[Ch-EV-y]

We bought a Bolt EV top end trim with everything in 2017. Been a wonderful car we've loved and gently cared for. Finally got around to taking our first long road trip which was a breeze now that the US is blanketed with chargers.

For our second car I foolishly had the idea to get it (a truck) from sombody else, so didn't look closely enough at the Silverado. Anyhow finally put in my reservation as I've realized how much better it is than the competition.

Couple of issues

1. $400 12V battery died early, just out of warranty. Apparantely a known issue. These EV 12V's get super lightly used, other cars have had the same problem, so there's some teething problems. Anyhow dealer found the last replacement in our area (since they've been in a bit of a demand - tons of Bolts around here) and it's been flawless. Issue: The battery being the culprit was hard to diagnose. As the car loses 12V it just kind of loses it's mind as sensors go offline and low voltage. That was annoying, seems like they should have better monitering of the 12V, but batteries are weird technology so maybe that's not easy.
2. $600 Side door sensor (for other cars I think) needed replacing. The error code was really weird, it indicated a drive train error, but the tech said no that error code gets used in a lot of places. He had another Bolt in the shop getting it replaced too, oh well.
3. Replaced two of the tires
4. ($10k but free!) Main traction battery. This was beautifully handled as far as I'm concerned. There was a mixup with the side sensor, as we thought it was the traction battery. GM Concierge was wonderful and we had a rental reimbursed, even though later it turned out to not be the traction battery. But somehow as part of all this our 'lot' came up for replacement (being an early car), and since we were on the dealers mind they gave us top priority, and it got replaced right away. Now we have more range and a new battery
   1. The battery coolant used to gurgle, now it doesn't. I suspect it wasn't completely filled from the factory. This has happened with other EV's, (in)famously with VW.
5. During the traction battery updates they added a new error code to detect certain battery conditions. That tripped for us, but turns out it was nothing, and found on the forums that it was tripping for others. Suspicion from GM is that it's due to hitting the accelerator and brake at the same time at low speeds, which was what my wife was doing at the time. Cleared it and hasn't come back.

So yeah, great car, happy with GM/Chevy for the most part

Disappointments

1. No OTA! We were given soft promises of this, they tried it once and had issues (customers got confused or whatever), and then seemed to give up on the idea. This is SUPER annoying, for example the early Bolt has not limit to charging, except the weird hilltop reserve 10% mode, which is better than nothing. They added it later, would be such a simple thing to give us, but nope. Not even after we installed new firmware about five times due to the traction battery recall.
2. Radio always turning on when car starts is stupid
3. Phone app stinks, and now it won't let me log in
4. On Star extra services kind of stupid. The turn by turn directions would be nice as built into dash, but it's rather brain dead. Have called them a few times though through the car which was handy, to get diagnostic codes remotely
5. The back storage cover broke pretty quickly (aftermarket upgrade)

Loves

1. Rear view mirror camera - I LOVE this, can't believe it's not more common. Looks like the Silverado will have it too which is GREAT
2. Physical shifter for L-D - VERY convienant for 'non jerk' parking. Unfortunately not on the Silverado it appears
3. Small thing, LOVE the keyfob. Hope it's the same
4. Steering wheel regen paddle. REALLY nice, I think we have it (the Hummer has a version)
5. Under promising and over delivering on range. We consistantly have greater range than they publish.

Welcome to the forum @SilverDan! Thanks a lot for sharing your insight with your Bolt. For your first long road trip how far did you go? What kind of mileage were you getting?

 

[SilverDan]

Welcome to the forum @SilverDan! Thanks a lot for sharing your insight with your Bolt. For your first long road trip how far did you go? What kind of mileage were you getting?

Thank-ee!

We didn't drive much 2017-2019 because, despite wanting an EV since I was a kid in the 70's, I couldn't believe that it was possible to do it without trouble charging. It was a thrill enough to drive out to the coast 30 miles away where there's no infrastructure. Finally slowly got confidence, and meanwhile the charging infrastructure exploded. I saw the Charge America deployment in 2018 which was just nibbling at the edges of the US, now they're everywhere. So we were going to start taking long trips, and then COVID hit ...

Anyhow started doing a bunch of 4 hour drives to 2 days kind of drives. To be fair this is with the replaced/upgraded traction battery, but it's still surprising how slowly the charge drops. The Bolt gets, I don't know I stopped watching it, 4.5 mi/kWh I think generally below 40. 50+ it drops faster, again don't know but probably around 4 or below. Whatever, doesn't really matter, there's plenty of fast chargers and we enjoyed the pee breaks. Also it's such a relaxing drive without the noisy engine, I have fun drafting and taking it easy, so we got crazy good numbers I think.

