![]() ![]() Over the years, I’ve been able to confirm that whatever the Chevy Bolt EV’s vampire drain was, it was very low. In 2019, GM introduced a new feature to the Bolt EV that enables the owner to set a “Charge Limit” in 5% increments.įor those who are unfamiliar, “vampire drain” is a term used to describe the power draw by an electric vehicle’s onboard electronics that slowly deplete battery capacity over time. Just for reference, Hilltop Reserve was replaced in later model Chevy Bolt EVs. Hilltop Reserve limits the car to charging the battery to 88.2% (according to Torque Pro readings), so when I unplugged my Bolt EV and sent it to pasture, that’s how much capacity it had. This mode was originally designed for Bolt EV owners who started their drives as higher elevations, and it provides full regenerative braking and additional battery capacity to recapture energy (which is otherwise limited when the battery is full). When I don’t have a long trip lined up, I prefer to leave my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV with “Hilltop Reserve” mode on. In this story, I will describe what I learned about the 2017 Chevy Bolt EV’s battery thermal management systems after leaving it unplugged in freezing overnight conditions for two days. I’ve been attempting to track the Bolt EV’s battery thermal management behavior, so this gave me a great opportunity to spy on the inner workings of the Bolt EV using Torque Pro (an app that reads the car’s sensor data through the OBD2 port.īefore I start, I want to mention that while these winter conditions aren’t particularly harsh, they are cold enough to limit electric vehicle battery performance and trigger many of the Chevy Bolt EV’s thermal management systems. Our Chevrolet Volt needed a chance to plug in for a while over Christmas week, so that meant that my Chevy Bolt EV needed to spend some time unplugged in during freezing overnight conditions. ![]()
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