Electric Vehicle Myths Debunked - Chevy Bolt EV Battery Lifespan

#EverydayEV #RecurrentAuto #ChevyBoltEV #ElectricVehicleMyths
There are a lot of electric vehicle myths that are being shared online, but what is the truth? In this video, we focus specifically on the Chevy Bolt EV and the battery lifespan myth that batteries are going to need to be replaced after only a few years.
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Sources:
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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
01:35 - Battery Factory Warranties
02:58 - Combustion Engine Warranties
04:37 - How Much Does a Chevy Bolt EV Battery Cost?
05:55 - Chevy Bolt EV Recurrent Battery Data Report
10:30 - Outro
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Playlists:
Playlist Link - "Electric Vehicle 101s"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbbe...
Playlist Link - "2019 Chevy Bolt EV Videos"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbbe...
Playlist Link - "Misc EV Related Videos"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbbe...
Playlist Link - "Public EV Charging Stations"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbbe...
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[@normt430]

"When I finally parked it(Bolt) at my home charging station, it had gone 322 miles on a single charge. Not bad for a car rated at 238 miles per charge. Even more impressive was the fact that I didn't really try very hard to get that many miles out of it. I spent plenty of time in traffic, which helped, but there were a few sections that I was moving along at 65-70 mph as well. No matter how you look at it, 322 miles out of a Bolt is pretty impressive." - Ed Hellwig Edmund's

[@flolou8496]

I can't believe it, your comment is the 2nd comment I 've seen saying such stuff, so I guess it must be true, I don't get it? how can this be? I've seen plenty of reviews and some range test, and I've never seen anyone on video say such a thing, so I still kind of find this hard to believe, usually the opposite is true, if a car is rated for say 259 miles like the 2020 and 2021 Bolts , usually that range is more like 235 to 245 in real world use case, so how the heck your getting over 300 is unbelievable even if it happens infrequently ?

[@ronlaverdiere]

People on the Bolt EV forum frequently post about how much better their range is than GM’s claimed EPA. My own experience is the same. With good driving conditions and even using the A/C I have beaten the 397km EPA range many times, including highway driving at the speed limit.

[@Steve-wz5pz]

We are using a 2013 Leaf for in-town errands. Ten years and >100K miles in, STILL has 11 out of the original 12 bars of battery capacity. Battery worries are WAAAAY overrated.

[@user-in9yx7mf8d]

One of the best parts of buying an EV is that it suddenly makes friends and family members battery experts! 🤣

[@desiv1170]

I got just over 100k miles on my 2017 Bolt pack before it was replaced last year as a result of the recall. I didn't notice any battery degradation. Now, I am sure there was some. Just not anything noticeable to me. I have 120 mile round trip commute, and I never had to change my habits because of the range. Still used heat in the winter, still always used hilltop reserve (that just stops charging about 87%). Now I am 1 year into my new battery which came with an all new 8 year/100k battery warranty. (and more range as it is the new 65kWh pack) Now, I do live in the Pacific Northwest, so not too hot, not too cold (EV Goldilocks range!) temp wise, and I almost never use fast chargers or charge to full. Not because of the EV, but just because that is how I use this car. It's basically my daily commuter car that we use to visit family down south once or twice a year.

[@Mrdsmith500]

So you're saying that with the new battery replaced under GM warrantee, the warrantee basically starts over? not the millage on the car?

[@desiv1170]

@@Mrdsmith500 Yep, I got a new battery warranty on that new pack starting from the time it was installed last year.

[@danyeo]

@@desiv1170 That’s a good deal!

[@stalbaum]

Set it to charge only to 80% of full most of the time, or even more ideally run it between 80% and 50%, which you can do if you are not on a long commute, and then you barely need to worry about battery degredation.

