After months of average, uninteresting commuting, the Bolt EV has seen a flurry of activity since our last update.
Since our last update, the Bolt has done another road trip to visit family, participated in an upcoming comparison test, been the subject of a tire test (stay tuned), and made a trip to the dealer. Meanwhile, it’s spent a lot of time with editors with longer commutes than mine. We’ve been averaging 2,500 miles between updates, but this time we did 3,200.
All this extra work has provided some welcome diversity to our charging log. You’ll notice in the chart below that the money we’ve spent at public EV chargers has jumped dramatically since the last update, thanks to that road trip and comparison test, which was also held out of town. The longer commutes of testing director Kim Reynolds and associate online editor Michael Cantu, as well as the out-of-town driving, have combined to push up the average distance we travel between charges, push down the average state of charge when we plug-in, and draw out the predicted time to a full charge.
In the midst of all that driving, the Bolt has made several noteworthy stops, as well. The first was at the tire shop, where its standard Michelin Energy Saver all-seasons were switched out for a set of BFGoodrich summer tires. We’ll have a full story on the results of the tire test, and I can promise you the results will be interesting.
The next stop along the way was at the dealer. Although the Bolt wasn’t yet due for scheduled maintenance, we brought it in early to address some issues reported in the last update—namely, the power steering occasionally refusing to activate on start-up. The dealer pulled the stored codes and did a preliminary investigation but asked us to bring the car back for a more thorough diagnostic when we had more time. We did, and while it was in the second time, we asked the dealer to investigate the infotainment screen’s occasional refusal to boot-up. The dealer identified the U156D error code as a likely culprit for the steering issue and replaced the shifter as per GM bulletin 16-NA-183. The infotainment screen got a software update, which took care of that problem.
You might be wondering what the shifter has to do with the power steering system, and we were, too. The dealer couldn’t explain it, saying that the repair was done per Chevy’s bulletin. The bulletin, though, doesn’t make any mention of the steering system, nor is the Bolt EV tagged in it (other vehicles using the same electronic shifter are). When we asked Chevy directly how replacing the shifter would fix the power steering, Chevy politely asked us to take the car back to the dealer. Although the shifter did need to be replaced due to the error code, it’s a separate issue from the power steering. Thankfully, all the work to date has been covered under the warranty. We’ll update you when the steering issue is finally resolved, but we should note in the meantime the issue hasn’t come back.
Read More About Our 2017 Chevrolet Bolt:
| 2017 Chevrolet Bolt Charging Update 4 | |
| Odometer | 11,267 miles |
| Avg distance between charges | 95.1 miles |
| Avg pre-charging state of charge | 50% |
| Avg range pre-charge (ideal/predicted) | 125/105 |
| Avg energy per charge | 27.32 |
| Avg predicted charge time | 5h, 58m |
| Avg post-charging state of charge | 90% |
| Avg range post-charge (ideal/predicted) | 243/178 |
| Cost of public charging to date ($7.22 avg) | $239.85 |
| Cost of office charging to date ($1.99 avg) | $89.14 |
| Cost of home charging to date ($3.66 avg) | $26.34 |
| Total charging cost to date | $355.33 |
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