Biggest issue is we are three big people and while the Bolt has a very large interior we need more space, hence the Silverado. If you get a 400 mile version, if you don't tow my god you'll have range coming out of your ears. You'll be in danger of forgetting about it and getting in trouble Put one of the bed covers on - if not GM then somebody will have a aero version that has a slight downslope with back ailerons/wings for good separation. Reportedly the Silverado already has best in class aero, and longer lines give better aero (same as a boat) so that would help even more. Add in that GM has under promised/over delivered on range and this should be good. Good enough to tow, which is my next EV challenge and it seems we might just be there now.

 

[cmiller]

picked up an Hyundai ioniq 5 till I get my Silverado

 

[EVTrucking]

In Feb. 2022 cancelled MME but purchased Kia EV6 GT-Line. Zero issues and very pleased after 4k miles.
In June 2022 received R1T. No issues after 1k miles. Very pleased. A joy and a blast to drive!

No more ICE!

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

In Feb. 2022 cancelled MME but purchased Kia EV6 GT-Line. Zero issues and very pleased after 4k miles.
In June 2022 received R1T. No issues after 1k miles. Very pleased. A joy and a blast to drive!

No more ICE!

Explain to me why people talk about other makes of cars and trucks on a Silverado EV Forum?

This should be reserved for talk about Silverado EV discussion. Tell me I am wrong. And if you think I am Explain why.

 

[EVTrucking]

Explain to me why people talk about other makes of cars and trucks on a Silverado EV Forum?

This should be reserved for talk about Silverado EV discussion. Tell me I am wrong. And if you think I am Explain why.

• I have a Silverado EV reserved and I support the move to EVs regardless of who makes it.
• In the narrow sense this is a Silverado EV forum but in broad sense it is about EVs. The evolution is in its infant stage and any and all EV information, experience is shared to help those just getting started.
• The Ford Lightning forums and Rivian forums are filled with information about other EVs and even about ICEs. I learned and continue to learn a great deal about other EVs and EV ownership from these forums.
• Sharing what your experience is provides essential context when expressing an opion or an experience.

If you have not read my other posts in this forum then you have taken the quoted text out of context.

Silverado EV is a promising new EV truck option but is not the only option and will not be a consumer reality for about another year.

Like it or not buying an EV is more than buying a new car, it directly supports the transition from ICE to electrification.

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

I respectfully completely disagree with you, this is a EV forum for the Silverado EV not the rest of the world. There are forums for general EVs, they talk about every EV on the planet. And people in my opinion should use those forums to discuss every type of EV.

Reading post from people on this forum about other EV'S is just people being lazy in my opinion. They could take that conversation to another forum but they refuse to because it would require more effort on their part. And they just are not willing to do so.

There is so much content to discuss about the upcoming Silverado EV that this forum should be filled with questions and comments to not have room for other questions and comments about other vehicles. I know I am in the minority but I just wish people would pay attention to what forum they are on, if you want to comment or ask questions about a different EV can't those people go to those respective forums and post those comments there? It's just a thought, I am sure it will fall on deaf ears.

I also have a Silverado EV reserved, what made you decide to reserve a Silverado EV?

 

[camaroz1985]

Explain to me why people talk about other makes of cars and trucks on a Silverado EV Forum?

This should be reserved for talk about Silverado EV discussion. Tell me I am wrong. And if you think I am Explain why.

I think there are several reasons why there are discussions of other makes/models.

A) Many have a reservation for multiple EVs, and some are willing to take "whatever comes first". Therefore they are still weighing the pros and cons of each model. I had multiple reservations, and frankly the Silverado was my backup. I preferred the R1T, but if it was delayed years or the price was increased too much (which almost happened), I was pivoting to the Silverado. I still have a very early day 1 Silverado reservation, which I most likely will cancel, but you never know. I still like to come here to read about news and opinions.

B) The Silverado EV will be the first EV for many people, and possibly the first non-Tesla for more. There is a lot to learn about owning an EV in general and slightly less to learn for those who are only familiar with what it is like to own/drive a Tesla.

C) There isn't that much information about the Silverado EV at this point, so there is a lot of speculation and (im)patiently waiting for more to information to become available. Idle minds will drift around to other topics until more info is available to discuss. This is definitely the case on Rivian forums as well. Now that more people have vehicles the topics seem to be more focused on Rivian.

 

[EVTrucking]

I respectfully completely disagree with you, this is a EV forum for the Silverado EV not the rest of the world. There are forums for general EVs, they talk about every EV on the planet. And people in my opinion should use those forums to discuss every type of EV.

Reading post from people on this forum about other EV'S is just people being lazy in my opinion. They could take that conversation to another forum but they refuse to because it would require more effort on their part. And they just are not willing to do so.

There is so much content to discuss about the upcoming Silverado EV that this forum should be filled with questions and comments to not have room for other questions and comments about other vehicles. I know I am in the minority but I just wish people would pay attention to what forum they are on, if you want to comment or ask questions about a different EV can't those people go to those respective forums and post those comments there? It's just a thought, I am sure it will fall on deaf ears.