[@MMWorkz]

$11k to 16k replacement costs for batteries is insane, “ohh it’s pretty good”😂

[@taylormorgan867]

I own a 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV and love it. One point you didn't mention that is very important is the fact that there are new garages opening up now that specialize in rebuilding electric car batteries. When batteries start to wear out, the entire battery pack does not need to be replaced. Usually, only a few cells are causing the problem and can be replaced for less than $2,000 out the door.

[@EverydayEV]

That’s a great point! I think we’ll need to make a video specifically highlighting that! - Brandan

[@RippSnortin]

Yes, but the rest of the car is obsolite by then.

[@letsgomodding265]

@@RippSnortin What do you mean by "obsolete"? If the car is functioning as it did when you bought it, then it is serving it's purpose. Not everyone wants to buy a new car every three years. The problem with ICE vehicles is the drivetrain wears out before anything else (unless you live in the rust belt). Now, with electric vehicles, you can drive them much farther without having such major expense because the propulsion system is so much simpler (yes I know there are a LOT of electronics and computers involved, but they don't have moving parts). There will always be new technologies being developed and incorporated in vehicles as the years go by, but technology has gotten to the point now that the cars we drive today get you from point A to point B safely and reliably without the need for additional new tech.

[@RippSnortin]

@@letsgomodding265 just look how smart TVs are. Most people replace them before they stop working. They become obsolite. There's a guy in my town trying to sell a older Tesla with "electrical problems" for like 23k. The body style looks old already and it doesn't run. What do you do with a pile of crap like that?

[@tomhb9479]

😂😂😂 Tesla body styles don’t change

[@robwelker750]

Had my 2020 bolt for little Over three years, with only thirty three thousand miles on it, And recently, the software detected an issue with my battery where it needs to be replaced. However, the dealership said that Chevy told them that they would not pay to replace it. So I'm in the process finding out why. So I was just wondering where I could find that Chevrolet states that it's an 8 year warranty because I've been hearing that it's only a 3 year warranty.

[@trenthorton9532]

We got a Bolt after our Prius died at 185K miles. After years of people expressing concern about the Prius batteries needing replacement, it was actually the ICE engine that gave out. The Prius battery performed great for 12 years despite being older tech and less well managed than modern EV packs. I'm extremely confident that the vast majority of EV's with BMS (sorry, Leaf owners) are going to achieve 1,000+ charge cycles (That's 240K-260K miles for Bolt's) on their battery packs before they experience significant degradation.

[@DefundTheFringes]

Hybrid batteries vs. EV batteries will likely show less wear because the ICE power masks deterioration.

[@danyeo]

My Prius battery died at 110k miles! I was very letdown by it, just sold it cheap and took the loss.

[@lgrantnelson2863]

You are comparing vehicles with smaller batteries to vehicles with larger batteries. Not an even comparison.

[@robertnatiello3814]

16k + for replacement is 1/2 the cost of a new vehicle. How is this good? Also what about the motor and transmission - don' t they cost quite a bit as well - being worn down? I feel any car over 35k needs to last 10 yrs 200k minimum without problems to get a decent ROI.

[@manchildusa]

because youre saving WELL over that in gas, oil, brakes, and the countless amounts of maintenence and labor not mentioned over that time.

[@obamatheimposter]

@@manchildusa Apparently "you're not saving" if your replacing it... cars do 300,000 miles nowadays with no engine replacement...

[@manchildusa]

@@obamatheimposter ah yes the maintence and gas for 300k miles is very cheap compared to a battery replacement 🙃 guess what homie, I got 6k miles charged completely free. And free tires and wheels for 7 years. Coming from a v6 Lexus I am extremely satisfied. Should get some nice resale value as welll

[@rickcowan7527]

Thanks for this excellent video. I feel even better about my 2023 Bolt now!

[@DairyAirGunners]

Comparing the cost of a total engine replacement to battery replacement is ridiculous. The necessity of a complete engine replacement is extremely rare. I've been driving for over 60 years without ever needing to replace an engine, and I don't know anyone who has. But the need to replace a battery pack, is an absolute certainty; it's simply a matter of time.

