Is a used Plug in Hybrid a good buy? 2017 Chevy Volt review!

[@81JJR]

Mountain causes the ICE to activate sooner and hold more electricity in reserve. This ensures more HP is available for long climbs. If you do long climbs with a fully depleted charge it can cause the ICE to work at a higher rpm which can be a less fun drive.

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the info!

[@johnmartins5047]

I drive a 2017 Volt and I consider it a very good car. I can go anywhere without any concern of recharging the battery. For a 50 km commuting is a perfect car. The Volt is one of the best cars ever made by GM, but to expensive to produce. I recommend it.

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the comment!

[@meandmyEV]

I have a 2017 Volt LT that I bought used in 2021. GM actually engineered the battery so it should see very little degradation for a long time. They included some headroom so at first you are actually not fully charging or discharging the battery and then as the battery gets older, it will release the headroom to maintain the range. It also has pretty aggressive liquid cooled battery conditioning to maintain the battery temperature. I still have the same battery capacity as when I got it and I probably since it was new. As others have said, Normal is standard battery mode, Sport gives you better throttle response, Mountains maintains some battery charge in case it is needed for climbing, and Hold puts the car in Hybrid mode and saves the battery for when you want to use it. Excellent system and a great car. I recently bought a Bolt EUV and while I love it and it has great tech. I find I do not like was it drives as much as the Volt. It is much more refined. You can really feel the Volt pushing you back in your seat and you can sping the tires leaving a stop.

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the comment!

[@HSKPorcher]

Have been driving a 2018 Volt for the last five years. Awesome vehicle! Charge at home every night. Three seasons EV range 60-65 miles for the type of driving I do.

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the comment!

[@freshandsaltyjohnny]

To keep things simple. Normal and sport mode is for city driving on all electric. Mountain mode is for going up and or down mountains. Hold is for freeway as it holds the ev mileage. If you are going up a mountain try not to use mountain mode until you reach the mileage advertised to your destination. So if you got 25 miles of uphill and you got 15 miles of electricity left engage mountain mode at 15 miles left of the journey. You can also drive the car in L mode which is a third form or battery regeneration. I drove down the mountain to the city 60 mile trip and it cost me $0.25 uphill it cost me $3.00 give or take not bad for 120+ mile trip up and down a mountain. When driving on L mode, chevy advertises this as 1 pedal driving. Meaning you never have to actually use the brake pedal which is true because i have the car in L mode along with the pedal regen brake thats on the steering wheel giving two forms of regen. Mountain mode also replenishes the battery pack while driving. Mind you the mileage drops from 42 miles per gallon to 20 miles per gallon for 20 minutes after that you should have 45% of EV charged and ready to go to drive in the city. The car is ahead of it's time and still to this day no plug in EV comes close to the under rated gen 2 volt the king of all plug in hybrids. Chevy discontinued their best car they have created in the past 10-20 years. I just got the car and it is the best car even beating 2023 models out of the water in terms of EV range. Combined with 400 mile range on Gas and 2000lbs of towing i can tow my boat with it and you can't tow anything with EV cars at the moment because scientists can''t figure out how to prevent such battery voltage sag in which EV's are cursed with.

[@edsgarage001]

Thanks for the very concise reply!!

[@Alan-rt3se]

There's a class-action lawsuit against the 2016-2019 Chevy Volts, because of the unavailability of replacement parts for critical systems in the Volt. When GM stopped making the Volt, they also stopped making sufficient replacement parts for it. My daughter has a 2016 Volt that has been parked for over 6 months, waiting for a replacement control module that may never arrive. She had to go ahead and buy a different car. It's a shame that GM is abandoning their customers like that.

[@edsgarage001]

Have you looked around at wrecking yards? Perhaps a pre-owned part might be available

[@edsgarage001]

Can you list the part number that's needed? I might be able to help

[@Alan-rt3se]

@@edsgarage001 Thank you! My daughter tells me it's the EGR valve. Last year it was the ECM, but that has since been fixed.

[@Alan-rt3se]

The dealership says there's a months-long waiting list for that part. But no ETA on when more parts will arrive.

