2017 Chevy Bolt EV Replacement Battery Capacity Test

[@paulgipe6684]

I am sorry for your loss Eric. It takes a lot out of you to be a caregiver. But it's good to have you back.

[@Mike.T.]

I'm very sorry for your loss. I found your videos last year when I was shopping for a Bolt. Since then I bought one this past January. A 2020 premier with about 32,000 miles in it. It currently has just over 37,000 miles in it. So far I really love the car. Thank you for showing me that a Chevy Bolt car is a good car and can be driven distances.

[@KiRiTO72987]

Just make sure you don't hog the 350kw chargers ...

[@ronb4633]

Eric, sorry for your loss. But agree with no more suffering for the person. ❤ Happy to see more content from you, like the old days. Hope to run into you some day. I’m In Atascadero now.

[@vlad2838]

My condolences for your loss. Thanks for your ongoing content.

[@plugandplayEV]

Wonderful to have you back on the road but I'm sorry for the circumstances around your return. We're lucky to have you as a voice in the EV world and can't thank you enough for the continued coverage.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thank you, Steve!

[@robertlee7332]

Sorry about your loss. May time heal your heart and bring you peace.

[@RobertRose-ri8tn]

I have enjoyed your videos over the years. Because of your info about a Bolt euv, I bought one. Good see your back.

[@ToddSterling]

Eric, you were the one single person most responsible for my purchase of a 2019 Bolt EV Premier (Black). My wife just recently bought a used 2020 Bolt EV Premier (White) for $10,000, after the point of sale EV rebate. So now we have two Bolt EV's in our garage. The cherry on top of it all is here in Central Texas our power company plan provides us with free electricity at night (from 8pm-5am). Thanks for your KZbin channel and your passion for Bolt EV's and GM EV technology!!!!

[@newscoulomb3705]

Awesome! You can't beat free. 😀 Thank you so much!

[@ToddSterling]

@@newscoulomb3705 I will email you a photo of our two Bolts and of a cool cargo box I have added to the back of my bolt.

[@tonym4813]

Sorry for your loss Mr. W … Hope you and people in her orbit are ok considering the circumstances. Your videos and education pushed me to commit to EVs and my son drives a Bolt EV and I got a Bolt EUV last year. I just returned from a 3200 mile road trip over 2 weeks and have put almost 32000 miles in my car (90 mile round trip work commute) … you took away my fear of traveling with this car specifically and showed me how this could be done with the Bolt. I can’t thank you enough for what you ( and the boys on Coast2Coast EV) have done for the community and people like me entering this space hesitantly … you are appreciated and I hope all is well

[@rp9674]

What a great deal, free new battery, I can't get over it. I'm happy with my 23 Bolt EV 2LT, -federal and state refund

[@BremboT]

Same. Not switching until 2027 when the R2 and R3 by Rivian becomes available. GM better not muck around with the Boltium if they plan on keeping us. So far, I'm not impressed by their current SUV Ultium offerings. Had my GM dealership reached out, trying to get me into an Equinox EV. Hard pass.

[@rp9674]

Too big & $$$ for me. I would consider new Bolt if I need another

[@BremboT]

@rp9674 The R3 is Bolt size. Just more utility. And for those into the Bolt EUV, the R2 would be for them.

[@crspeedreviews-yw2iq]

Yes! I bought my 2023 used Bolt 2LT with only 4500 miles, April of this year. Loving it, especially the price plus the $4500 refund. I am blown away how much more efficient the Bolt is compared to my 2018 Tesla Model 3.

[@skyemalcolm]

Eric, I’ve been watching and learning from you for years. Thank you for the lesson in humanity. I knew I could trust you before but now it reinforces that instinct even more strongly. ❤️

[@cupperdigger3494]

Sorry for your loss. I lost my dear grandma and dearest uncle to it.

[@robertbrigham1620]

Kudos for being a conscientious care giver. That's a tough job.

[@tpalmer3206]

Thanks Eric, excellent video. Sorry for your loss.