[@MrXzylonx]

Volt owner here - with an older rig like this one I've seen multiple times the dealership is stupid and tells you that you need a new battery when this repair isn't needed. Many people are oblivious there are more options out there for repairing and will take that at face value. I picked up my 3rd Volt for next to nothing and ran a software update that fixed it last week, because the previous owner was told it would be a $10,000 battery replacement by the stealership. Living in an area that doesn't have hybrid repair on the regular, I called my local stealership and they said they don't work on these things enough to know what was wrong. A few hours of google-fu turned up a commonly known issue that was simply the software. That cost $145 after hardware, plus a few hours of my own time for research. Just like with a gas engine, you can make a smaller repair. But just like with a gas engine, the stealership will just take your money and replace everything... The issue likely would have come back if he would have had the battery replaced. So I would actually agree with the video, comparing this to an engine replacement is fair game because both are quite rare.

[@DairyAirGunners]

@@MrXzylonx : There is a difference, an EV battery will at some point require replacement, that is a 100% certainty. Total engine replacement is not. Like I said before, I've owned a variety of cars and trucks over the past 60+ years and have never needed to replace an engine.

[@MrXzylonx]

@@DairyAirGunners Why does the battery need replacement? Just like owning any other vehicle, the capabilities deteriorate from first purchase to the long term. Engines wear down and need new rings, pistons, and for the head to be lapped to be back at original performance, or sometimes better. A battery is made from individual cells, each of which is monitored and managed. Perhaps a few need replaced after 8 years and bring the system down a bit in performance, so why would you replace a whole pack when only a small part is causing it to deteriorate that could be replaced? I will admit this applies specifically to manufacturers who are taking care of batteries to this level, not every battery. But Chevrolet is one of the best at managing this, and the conversation stems from the Bolt.

[@DairyAirGunners]

@@MrXzylonx Have you ever had to replace your engine? I bet not. We both have our opinions, so leave it at that.

[@MrXzylonx]

@@DairyAirGunners never had to, but sometimes it was less expensive. I also own 3 Volts over 10 years old, have I had to replace a battery on one? No. Have they had a battery replaced? No. Replace the liquids and update software, then keep driving. Have you owned an electric vehicle and experienced failure?

[@hudsonhollow]

You didn't mention the cost of transmission repair/replacement. Seems now days transmissions rarely last 8 years and are costly to repair or replace

[@EverydayEV]

Yes, you’re Right Mark! Transmission service/repair is a big expense as well for gasoline vehicles. - Brandan

[@TroySavary]

Over 30 years of vehicle ownership. Only replaced 1 transmission during that time, at a cost of $800.

[@EverydayEV]

@TroySavary which vehicle is this?

[@TroySavary]

@@EverydayEV You think I only owned 1 vehicle in 30 years? The one that needed a transmission was a Caravan, and I got a used transmission from a junk yard. The cost was more labour than parts.

[@EverydayEV]

Your original comment wasn’t very clear that you only had one transmission replacement after owning multiple vehicles over a 30 year period. Makes more sense now. I was about to say that vehicle must’ve been an engineering masterpiece 😆

[@siluna2654]

Yes! Congratulations on your Website 🎉🥳

[@EverydayEV]

Thank you so much!

[@wmmunn]

the recurrent report you show on screen is very different from the more limited one I get on my Bolt. How do you get the additional information included in a vehicle report?

[@EverydayEV]

Hi William, thank you for your comment! The report that was shown in our video was a mockup done by Recurrent for our video. What information were you missing in your report? - Brandan

[@wmmunn]

@@EverydayEV My reports don't have the stats vs fleet box and data, the charging insights looks different and less detailed. The market insights section is completely missing.