[@edsgarage001]

Pretty sure the part number is 12691147 www.ebay.com/itm/355358283036?itmmeta=01J0PRSFN79NYWBSMB8V36EY8B&hash=item52bd01151c:g:iZEAAOSwgm5lm2cD&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4DsgSs77Xkxqa032Ptqu2WS94DBZDNfLemcYnlsljGxFCVQ%2BEgEn%2FeOoGgQh%2FpcpVrxX95ancP5a6gRtPVL3AzcRwKfMyfBevtCl1sgxkTLtZ%2BrGBsQ%2FSazNiIYh5h34LUa%2BdkKuY3Ds8YwDPiLQhRcrEaRH3ISzcp30LUfEXqSpCyHoxOGV0NO2lH3eVbOORqWwxHmAuyZd2heIdzKsWt56OJRVVRfcZnSsMMicLNAe%2FonbK0hUptU5iCQu8QqjzJNqs9a9qXB8IzwQQ0iUpQZKawN0BGBiRbO13AlzCueb%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1vrl2IVk

[@sammy169169169]

The paddle behind the left side of the steering wheel instantly increases regenerative braking to maximum but will not stop the car. The brake pedal must be used to stop the car.

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the comment!

[@bfrides7800]

I had a 2017 Volt Premier. This looks like an LT1 trim as it’s missing blind spot and cross traffic safety features. Mine was a US model so maybe Canada gets different packages. It’s a great commuter car and very versatile with the hatchback. The only repair issue was an oil leak on the gasket cover where the PCV valve I believe goes through it. GM paid the part costs (about $800) and I had to pay the labor (about $250). The bigger issue is the lack of dealer technicians with Volt and Malibu Hybrid experience given Chevy discontinued selling both by early 2019. At about 97K miles braking distances lengthened. It appeared that regenerative braking was the only working source unless the brakes were pumped and the pedal pushed very hard to get the mechanical system to engage. After three weeks back and forth with GM engineers, the tech changed and bled the brake fluid as air in the fluid was deemed the cause. The fix worked for about 200 miles until the brake problem returned. This time a fault code on ABS braking was displayed on the driver info center display. Three more weeks and multiple calls to GM led to the same bleed the brakes to fix the issue advice which again worked. By this time we lost all confidence in the car. Despite evidence from other owner posts on the Malibu forum that the cause of the air in the system was a failing brake master cylinder, the dealer would not replace it. The fuel economy was great over those 97K miles and the battery only range was always 55-60 miles unless high heat was needed on a subzero day where the range was 45-50. I can’t recommend a high mileage Volt unless you can find a non GM dealer mechanic that can fix one as GM has no experts to fix them and doesn’t care - “we didn’t sell many” was the Service Manager’s response.

[@edsgarage001]

Thankfully, there's several very versed techs that have been fully trained on volts in my auto group. There's even one at my dealership, a former GM tech.

[@dillzilla4454]

i wouldn't even consider the lack of technicians the biggest issue, although it is a pretty huge one. Its that their own technicians have very little understanding of how the car works. This is a car that i would always take to someone who specifically works on hybrids and never the dealer for repairs. The dealer is going to have a EV tech and engine tech look at it but not someone trained on hybrids. For most issues the combination of the 2 are not going to be able to figure out what is going on with the car because most the parts that fail are hybrid specific components not the EV or ICE components. The plus side is that the car is really easy to service from a hybrid technician prospective. I personally self service mine and find it to be a lot easier than dealing with the toyota hybrids that are a lot more common. Really is sad that they weren't more common because they really are great cars. it is a really hard car to advertise though because its main selling point is how close it really is to being an EV but that is very hard to convey without actually driving the car.