[@esteven38]

Eric, I’m so sorry for your loss, my condolences to you and your family. I started following you and your channel in 2019, and in July of the same year, I bought my first Bolt EV. GM bought it back because of the battery. I missed my Bolt, so in 2020, I bought another one, then had the battery replaced. Anyway, enough of my rambling, and I will continue to follow your channel. God Bless.

[@DavidDrivesElectric]

So sorry to hear about your loss. And happy to hear you have more time to create videos!

[@W4rH4wkXX]

So sorry for your loss and THANK YOU for this test run!

[@firstbigbarney]

Welcome back... BigBarney

[@airplanenut6242]

Bought a 2018 Bolt last year. Have put about 12k miles on the new battery pack and it definitely looks like I have well over 60kwh useable. Haven’t done a full test but it’s very close to yours in terms of capacity.

[@timgrinton6249]

Sorry for your loss.

[@chrisw443]

Hopefully making more videos and getting your rangers on the road can cheer you up after everything. Exciting times ahead!

[@thenetworkarchitectchannel]

Sweet country you drive through. Never been to NoCal. Hope to one day. Much to do and explore. Enjoy the renew in your refreshed pack. The cam rig setup too is nice to be able to swing around like it does to take in the views. Glad u are more back. KZbin has missed you, but sorry for the circumstances surrounding. Condolences.

[@mikus4242]

Condolences for your loss. Take care.

[@williamway-wp8kh]

Thanks for posting that Eric.❤

[@jimgarrett5644]

My thoughts go out to you. I appreciate your videos.

[@Supernaut2000]

Missed your content but totally understand. Not something I'd wish anyone having to do, but you did do it, well done. Welcome back to your EV insights and I'm sure you have a lot of ideas for new videos upcoming!

[@anthonyc8499]

You're one of those unsung heroes on so many levels. Much appreciation! Looks like there's some big changes in the near future for NorCal along I-5 for CCS. I hope you got the chance to check out the future sites and get an impression on what's to come. Absolutely unacceptable for Chargepoint to have just 20% of chargers working at a station! Regardless if it's the site hosts responsibility or Chargepoint, they need to do something to get the uptime up. Plugshare shows it's been weeks with just one working charger.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks! I have another update soon, and things still aren't pretty. It's darkest before the dawn, right?

[@anthonyc8499]

@@newscoulomb3705 if the new Shasta charger is anything like the planned Yreka site from ElectricEra, we’re looking at potentially 16 more CCS chargers in the region.

[@AsakuraClan]

Sorry for your loss

[@chazsmith4351]

Welcome back, thank you for your post. Condolences for your loss, look forward to your next video. Hope that the charge point won't get that site running in a reliable fashion. I have a friend that lives pretty near there. I'll have to check in with them and see if it's a site that they have used and if they have seen it to be regular or not. They went from a Subaru outback to a review R1S earlier this spring. I need to check in with him and see how it's going.

[@thegreeneyej]

Good to see you making videos again.

[@prabhdeepdhaliwal5706]

Sorry about your loss. R.I.P

[@Idawriter2]

"It's the 'John Wick' of lakes." Keep the road trip content coming!

[@prabhdeepdhaliwal5706]

I used one of rivian level 2 network when I went to a beach in San Francisco few weeks ago. It’s my first time seeing any type of Rivan charging in person. It was nice experience. I think I got between 9 -9.2 KWh it was pretty good experience.

[@dmunro9076]

Thanks for the content! Condolences.

[@esteven38]

Eric, I’ve been to that charge location, and ChargePoint is actually upgrading that location. It used to have only 1 of the older Tritium chargers, so it’s a possibility that since they are doing an upgrade, maybe they haven’t gotten around to activating all of the towers yet. Safe travels. Glad you’re back.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks! They've had these units in for a long time now, though, which is why it's a bit disappointing. These should have been online nearly a year ago.