[@EverydayEV]

I know Recurrent recently updated their report design. I can reach out to our contact and see if I can get more information for you! - Brandan

[@mattmattmatt8984]

Everyday EV, thanks for addressing this all to important topic. I too, would greatly appreciate Recurrent's full report.

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

Thanks COOP ...

[@barryw9473]

If you forget to put oil back into the engine, time to buy a new engine - I have seen people forget. There is no routine maintenance on an EV battery pack so no way to brick the car, unlike ICE.

[@TroySavary]

Never saw anyone do an oil change and forget to refill the oil after draining the old oil. Maybe don't hire special needs kids as mechanics?

[@younged510]

​​​@@TroySavaryyou actually need to check your oil all the time after a mechanic done it. Truth is you dont see them work on it.. I had a 2005 sentra was already having problem at 105k miles.. I took it to the Nissan dealers for oil change all the time but never checked if they did the work. Drove it until 140k and just sold it dirt cheap. What I'm trying to say is. If you don't do the work make sure these mechanic do it right, if your not doing the job. My 91 Toyota was going 200k plus until it got stolen. The Nissan should of ran further then 140k on a scheduled oil changed.

[@Dextermorga]

So you are saying Bolt is not for Nevada? You are saying 101 is hot? Then what about 110 in the garage? Which is in Nevada through the Summer norm. I just ordered bolt euv 2023 Las Vegas

[@Chops00]

$16k for a new battery pack is insane. The whole car costs $27k, like $19k after tax incentives.

[@ronlaverdiere]

I agree that people really exaggerate the issues with battery pack longevity. However, you need to realize that VERY rarely do you ever replace an engine. I have had several cars well over 10 years old and well over 100,000 miles. Never needed to replace an engine. It did cost a lot over that time to keep the engine maintained though. What you should compare the battery to is a transmission- they often need a full rebuild or replacement on older vehicles, and they can be costly. Same with the PTU for AWD vehicles. Within 10 years of ownership and operating costs, I easily spend enough on my ICE car to cover the cost of a new battery if it had been a BEV instead.

[@allankoivu3263]

Try driving a Hyundai.......they eat engines

[@rp9674]

It's different calculations, hard to compare. I used to drive my gas car's until it was too costly to repair.

[@legonut78]

Never lost a transmission. I’ve lost 2 engines. Luck of the draw I think.

[@bruceb7874]

how about the motor whats the warrantee

[@EverydayEV]

8 years or 100,000 miles!

[@HereInPA_Hagen]

If after some years your battery goes to 60% as stated in this video, does this mean you can only charge to 60% and that therefore your range becomes 40% less than it was when the car was new?

[@erikkpritchard]

Yep. A don't think a Bolt will lose 40% capacity for a long, long time...maybe 20+ years. I would bet a Bolt battery will be around 90% original capacity at 10yrs. EVs are crazy susceptible to cold temps. I watched a guy go 125 miles in a new Bolt EUV in negative 14F.

[@ryanl6316]

do EV batteries actually ever ultimately 'give out,' or do they just generally degrade in range over time ??

[@rp9674]

​​@@ryanl6316I think it's very rare for a battery to completely fail, a majority slowly degrade

[@rdeh1678]

Whats really funny in my town we have a insurance lot for written off cars , at that lot 80% of the cars are evs

[@amenhotepavoskin1307]

When I brought my Bolt in for battery replacement as part of the last year's recall, I asked my dealer to measure the old battery's degradation. Guess what? After over 100,000 km and 3 years of active everyday use (including 3 Canadian winters), my battery degradation was less than 2%. This means that the battery will most likely outlive the car. Good luck yakking EV haters.

[@footfixerrunning]

Sounds great. I drive 100 km round trip daily and the cost of fuel is killing me. My Subaru Forester has 210 000 km and i'm considering the Bolt or a hybrid. My concern had been battery life during the winter.

