180/238X100= 14.7% change since new. I need to take capacity number each month and average monthly temp to correlate the temperature dependency.

2017 Chevy Bolt. Big Island, Hawaii. Took it in for brake service 2021.07.01 since the driver's side brake pad was sticking. While there (De Luz Chevrolet, who outsources service to Big Island Toyota in Hilo), had recall work done and asked for an annual safety inspection, which was due in two weeks. They didn't have the brake parts, so scheduled a future appointment. They could not do the safety inspection with the brake issue present.

Supposedly the battery recall was just a software update that prevents the battery from charging to 100%. But, the next morning, the Bolt wouldn't start. It also wouldn't unlock with the key fob, and wouldn't indicate it was charging when plugged in to 110v charger.

Had to have it towed back to the dealer ($235). They say it's the battery temperature sensor, which (of course) is no longer under warrantee (neither are the brakes, so $984 not including labor).

Big Island Toyota says they cannot fix the temperature sensor because their battery hoist is broken and it will be a few weeks before a new hoist arrives. Too, they cannot provide a loaner because the rental prices are too high $300/day and they don't want to pay this much.

Meanwhile, the safety inspection that is now overdue ($125 fine I believe).

Bottom line, I purchased an EV with the mind that I was doing my small part in helping our planet. I was willing to take on the additional initial cost vs a carbon emitting vehicle. My experience, thus far, is that solar panels with home batteries (Powerwalls) are a MUCH better economic proposition given the relatively low mileage I put on the Bolt. I'm beginning to question whether a Bolt (or other EV) is worth it in Hawaii.

I was getting intrigued by the Bolt as a cost effective alternative to the Tesla and a better performance alternative to the Leaf. Then the horror stories about battery fires melting cars and burning down houses hit. GM's follow up didn't sound definitive, either. What's the real info on all this? While I wait for enlightenment, I'll stick with my 1998 Acura TL, still going strong at 200K miles. Gas mileage not great, but other expenses very low.

Such a highly valuable article. The other variable that I hope Eric follows-up with in time. Time is another factor the degrades batteries.

Mine has had far worse degradation with a loss of 22.5% at 97,000 miles and that is with me doing everything in my power to trickle charge past 80% or never crossing 80% charge. Additionally charging at night in San Diego during perfect temperatures should have allowed for additional reduction in loss for the battery and temperature systems.

I have to add a side note that I am sure i have one failed cell in my batter pack that GM never acknowledged and since I have had to point out every issue with this car tell them how to fix it 5hen they finally do it. I have never had confidence after mile 10,000 on this car. I. Addition to that i have a rear suspension issue that has been going on for 80,000 miles which they refuse to fix because their technicians are deaf.

These batteries have always been an issue unfortunately one i did not understand till after 10,000 miles.

This is .y personal experience.

It is just so much easier to buy a nice Nissan Maxima with a V6 engine producing 300 HP that you fill at one of millions of gas stations available anywhere. Never have to worry about battery life or going up a steep hill or driving in sub zero temperatures.

Thanks for the great review. I’m a recent convert from an early Leaf and never going back. Love my Bolt EUV