[@ronmorrell9809]

On long freeway trips at 80-mph (130 kph) after depleting the battery. I average 35 mpg (6.7 l/100 km). While I've not had significant battery range depletion, at 85000 miles (136,000 km), I needed to replace the controller for the central display (US$ 2500) and the transmission shifter lever for "Shift-to-Park" defect on several Chevrolet models. Fortunately the shift lever is covered by the Bolted warranty (100,000-miles/8-years). Otherwise, repair is about $500. 5th generation replacement part is $65. I can't find anything significantly better from Toyota or GM. If we don't drive long distances, I only fill the 8-gallon gasoline tank 1/4 full. After 6 months, the gasoline engine burns the gasoline before it goes stale and I put in another 2 gallons for the next 6 months. Oil needs to be charged every 24 months or 10,000 gasoline miles.

[@edsgarage001]

Thanks for the comment! If you're interested in what the battery modules look like and how they can be repurposed, check out some vids of a Chevy spark EV battery tear down that I did (same modules): kzbin.info/aero/PLS-I78HBgeYhqMpWtj_LnOcNXIKdu1iUv&feature=shared

[@barryhayes7164]

Fyi, sport mode just re-maps the throttle for a more aggressive acceleration response, it doesn't activate the gas engine. Also, hold mode forces on the gas engine, and 'holds' the charge available in the EV battery.

[@edsgarage001]

Thank you!!

[@herbsabeast1]

You not only need to look at the features, but the cost to replace. If that battery goes out of warentee the dealer charges so much money to replace it because they make it hard to replace. Chevy does do a good bms, but does not last forever. I can not confirm, but I have scene volt's 2015+ be rated to not take premium. So it doesn't hurt the engine to put regular gas into it for the back up generator. However, if you can generate more electricity by burning the premium I don't see why you wouldn't buy the premium gas.

[@barryhayes7164]

By the way, I enjoy your videos!

[@edsgarage001]

Thanks!

[@touchyourdream1352]

Hello, I have some detailed questions, can you answer? When should we add oil to the engine? For example, I added oil 1 year ago and it still shows 90%, should I change the oil in this case? , also, when is it better to charge the battery, should it sit until the end and then charge? If, for example, the battery shows 50%, 60% or something else, then can it be charged? Which is better for battery care? And another question, how many amperes is better to charge the car?

[@edsgarage001]

Thx for the comments and questions! Oil, including synthetic has a shelf life. It should be replaced at least once a year. Plug in hybrid batteries can be charged to 100 and discharged to 0... But only because, when the car says it's at 100 or 0, it actually isn't. The car doesn't actually ever charge to 100 or discharge to 0, it actually has a buffer to stop overcharging and over discharging automatically. So I'd recommend just plugging it in when you get home and keeping it charged up. As for how much amperage, just use whatever charger you need in order to replenish your average consumption. Don't spend a lot of money on a charger, as the one that came with it can almost completely charge it back up overnight anyway. If you need to drop the amps in the car due to a breaker blowing, that's different. But otherwise I'd set it to 12 amps.

[@touchyourdream1352]

​@@edsgarage001 thanks you a lot, Can you advise me how to take care of the battery?

[@edsgarage001]

The car will take care of the battery.. you don't need to do anything special.

[@ShayboogieFishter]

I just recently purchased a 2017 Chevy volt. I have so many questions if someone is willing to answer them and help me!! I purchased a at home charger on Amazon and it only worked for four days. Is there a certain outlet I need to charge at home. Also how long can I go without plugging it up and charging it.

[@edsgarage001]

The charger you bought will generally dictate the type of outlet you need. If it worked before I'd suggest that perhaps it's gone defective? You may want to consult an electrician to make sure the outlet you're plugging into is up to standard and in good condition. You can technically never charge it and just use the car with gasoline like a hybrid. Though, you'll obviously be much better off charging it daily to take advantage of the savings

[@Leitao526]

Very nice review 👌

[@edsgarage001]

thanks!

[@coolmedina117]

I really want one

[@Wheelgauge-bt7ox]

Buy one! I bought one and completely amazed how great it is.

[@donniemcfarland-r7b]

Great cars!

[@touchyourdream1352]

When the car battery is charging, can I turn on the air conditioning/heating?

[@edsgarage001]

Yes, but it'll change much slower

[@touchyourdream1352]

​@@edsgarage001you mean it will charge much slower?