[@amenhotepavoskin1307]

@@footfixerrunning In winter, my Bolt gives me at least 350 km on a single charge. This, of course, depends on a number of factors - ambient temperature, wind, speed, driving style etc. One way or another, a 100 km round trip shouldn't be a problem at all. Money-wise, I am sure you will never regret switching to the Bolt. Basically, all it needs is annual tire rotation and topping up the windshield fluid. Plus, home-charging will add about $40 to you monthly electricity bill - next to nothing if you remember the gas prices, oil changes, filters, sparks, belts and other expenses that the Bolt will free you from.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

It's worth looking at the Nissan LEAF because Nissan has sold over 600,000 LEAF's all around the world for 13 years. And what makes the LEAF very interesting is that it was designed really badly because it does not have active thermal battery management system so the battery temperature could just be anything. Most LEAF's are doing perfectly fine, although the ones that are over 10 years old are at the point where they need replacement batteries. So what the LEAF proves is that if a car is designed badly and zero care is taken over looking after the battery temperature, then you still get about 10 years out of the car. There is a very good reason why the LEAF was the last car to not have an active thermal battery management system and all electric car that came out after the LEAF have an active thermal battery management system.

[@videom]

would be nice to see how the battery would fare for someone who charged to 100 percent constantly and used fast charging on a regular basis.

[@EverydayEV]

Hey videom, yes! For the reports we used we didn’t have a report for someone who solely charged to 100% and used DCFC all of the time. Based on data, they would see a drop in their overall battery capacity/health, but the older some of these EV’s get the more data we will have on something like that to report. - Tyler

[@clif9710]

The real test is time...how long the vehicle will provide useful service compared to ICE cars. I just bought a Bolt EV used (2020) and got rid of a 2006 Ford Focus. The Focus had 136k miles and the engine was running perfectly and still giving the EPA rating mileage that it had when new. I would not hesitate to drive any distance in it. 175k miles is not uncommon for ICE cars. The Focus exceptional only in that the body was not rusted out after so long a period here where salt is spread in winter. Will the Bolt make it to 136k miles without a battery replacement and be ready for more? I hope so, but I don't count on it.

[@willaerley7140]

Are you sure battery prices are going down? I’m seeing lots of price increases for the Mach E, Lightning, Lucid, etc. They’re blaming material costs.

[@michaellippmann4474]

Yeah seems weird but with world events at the moment all prices are going up for everything. Also, manufacturers will use every excuse to bump prices to get their profit margins up (look at dealer mark ups which are crazy in many areas). In the longer term with battery production scaling up prices will eventually come down or at a minimum stabilize. EV pricing in general will start coming down once the market settles down. We just took delivery of a 2023 Kona EV Ultimate and we paid MSRP. This was great, but used Kona EV's are selling for about $5000 more than new! Demand for them is that high...crazy! Have a great day! Mike 🇨🇦 🍁 👍

[@Frank71]

Material costs are up for every car.

[@willaerley7140]

@@Frank71 Yes, but most cars are not getting $5000+ increases.

[@EverydayEV]

Bare in mind, this video was recorded a month ago before pricing for the 2023 Lightning and Mach E were announced. 😅

[@rp9674]

RELATIVE battery prices are decreasing long run, there have been price bikes related to covid, supply and demand, & other factors.

[@TroySavary]

Says they are here to debunk myths about batteries, proceeds to spew bullshit about ICE.

[@MartinGagnon1970]

it's me or the Bolt warranty for the battery is not 60% but 70% !

[@EverydayEV]

Thanks for your comment Martin! We did confirm on the Chevy website that it is 60% retention for the battery warranty. I know some manufacturers are 70%. Hope that helps! - Tyler

[@edsmale]

@@EverydayEV the Lief has a 70% warranty. But it starts with 40-50 miles less range. So as a miles figure, 60% Bolt or 70% Lief is similar miles

[@shane250]

2-3 years was never the issue. The warranty on EV batteries is 8 years minimum (some are 10). We want to know if it will last 15 years. My 2010 Santa Fe doesn't burn a single drop of oil between services. Not an EV hater (I actually reserved the Eqiuinox EV... Will get it in 2025 probably). I like the idea of the Ultium battery, because that means that you can replace only one of 8 battery modules if a cell has failed. So instead of 15K, it will cost maybe 2K.

