Want To Buy An All-New Chevrolet BOLT? Note: Expect Battery Loss Of Up To 40 Percent Over 8 Years

...Other than regular tire rotations and replacement of the cabin air filter, the only maintenance Bolt EV owner's manual only calls for in the first 150,000 miles is replacement of coolant.

It's also worth noting that GM says it expects battery degradation of 10 to 40 percent during the warranty period of 8 years or 100,000 miles.

That's according to the warranty information on page 323 of the 361-page document...
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TheSteve - 12/8/2016 12:40:55 AM

0 Boost

Always good to know. Also hot owners' forums and get the scoop on what ownership is actually like. Fuelly.com is also useful for getting an idea or real-world fuel economy across various owners (use a bell-curve to ignore the extremes).

Also, with respect to hybrids and especially EVs, it's important to understand what those battery degradation numbers mean. Does "40% degradation" mean you get 40% less range? Something else?

TomM - 12/8/2016 7:29:08 AM

+2 Boost

I don't think anybody knows - we simply do not have the history to show exactly how they will LAST. WE will in another 5-6 years though. My Fusion Hybrid company car has over 120,000 miles and there has been no obvious to me loss - but these are Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.

MDarringer - 12/8/2016 8:21:49 AM

0 Boost

@TheSteve have you ever owned a laptop that over time doesn't stay charged as long? Obviously the 40% degradation means that the battery will discharge faster which will reduce range.

How could a battery lose 40% of its capacity and still deliver the full range?????

vdiv - 12/8/2016 11:37:14 AM

+2 Boost

@TomM we do have history, the first gen. Volt batteries (also made by LG Chem and also with active thermal management) have degraded much less. This is GM's way to indemnify itself and possibly scare people from buying EVs.

SanJoseDriver - 12/8/2016 9:24:52 PM

+1 Boost

Similar estimates were made when the Tesla Roadster was released. A study of Roadsters that broke 100,000 miles revealed that degradation was only 10-20% after ~8 years. I'm at 53,000 miles (3.5 years), only 5% degradation for me so far.

Even if it was 40% over 8 years, batteries have a Moore's Law-ish cost curve. 8 years is an epic amount of time in tech. Picture in your mind an 8-year-old iPhone (the original) or an 8 year old computer. That is what today's batteries will look like 8 years from now. When you eventually replace the battery, you can expect to double the range for half the cost.

MDarringer - 12/9/2016 8:02:40 AM

+1 Boost

And this is the reason to lease but never buy an EV: "8 years is an epic amount of time in tech. Picture in your mind an 8-year-old iPhone (the original) or an 8 year old computer."

SanJoseDriver - 12/10/2016 7:08:43 PM

+1 Boost

Leasing is usually the best deal, especially if you don't qualify for the state rebates individually. Teslas have surprisingly held their value well (maybe because the battery is proportionally less of the overall cost than other EVs)--the Leaf and other EVs have not held value as well.