[@esteven38]

My mistake, I wasn’t aware they had been upgraded that long. Disappointment understood.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@esteven38 No worries. I've been following this site really closely since the Express Plus unit went in because I haven't been able to test one yet. Even the Express Plus unit at ChargePoint's headquarters wasn't open to the public. Luckily, it looks like Mercedes is sticking with ChargePoint for their Starbucks partnership, so we should start to see these Express Plus units going live on I-5.

[@esteven38]

Awesome.

[@Edi-5]

Rest in peace 🙏🏿

[@estebanka]

Hi Eric, That took a fair bit of effort, to say the least of testing the Bolt Battery. Maybe in the future could you drive as you did for this test, but detour to Willows and use the Thunder Hill racetrack for the last 25-50 miles? that way, no worries about running out of juice out on the road.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks for the suggestion. It might take a bit more to get access to Thunderhill, plus, that still leaves me miles away from the nearest public DCFC. Heading into Northern California is always a gamble because of the weather, driving speeds, elevation changes, etc., plus the chargers up here are just spread farther apart. Heading south, it would be much easer to home in on a site where I consistently arrive with

[@brianpletcher8055]

Hope to see you at an EV Advocates of Ventura County meeting in the future.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Soon, hopefully, when the stars align. 😀

[@nomadichippie]

How did I miss this video

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks for watching! I have some more trips planned, so stay tuned! 😀

[@cupperdigger3494]

wow Did I see that right? 177k miles on your bolt? Looking to get a used 2017, with 70k miles on it this week. Battery replaced in 2022 and under w for another 70k miles! This was reassuring knowing that my motor could work for another 100-150k miles. Incredible value compared to used ICE cars.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Yes, and it's over 180k now. Also, it's still on the stock brake pads and rotors, so there's really not much maintenance or work to be done on a car like this.

[@cupperdigger3494]

@@newscoulomb3705 That's awesome. Appreciate your response. Sadly, today I was told the 2017 I was interested in got a deposit on it yesterday and likely gone :( My 2nd cheapest option is $4500 CAD more :(, which is quite a bit! This was 2017, 107k km for $19k, battery warranty till 2030. Now my cheapest option is a 2018, 61k km, $23500, warranty till 2032. Would you say in your opinion 46k km/28k miles less mileage, 2 years more warranty and a year newer car is worth the extra $4500CAD/$3500 USD? If not how much is worth? My issue with paying $23500 is that is it only $2k less than the 2021 Kona ultimate(battery warranty for another two years) I test drove and loved but decided to go with something quite cheaper... I know Kona's battery could die on me in three years, and I'll be screwed without a warranty vs bolt where I have a peace of mind for a min of 7 years, but I like Kona a lot more. Ughhh wasted my time looking for Konas and missed two great deals on Bolts listed in the past two weeks.

[@siberx4]

I'm surprised you don't know this being such a veteran Bolt driver (at least didn't appear to when looking at the DIC) but the way the battery bars are displayed on the Bolt, each "bar segment" is worth 5% and the Bolt "rounds up" to the nearest 5%. As soon as it "ticks down" to a given number of bars, the battery is at exactly 5% * the number of remaining bars and will remain that way for the next 5% of the battery (visually "over-estimating" remaining percentage slightly). You were showing three bars when you pulled in to charge, which meant you were somewhere between 10% and 15% when you plugged in. The Chargepoint display corroborated this when it reported 14% once the handshake completed. The only ways to get an accurate read (closer than 5%) on the battery when _not_ plugged into a DC fast charger (that I know of) are to use an OBD reader to pull the percentage or to query it via the mobile app (if you still have an active plan).

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@siberx4 I'm not sure what you are saying I didn't understand about that? I'm aware that each bar represents 5% battery, but I use the DCFC for an exact SOC percentage. Rounding to the nearest 5% would increase the variance by a lot. In terms of OBD2 readers, that is a possibility; however, they sometimes include gross capacity, which can also throw things off a bit.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

❤

[@Supernaut2000]

Wanted to ask you, I see you have your rear seat headrests in place. Why not remove them to get rid of blind spots behind you? I put mine in the charger bag in the trunk and pull them out if needed for rear passengers (rarely).

