Any Chevy Volt Owners

[MildlyEccentric]

The Prius is kind of boring and for me, that's OK. I have a 2006 with about 170,000 miles. I've only had it back to the dealer one time. I think I'm still on my original brakes. There have been a few minor and one major maintenance issues, but on the whole, it's been very reliable. Without any attempt to drive efficiently, I get about 45 mpg. Over time the mileage has gone down from the 50 mpg range which I attribute to new tires and perhaps an aging battery.

I did have a failure of the main battery at 99,500 miles (my one major issue). The dealer gave me a loaner and replaced the battery at no cost under the 100,000 mile warranty. The Prius has not been as much fun as my 911 or my MG were, but it's great as a reliable and comfortable way to get around. BTW, the heater and A/C are fine for the D.C. area.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

My Prius hybrid battery pack lasted 10 1/2 years. The guarantee was for 10 yrs. If I recall correctly, the laptop batteries are Lithium? and not Nickel as the Prius battery is. Don't have my info handy, but I'm sure someone else will know for sure. Have no idea what type battery pack the Volt and Leaf have nor what longevity owners are actually seeing.

 

[ls99]

Helicopter blades turn at a narrow range of rpm, and so do their turbines. A gear box with a fixed ratio can handle this with no problem.

A car speed varies quite a bit more, even with a gear box to accommodate different speed ranges.

Right in the ballpark.

Truck diesel engines operate in a fairly narrow range, drivers try to keep rpms in the max torque range, which narrows the operating rpm range even more. Many long haul tucks have automatic transmissions, so no big deal.

Chnages in angle of attack in response to collective input of helicopter blades varies load quiet a bit from level flight to rapid ascent or descent. I have flown helicopters in Alaska with licensed pilot present.

 

[ERD50]

Right in the ballpark.

Truck diesel engines operate in a fairly narrow range, drivers try to keep rpms in the max torque range, which narrows the operating rpm range even more. Many long haul tucks have automatic transmissions, so no big deal.

Changes in angle of attack in response to collective input of helicopter blades varies load quiet a bit from level flight to rapid ascent or descent. I have flown helicopters in Alaska with licensed pilot present.

Are you confusing that 500 RPM helicopter blade shaft with engine speed, or some intermediate gear reduced shaft speed? The blade RPM is the output for a helicopter. For a car/truck, the output is the wheels.

Those wheels need to go all the way from zero RPM and high torque at start up to around 700 RPM. That's what is hard to do with a turbine, not maintaining a 500-700 RPM output shaft. It was a problem for the Chrysler concept car, and one of the reasons they haven't been used. The Indy STP turbine had a single speed transmission, and idled at 54% of max speed! IOW, all it could do was go fast - no way that design would work on the road.

Turbines were used for a while in freight trains - those are true series hybrids. But the turbines of the day were not as efficient as diesel piston engines (still are not I think). And the power/weight ratio wan't an issue - those trains need the weight for traction. But they could run those turbines on some real cheap fuel from the refinery ('bunker oil' I think it was called). But then the refineries figured out how to refine that stuff to make higher value products.

The advantage of the series turbine in the Wrightspeed delivery/garbage trucks is that with a start/stop route, they can take advantage of regen braking, and just running the turbine at peak efficiency with no idle time, rather than a diesel running fast/slow and idling at every stop which is wasted. In the series hybrid, the energy is being captured, stopped or not. And apparently, the turbine meets pollution standards with no added equipment. That's a big plus.

Wright even admits the turbine efficiency isn't high enough for long haul trucking. The conversion losses and slightly lower efficiency of the turbine at road speed just don't make it a good deal.

-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

Lots of different cars being thrown around here, pure EVs, ICE-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, range extended EVs, etc.

We have an '07 Camry Hybrid and a '12 Prius - both have been excellent, extremely reliable cars. I'd be happy to share my experiences but I'm not sure what the OP is looking for. But comparing our hybrids to a Volt is kinda apples and oranges...

 

[Bingie]

Ford C-Max

Bought last February as a 2015 demo from Maryland. We don't have them in the South for some reason. Getting 175 miles per gallon so the display says. This is a fun little car, lot of room for the three of us and very peppy especially when you get into the gas peddle and turn the ICE on with the electric. He is a little cold in the winter but the heated leather seats help warm you from the bottom up. Very CHEAP to buy with NO rebates or tax Credits....the dealer got those. We did install a Juice Box which charges in less than 2 hours. WILL buy another one of these in a couple of years!