[@jsandoval423]

Hey thanks for the video would you get this or used Toyota prime I like the volt but you know American cars have. A bad rep and car is not made no more good choice still in your opinion I’m Toronto Ontario thanks

[@edsgarage001]

The Prius prime is hideous, so I'd never get that lol. I'd sooner get this or an ioniq phev

[@jsandoval423]

Looking at one at 18,000 with 160,000km 2017 one owner clean car fax or would look at one with 64,000km for 24,000 thanks

[@edsgarage001]

I'd go for the lower mileage one if you can afford it.

[@danielmadera1144]

How do you get yours to show total power?

[@edsgarage001]

This wasn't my particular vehicle... I'd love to answer your question but I no longer have access to this vehicle.

[@sammy169169169]

Choose the Advanced Modern display theme.

[@dillzilla4454]

the range number in km/mi is meaningless and is more of a measurement of your driving than the battery. the kwh meter is a better measurement to use. 14kwh is where a new volt will be. based on the video here i would guess there is about 2-3% range loss on it based on it being at 6.8kwh with half battery in the video. for drive modes you have: normal: EV range first then transitions over to gas sport: Same as normal with a higher torque curve to make it a quite a bit faster and responsive. you could expect about 20% loss in range using it aggressively vs using normal aggressively. In the video you stated that sport is a hybrid mode for more power. it absolutely does not do this. it simply just pushes more power to the motor than what it otherwise would in normal, essentially trading efficiency for acceleration. mountain mode: reserves 1.5kwh of battery for both acceleration and going up hills. it will automatically regain the charge back after usage when you aren't accelerating or moving up in elevation hold mode: takes whatever amount of battery you have and reserves it for usage later. i would recommend using this mode any time you are going on the highway or higher than 50m/h(80km/h) unless you know you have enough range to get to where you need to go anyway. this is because electric efficiency falls off a cliff at higher speeds due to the RPM curve of the electric motor. the premier version does have automated parking. the parallel parking is fairly decent, the regular parking gets extremely close to the car on the outer side of the space you are pulling into so i would only recommend using it if there isn't a car there and even then it is still pretty bad. the brake paddle brings the car down to 5m/h (8km/h) in drive and 2m/h (3~km/h) in L. L is just drive with more aggressive regen when you take your foot off the pedal while drive is very light regen, almost coasting. L is generally better in stop and go traffic and drive is generally better on highway. These are not gear changes, just a change in tune. Also for regen i would advise to use the provided regen you get with L instead of the paddle. the paddle makes the car use both the generator motor and drive motor to regen. this is less efficient than letting L do auto regen because L just uses the generator motor which has a more direct connection to the wheels. also another thing neat is that the cruise control does utilize the regen so if you are going down hill the car will use regen to maintain speed. For the engine it is an absolute tank of an engine due to it never actually having a direct load on it. The only load put on the engine is simply to take load off the electric motors and regain charge when applicable. Because of this the engine seems to almost always be at the stress level of what you would expect of light cruising or idling even at highway speeds. The battery also seems to be equally as tough as the engine, with most people still having advertised range even after a decade of ownership. this is due to really good thermal protections and giving the car an extremely conservative buffer reserve charge (about 5-6kwh of the battery is reserved out of 20kwh). Myself i have had mine for 6 years and have 280k miles on it with 13.5kwh of battery left which is about 95% SOC. This car really seems to continue the trend of chevy making something absolutely fantastic then discontinuing it because it makes their new cars feel lacking.

[@edsgarage001]

Thanks for the comment... You should do a video lol

[@chrismd00]

very nice review, thank you. Light years behind Tesla, but GM could have continued to perfect this car and make a solid competitor. Sadly, I think GM will die without a second and undeserved govt bail out.

[@edsgarage001]

Thank you for the comment

[@rickeyreynolds8773]

I traded mine off. It did not summer well in Northeast Texas. I would get in it start it to head to work in the afternoon heat. It would through flags can't run ac now, can't use cruise or adaptive cruise now, can use lane assist now 4 to 5 miles in to my drive to work it would turn it all on. I got to where I despised that car.

[@edsgarage001]

Ugh that's no good 😞