Introducing the 2016 Chevy Volt (2.0)

Do you use public chargers? That is the only time when a larger charger can help the Volt. More so if it charges a fee based on time.

But....It is a PHV with a built in range extender. The Volt and PPI don't need quick on road charging in order to complete a trip. An on board charger in the 6.6kW range won't decrease charge times from a 15amp outlet, and the pack in the Volt takes 4hrs to charge on a home EVSE. Which works fine for home charging.

I now suspect most of the Volt owners asking for a faster charger are in California where public chargers, and at work charging, is more prevalent. Perhaps GM should offer a faster one as part of some California package. They are going to be sourcing one for the Bolt. But once people see the extra cost for it, they may rethink the need for it.

When the HOV stickers run out, people will just buy the Bolt. Losing a Volt to a Bolt sale in Ca is a net gain for GM. PHVs no longer get ZEV credits, but BEVs still do, and they have a bigger impact on CAFE ratings. Volt sales in the rest of the country have been doing well without any HOV stickers since the beginning.

 

unlike prius where battery replacement/repair is an easy DIY project, volt is a major surgery , pretty much never DIY, unless one rents a shop. while the battery cost could be affordable, the labor cost will be through the roof.

also, unlike ICE, battery life is limited by time and discharge cycles, so it will NOT last for decades. one decade, yes.

me thinks the EV resell value will plummet to near zero outside the traction warranty. time will tell.

 

The enterprising and clever could probably get a Volt pack out with a tranny jack or two. Not saying wouldn't be difficult; just not impossible for DIY.
Of course only time will tell, but the Volt pack is quite oversized for extended life.

 

It's only been 4 years since the Volt came out so we're still learning. The most driven Volt I know of has now racked up 218,000 miles of which 77,000 were from recharging.

 

With a lift, the job should not be too bad. It looks like it is just bunch of bolts to secure the battery pack under the car.

The battery pack like Prius battery replacement cost will come down. So in a decade of ownership, replacement will not be a major cost issue. With a lot less use with the ICE, it will last even longer than the Prius, if the car itself does not fall apart first.

 

For a shop, it could be less labor than a Prius pack. Even if it can be removed without removing the rear seat, a hundred pound load still needs to be wrestled out of the car.

 

There are rent a garage thing if you really want to do a DIY.

I think one could talk to a local mechanic to work on it way cheaper than a dealership.

My local mechanic really wants my Gen2 Prius since he can do the battery swap, which he has done a few already. He knows how little maintenance these hybrids need that he wants mine for his kid. He only got money from me for oil changes for many years. hehehe.

 

Yes, there is, but borrowing a tranny jack from a friend can be cheaper and more fun. Depends on the amount of beer consumed.

 

i don't think so. prius HV battery is so easy to remove, thieves brake in to steal it in some places. doubt they would do it in volt.

 

If I drive more than 25 miles in one direction, and there is a public charger in a convenient location, then yes I do (quite common for me).

I agree, and it's also true that neither the Volt nor PPI even need electricity either, and depending on your utility company's rate schedule and the price of gas it might actually be cheaper to always use gas and never electricity.

If you take advantage of TOU rates at home, you'll likely only ever charge overnight where I agree you don't need the faster charge. However, if say you leave in the morning, come back in the afternoon and need more charge to get to dinner, or use public chargers (free or pay), then taking advantage of the faster charge speed is convenient.

I agree here. I think at this point to move more units they really just need to drop the price (as much as possible to stay profitable of course). If prices were equivalent, I likely would have let range anxiety get the best of me and bought a Volt. However, taking the actual incentives at the time into account, a base Volt with Safety 1 would have cost me more than $5000 over my LEAF SV w/LED+QC package.

 

Thieves generally don't worry about damaging anything else on the car. Plus, nickle has a higher scrap value than lithium.

 

Volt designers created more secured battery than Prius designers from thieves.

 

Three floor jacks and a frame made from 2x4's.

 

Let's start here, faster is better and tesla offers 10 kw, with an option of 20 kw for $1500 (or $3500 in install it after its built). I would expect a volt option would be at least $750 because it requires engineering and manufacturing, and I doubt there were be many takers. still I can't imagine it would cost gm much more than $300 more if they installed them in all the cars. I'm sure they just didn't want it on the sticker, and when prices drop they may put them in all the cars. I doubt they will lose many customers because of this. Its not a headline number.

HOV stickers running out have less of an impact on the volt, at least according to the surveys. The bigger hurdle is will they take more cost out when federal tax credits run out.