 

[Avocadorunner]

Our 2016 Volt is impressive. 52 mile range on electric then the generator kicks in for a range of another 350+ miles. DW drives 30 miles to work where she plugs it to the free charger. In 7 months (7500 miles) she still has 3/4 of the original tank of the gas. We chose to lease it due to the rapidly changing technology. The new Bolt apparently has a 200 mile range. We had two Prius' (100,000+ miles on each) before the Volt and we both agree that the Volt is a much more comfortable ride - and faster too. I installed a 50 amp 240 v charger in the garage ($400) and it fully charges in about 4-5 hours. We have solar panels so the cost of the electricity is nil.

 

[catotx]

Just today, a popup message appeared on the screen of my laptop saying that its battery is shot and needs to be replaced.

Darn! This dying battery pack is already the 2nd, and this laptop is perhaps 5-year-old. I hope hybrid cars and EVs got better batteries than this. I do not unplug and run on the battery all that often, so it has had only a few dozen cycles before giving up the ghost.

A laptop's battery is usually mistreated:

* It is kept at 100% charge for extended periods if left plugged in (bad for Li-Ion battery).
* Deep discharge cycles are possible, e.g. charged to 100% and run down all the way to 0%. This is bad for Li-Ion batteries.
* Battery could be at elevated temperatures during charging (bad for Li-Ion battery).

The Volt's battery has the following to mitigate the above:

* Battery capacity is around 17 kWh but only about 10 kWh (in the middle range) is used -- no deep cycles.
* Battery has cooling system to prevent overheating (not all EVs have this, this is notably lacking in the first generation Nissan LEAF).

With the above, the Volt battery can hopefully last much longer than that in the laptop.

 

[stargazer08]

I have a 2011 Prius (bought new) with 160,000 miles on it. The only problem I have had with it was tangling with a deer. The 5th deer hit was the one that put it in the shop for about 4 weeks. Other than that it's been an easy keeper.

Hubby hates changing the oil and I seem to burn through many a headlight (both high and low beam). That is a known issue per Priuschat forums.

It has plenty of power and I can go fast. Just ask the local deputies. LOL

It's not the most visually appealing car and it sounds like a tin can when I close the door. Can't beat the gas mileage (average 50 mpg with best of 64) It's not the most comfortable to drive but it's passable. We have driven it from southern Illinois to San Francisco and back getting an average of 46-47 mpg.

My biggest complaint is the traction control. There is no easy way for me to turn it off. I've had to laminate the instructions because they are so stupid and convoluted. Nothing like getting stuck on a snow or ice slicked slight driveway incline because one tire is spinning.

 

[meierlde]

A laptop's battery is usually mistreated:

* It is kept at 100% charge for extended periods if left plugged in (bad for Li-Ion battery).
* Deep discharge cycles are possible, e.g. charged to 100% and run down all the way to 0%. This is bad for Li-Ion batteries.
* Battery could be at elevated temperatures during charging (bad for Li-Ion battery).

The Volt's battery has the following to mitigate the above:

* Battery capacity is around 17 kWh but only about 10 kWh (in the middle range) is used -- no deep cycles.
* Battery has cooling system to prevent overheating (not all EVs have this, this is notably lacking in the first generation Nissan LEAF).

With the above, the Volt battery can hopefully last much longer than that in the laptop.

The most recent dell laptop I have stops charging at 100% charge and does not charge again if unplugged until the battery gets to 80% or 50% of capacity (depends on a setting).

 

[NW-Bound]

A laptop's battery is usually mistreated:

* It is kept at 100% charge for extended periods if left plugged in (bad for Li-Ion battery).
* Deep discharge cycles are possible, e.g. charged to 100% and run down all the way to 0%. This is bad for Li-Ion batteries.
* Battery could be at elevated temperatures during charging (bad for Li-Ion battery)...

The battery monitor system built into the laptop is supposed to take care of all the above problems. So, I say the problem is poor design by either the battery maker or the laptop manufacturer.

Regarding deep discharge, I saw a test published by a battery manufacturer showing its LiFePO4 batteries could be discharged to near 0%, then recharged to 100% for 2,000 cycles and lose only 20% capacity.

 

[catotx]

The battery monitor system built into the laptop is supposed to take care of all the above problems. So, I say the problem is poor design by either the battery maker or the laptop manufacturer.

Regarding deep discharge, I saw a test published by a battery manufacturer showing its LiFePO4 batteries could be discharged to near 0%, then recharged to 100% for 2,000 cycles and lose only 20% capacity.

I think the newer laptops do try to mitigate these (e.g. my laptop is set to "conservation mode" and it stops charging once the batter charge reaches 58%). But I am not so sure about a 5-year old one.

 

[Koolau]

Back to the Volt for a moment: What if one never discharges the battery enough to cause the ICE to come to life? Does the logic circuit start the ICE occasionally to prevent damage?