[@palebeachbum]

My ears stopped listening at $16k for a new battery. I've never spent even half that on all repairs on an ICE vehicle in 200k miles of driving. I'd freak if I suddenly got hit with a $16k repair bill for a new battery. Who can afford that!? That's not even including the electric motor, which no doubt is several thousand as well. An ICE engine and transmission replacement in a typical little car like the Bolt wouldn't cost anywhere near that. Plus, with the range being a lot more limited than an ICE, and charging times being way longer than refueling an ICE, there are so many caveats that scare me from getting an EV. If it weren't for these issues, I'd love a Bolt.

[@williammcginnis1232]

Yeah, they just casually said the replacement cost is $16,000 as though it were $16. The take away should have been that a battery is not likely to need replaced in the viable lifecycle of the vehicle, and if it does, cheaper options are on the way rather than trying to make a $16,000 expenditure sound like an incredible value.

[@legonut78]

The battery IS the car. It’s warrantied for 8 years 100k miles. I’ve lost several ice engines and transmissions. The manufacture didn’t cover any repairs. If your battery dies, it’s warrantied, even in used vehicles. Got 5k miles on my ev so far, fuel has cost me $143. That’s less than just the oil changes on my last car. My F150 costs most of that for a single tank.

[@palebeachbum]

@@legonut78 Hyundai, Kia, and Mitsubishi all warranty their engines and transmissions for 10yrs/100k miles. The rest of their cars are warrantied for 5yrs/60k miles.

[@legonut78]

@@palebeachbum I retract what I said. I did get an engine from Subaru once. Forgot about that one. Dodge and GM never covered one though. Our EV is covered for 8 years, and it has almost no moving parts to fail. The maintenance savings over our last two ICE vehicles alone will be more than we paid for the thing. Imagine swapping your battery power tools for gas ones like we had 15 years ago (or a constant job site generator with corded tools). No chance. Electric will keep gaining market share as batteries improve, just like it has consumed every other industry.

[@rdeh1678]

Jessus christ , is there a campaign going on so far i have seen these exact talking points on 10 different youtube channels , just like fake news this vid is being paid for by a third party

[@rovert1284]

I have usually kept/had cars 10 years old. Engines were always fine and never needed replacement. Currently plan to keep one vehicle for 20 years (currently 13 years old) and do not expect any problems what so ever. Very dubious about batteries going the distance safely. We already have a growing problem with older consumer lithium batteries, major cause of home fires/garbage truck fires. I do not like using consumer lithium batteries but do. I have replaced some very quickly due to the casing looking suspect. However I feel that BEVs create a problem that is massive for the future. Basements filled with ageing BEVs, one catches fires - seems unlikely that it can be contained.

[@ethelperry4529]

:)

[@westcoasthockeybias37]

This is ridiculous. Nobody is saying you have to replace the battery after 2 or 3 years. They're saying you have to replace it after about 8 to 10 years, which is why the warranties typically end then. To say a $20,000 repair on a $28,000 car is "not bad" after just 8 years is laughable. A typical modern combustion engine can last close to 300,000 miles if you just change the oil regularly. They also hold their value. EVs do not (for the battery reason). Also, having your battery only be able to charge at 60% after just a few years is TERRIBLE. That means your driving range is going to fall from 250 miles to 150 miles.

[@charlesscibilia4665]

I wouldn’t take one of these EV vehicles for free. Garbage!

[@EverydayEV]

Great, thank you for the comment and the engagement! It helps our video do better in the algorithm for others to find and watch! :)

[@ryanl6316]

16K is a LOT of $ for a battery!!!