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks. They don't bother me too much, plus I use them from time to time when loading longer items (e.g., fishing poles).

[@ab-tf5fl]

One trick I use to approximate my car's battery capacity with only 20-30 miles of driving: 1) Start charged to whatever you like (e.g. 60-80%). 2) Drive until the battery meter drops one bar. Remember the total energy used, according to the display screen, the instant the battery meter drops. 3) Keep driving until you drop one more bar. Note the total energy used again. 4) Subtract the number in step 2 from the number in step 3. Then, multiply the difference by 20 (since a full battery is 20 bars). That is your approximate battery capacity. Yes, this approach is probably not as accurate as driving all the way from 100% to 10% or less. But, my experience on long trips is that the number of kWh per "bar" is remarkably consistent, from full, at least down to 5% (I don't have enough experience driving below 5% to comment on what happens there). So, assuming nothing is seriously wrong with the battery, taking the energy consumption from one bar and multiplying by 20 is, practically speaking, good enough, even though it is not perfect. The key to making this work is to make sure that the energy measured covers the full "bar". For instance, if you tell the car to charge to 80%, the actual state of charge might be 78% or 81%, so measuring energy used from when you start the trip to when you lose one bar is not accurate. Measuring the energy used between losing the first bar and losing the second bar avoids this problem, and is much more accurate.

[@BremboT]

It seems the Bolt displays "charge vehicle soon" on the instrument cluster right at 10% battery capacity. Has anyone found this to be true?

[@newscoulomb3705]

The behavior I've observed is, the display goes orange at 20%, shows "Charge Vehicle Soon" at 15%, adds an audio chime at 10%, and then transitions to "Propulsion Power Reduced" and "LOW" at 5%.

[@ab-tf5fl]

@@newscoulomb3705 My experience with a 2020 Bolt is orange battery meter at 15%, charge vehicle soon w/ audio chime at 10%, propulsion power reduced/Low at 5%.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@ab-tf5fl Interesting. I'll need to video track it again. Watching the dash is a bit difficult because the entire 5% bar drops away the moment the battery level crosses the threshold. I regularly have it orange when there are still 4 bars left, "Charge Vehicle Soon" displays without sound at 3 bars, and the audio chimes start at 2 bars.

[@dennislyon5412]

@@newscoulomb3705- 2017 Bolt here - my experience has been that display goes orange when it reaches 3 bars, which is 15%. Each 5% segment drains its capacity before the existing bar drops off. Opposite when filling (26% will show as 6 bars or 30%). Sorry for your loss.

[@Knightairman1]

What your not Kim Java or Out of Spec. LOL they make money. At least with the stuff I see it looks like it. Hoping you get an Equinox EV to see what you think compared to Bolt. Curious if they will build and ultium Bolt and if it will be low to mid 20s with 300 miles of range

[@newscoulomb3705]

Hah! If the channel pays for itself, I'm happy. I plan to reach out to GM soon to see whether I can get some of the newer Ultium EVs for full reviews. I also need to do a video on Ultium fundamentals because I think a lot of people have missed some key details (both good and bad). Unfortunately, I don't think a 300-mile EV in the low to mid $20k is in the cards just yet. I'd expect the new Bolt EV to be very similar to the outgoing Bolt EV/EUV, but with significantly faster charging. So probably 250 miles of range and DC charging from 0% to 100% in ~1 hour (it should be LFP).

[@zilfondel]

Ive got a 2017 bolt with a battery replacement in dec 2021. Torque Pro says I have 60.3 kwhr on it fwiw.

[@stanpiers247]

Eric.......do you have any relatives that lived in the coastal area of Beaufort, NC or Morehead City, NC ? I have a friend whose mother was born with your last name. Many of the male members of the family are doctors and lawyers. I think they originally came from a more northern area of the USA and I would guess probably from England originally. Nice to see you back....I was wondering why your content had gone down so much.

[@newscoulomb3705]

Thanks! No, I don't have any immediate family from that area.

