Well, I just rolled over 50,000 miles in my volt, so I thought I would post some data and my observations. First the numbers: Total miles: 50064 Total EV miles: 29204 Displayed mpg: 88 % EV : 58% gallons purchased: 569 gallons a 50 mpg prius would have purchased - over 1000 Included in these total is a 2000 mile roadtrip I took to Florida, of which 1900 miles were gas only. I have home solar and charge for free at work, so for me electricity is free and abundant and virtually emission free. I work 20 miles from home (most days) so I regularly complete my commute without burning gas where a PIP would each way every day. I also need to use it about once a week for longer trips to the nearby county seats I would not be able to reach in a Leaf. I enjoy driving it so much I eventually learned to relax about trying to keep my numbers high and just started driving it all over (like to pick up my son from college and the aforementioned roadtrip). Other than some warranty stuff (like replacing the original 110v EVSE and the safety upgrade) I haven't had a lick of trouble with the car and continue to enjoy it immensely. Obviously I made a big mistake with the original lease as my mileage usage has greatly eclipsed what I was supposed to do, but we have decided to just buy out the car at the end of the lease now anyway. I'll lose the benefit of the tax incentive, but I am happy and content with what I have and the money I have spent/ am spending. I know my numbers aren't very impressive compared to some other posters with much better EV percentages, but it is my real data and I think fairly typical for a suburban driver and shows even without hyper results the car makes a lot of sense, especially now that the price seems to be coming down. If anyone has any questions about my experiences I'd be happy to share them.
Don't feel bad about your EV percentage at all! I'm only at about 5000 miles (purchased in March of this year) and my ratio is about 52% EV. We are a one car family so come the summer, once my son is out of school, it's road trips every single weekend. Still, with him going back to school soon my ratio will soon increase and I'm very happy with the Volt. More than numbers and ratios, I just wanted to basically own an EV for 9 months of driving and then have the ICE backup for summer vacation traveling and the Volt gives me that.
Wow GW that's a lot of green miles...seems like only yesterday it was a new car. We have a recent report circulating in one post showing DE and VA down to <20% coal in the grid in 2012 down from ~40-45% a year ago, which seems huge change. This is in-state production not necessarily grid content with elec imports.
I have a home PV system that generates more power than I consume most of the time. Its good the grid is cleaning up too of course, but for me I don't worry about electricity costs or emissions. I feel like those total numbers don't accurately reflect my experience. It looks like I've filled up 70 times or so in the last 30 months, which is probably true, but during that run I've also had several times where I didn't buy any gas for a couple of months in a row. Most of my gas is in long trips, maybe twice a semester I had a weekend where I would bun 2-3 tanks, that Florida trip hit me for 7 tanks in one week.
gwmort, have you noticed any signs of battery degradation? is the battery holding same range? Have read some issues with Leaf battery, but none from Volt owners.
I have not seen an overall degradation. I do experience reductions in range in colder temperatures, but so far each spring it has returned to normal.
I noticed the most driven volts on voltstats.net are now up to around 96,000 miles total and around 46,000 miles EV. My EV % and HV mpg numbers are higher now than my own lifetime average for various reasons. I've also taken some road trips including a 2k+ trip up through NW Canada. I've had no significant issues with my car other than a couple of early trivial things (flaky wiring connector on passenger heated seat, cracked shifter handle on a few early built cars). Also replaced 120v cord. Zero powertrain issues. No noticeable battery range loss. I'm still regularly getting 48-52 miles of range in summer. I'm still on my original tires but plan to replace them in the fall. One oil change. Current oil life remaining is 74%. Here are my numbers from voltstats.net: EV Miles: 36,943.13 Total Miles: 56,938.48 EV %: 64.90% MPG: 120.13 MPGCS: 42.19
My ICE maintenance has been 1 oil change as well in 2.5 yrs. Still extremely please with the Volt and keeping it for a long time. Have a deposit on a Model X (Volt to wife, wife's car to kid). My voltstats.net info: EV Miles: 24884.96 Total Miles: 32140.15 EV %: 77.4% MPG: 166.43 MPGe: 69.77 MPGCS: 37.57 I've been doing more and more fun road trips.
You guys with the Volts make me sick! It's the worst car you can....Just Kidding. Love this information. I think any car that make people drive different being Hybrid, or EV or Steam.. is great. Thanks for the info!
Honest question for you about the Volt. Some Ampera owners in the UK have suffered a problem with a bearing or a mounting for the bearing which has caused whining and failure though thankfully under warranty. Any such issues with this?
A few people on GM-volt.com have reported problems with this but as far as I know the numbers of cars that have had this problem is relatively small. GM apparently has redesigned the bearing "cage". The fix for those who run into the problem appears to be external to the transmission -- it doesn't need to be removed or opened up. It just needs an outer casing of some kind to be removed so the bearing cage and bearings can be accessed and replaced. One theory is that the problem may be prone to occurring because of a manufacturing defect during the transmission build. I don't think anyone outside if GM knows for sure. Anyway, it can be fixed relatively non-invasively. I have 57,000 miles and 2.5 years on my Volt without any sign of the problem yet. Jeff
Good question. I was never quite clear about that and never bothered to follow up and find out. I think the differential and final drive reduction gear are inside the transmission so it might be something else. Perhaps the way the axle hooks up to the transmission? I do not know. I'll go try and find out since you've got me curious about it now.
Okay, the bearing appears to support one end of one of the two electric motors inside the transmission. It can be serviced without removing the transmission from the car. There were some initial problems with availability of the replacement parts and special tools needed for the repair. This is a quote from a GM service engineering employee responding on GM-volt.com to questions posed by volt owners:
Wow, both Jeff N and the OP have quite a few miles in a relatively short span of time. I wonder what I'll replace my Leaf with (if anything) at the end of my 2 year lease. I began leasing at the end of July 2013.