[@stanpiers247]

@@newscoulomb3705 Thank you

[@alancadorette3447]

I only used battery down till orange light turned on. and I have charged to 100% at home with level 2 charger in winter when I am taking long trip to see family

[@rp9674]

Rivian looking for an adventure, I think it's weird and silly categorizing Vehicles as Adventure vehicles

[@Roddy451]

algorithmalgorithmalgorithmalgorithmalgorithmalgorithm

[@lonesome187]

Forgot why I stopped watching your channel bud I used to love your content but then you went a little nutty being against Tesla so much I think we should all be be happy all charging networks are opening up to everyone but for whatever reason you keep throwing in that low jab in every video about how Tesla this and Tesla that very annoying I hope that when they Tesla eventually opens up you keep to your word and don’t use them at all but I am sure that’s not gonna happen because we all know we need them

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@lonesome187 Thanks for the feedback. Not sure I said anything about Tesla this video, other than calling out a nearby Supercharger. If Tesla does or says something I disagree with, I'll definitely call it out. Just like I do for everyone else. 🤷‍♂️

[@jryer1]

Not in any world will my 42 year Chevy C30 ever cost me anywhere near the amount the Bolt cost to buy, insure and replace batteries every 7 years! The money saved on gas and other fuilds never gets anywhere close to making up the difference. Nice car? Sure it's nice, but financially makes no sense whatsoever. Tens of thousands of dollars wasted that can never be re-couped. Just not worth the enormous expense and inconvenience of recharging all the time. Nope. I step out in the morning, crank my old chevy up and it keeps on going after 42 years with the occasional fluid check and change. My insurance is next to nothing and I'm never worried about planning my next charging station out in the middle of Texas!

[@newscoulomb3705]

Unless you adjust for the value of the dollar over time, and at that point, there's not really a comparison. Your early 1980s C30 cost about the same off the lot as my Bolt EV cost me in 2016 dollars, and my all-in cost to-date, including licensing, insurance, maintenance, fueling, tires, etc. is still well under $45,000 in today's dollars. Having owned and driven trucks from 80s, 90s, through to today, I can guarantee that your C30's total cost of ownership is so far beyond what I've paid for the Bolt EV, even on a per-year basis, that the two can't really be compared.

[@benda18]

You're lucky to have a 42 year old car that costs nothing to maintain. Most of us don't have the luxury nor the ability to track down a car that old in good condition, buy it, and then benefit from it

[@jryer1]

@@newscoulomb3705 You're totally dreaming on your cost analysis. At no time did I ever get anywhere near paying $45k for an old used Chevy C30. Not when I bought for under $1000 and NEVER in anybody's dream world have I spent $44k now or ever! You EV folks always forget an old used ICE vehicle is a fraction of what it was new AND it keeps going, unlike EVs that nobody wants to spend huge sums of money to buy batteries for! I'LL NEVER GET ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR $45K! I'm not totally against EVs, I think they are kind of cool, but financially unrealistic for most people.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@jryer1 Sure, if you bought it used for $1,000, never had any issues, never did any maintenance, never put any miles on it, and have only owned it for a short period, you might be close to my total costs. However, if you've driven even an average of 15,000 miles a year for the last 5 years, I guarantee your C30 still cost more than my all-in costs. Sorry. Reality hurts sometimes.

[@jryer1]

@@newscoulomb3705 Your guarantee isn't worth anything. And your cost analysis is extremely biased. And of course it has to be to justified spending $45k! You actually believe maintenance and fuel will EVER reach $44K is beyond absurd. NOT IN 30 years will my cost ever approach that number. I know what my cost have been for the last 3+ years and they will NEVER project to $44k for the life of the vehicle. You're deluding yourself into believing you got a good deal because you're EV committed at this point.

[@esteven38]

Eric, I’m so sorry for your loss, my condolences to you and your family. I started following you and your channel in 2019, and in July of the same year, I bought my first Bolt EV. GM bought it back because of the battery. I missed my Bolt, so in 2020, I bought another one, then had the battery replaced. Anyway, enough of my rambling, and I will continue to follow your channel. God Bless.

[@johnanderson9735]

Sorry for your loss.