I also have a Silverado EV reserved, what made you decide to reserve a Silverado EV?

I have posted in multiple threads my reasoning for reserving a Silverado EV.

I don’t understand your objection to including EVs in the discussions. Please explain.

If the creator/ owner of this forum wanted to exclude other EV information and discussion then they can delete those posts.

There really is not that much Silverado EV content to discuss as it is all speculation and vaguely defined at this point in time.

You could start your own forum on the Silverado EV and ban any discussion not solely directed for Silverado EV. Immediately delete any mention of EV experience, other EV brand options and so on.

Or you can simply block members in this forum that are lazy and mention other EVs.

 

[HawaiiEV]

Don’t feed the troll 😂

 

[tsuintx]

this is a EV forum for the Silverado EV not the rest of the world

Jeez... It's fine. Just take a deep breath and maybe go for a stroll outside, count to ten, or what ever and then contact VerticalScope (owner of the site) with your concerns.

BTW... Have you read what "The EV Lounge" is about, anyway?

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

Don’t feed the troll 😂

Not a troll thank you. I just don't see the point of going to a Silverado EV Forum and talking about the Ford Lighting.

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

Jeez... It's fine. Just take a deep breath and maybe go for a stroll outside, count to ten, or what ever and then contact VerticalScope (owner of the site) with your concerns.

BTW... Have you read what "The EV Lounge" is about, anyway?

View attachment 814

Then explain why talking about other EVS on a specific forum is acceptable? There are Blazer, Bolt EV Forums and that's where I go to talk about those cars not here.

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

I have posted in multiple threads my reasoning for reserving a Silverado EV.

I don’t understand your objection to including EVs in the discussions. Please explain.

If the creator/ owner of this forum wanted to exclude other EV information and discussion then they can delete those posts.

There really is not that much Silverado EV content to discuss as it is all speculation and vaguely defined at this point in time.

You could start your own forum on the Silverado EV and ban any discussion not solely directed for Silverado EV. Immediately delete any mention of EV experience, other EV brand options and so on.

Or you can simply block members in this forum that are lazy and mention other EVs.

Well the creator of this forum needs and wants as many comments on this site as possible so this site can make as much money as possible. So they are not going to limit what people post about EV's. But that doesn't stop the people who use this forum to do so. I personally don't go to other forums talking about the Silverado EV. I only do that on this site. Not sure why other people who frequent this site can't follow. You don't have to be told not to, it just seems like common sense to talk about the truck that this site was set up to talk about.

 

[HawaiiEV]

I saw a Mustang Mach E today in the bright orange color, looked pretty cool. I guess the styling is not for me, but neither is the RAV4 Prime and my wife loves it, I love borrowing it.
Just saw the Hummer EV shut down in the middle of the road for the TFL YouTube channel, hope they can sort that kind of stuff out. Brave new world where your car can crash, not physically, but software and be completely immobilized in the middle of traffic. Kinda gives me the Willies, seems like that could make or break the EV thing for people. I think if that happened to me I might sell the EV and buy an ICE truck to make it till EVs are sorted.

Hey Brian, you ever had one of your cars shut off in the middle of traffic?

 

[HawaiiEV]

You guys think we will be able to drive the Silverado EV through hurricane flood waters? Or will we need a Tesla cyber truck/ regular ICE truck for that kind of stuff?

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

I saw a Mustang Mach E today in the bright orange color, looked pretty cool. I guess the styling is not for me, but neither is the RAV4 Prime and my wife loves it, I love borrowing it.
Just saw the Hummer EV shut down in the middle of the road for the TFL YouTube channel, hope they can sort that kind of stuff out. Brave new world where your car can crash, not physically, but software and be completely immobilized in the middle of traffic. Kinda gives me the Willies, seems like that could make or break the EV thing for people. I think if that happened to me I might sell the EV and buy an ICE truck to make it till EVs are sorted.

Hey Brian, you ever had one of your cars shut off in the middle of traffic?

Absolutely, I have had a couple go completely dead. One on the freeway, one on a surface street, and another in a intersection. Look none of this stuff is that big of a deal. The times that I broke down, you put it in neutral and push it to the side of the road. People are making the EV trouble bigger than it really is because they want to justify them not being built or having to buy one.

 

[HawaiiEV]

Yeah so the problem with the hummer was it wouldn’t even go in neutral, I imagine that’s a big deal when it weighs 9000 lbs. If the software crashes you can’t put it in neutral, that seems like bad design. Did your three cars that died in the middle of the road happen to be GM?

 

[tsuintx]

Then explain why talking about other EVS on a specific forum is acceptable? There are Blazer, Bolt EV Forums and that's where I go to talk about those cars not here.

I don't have to explain you a thing as I am not the owner of the site. LOL! Like I posted, contact VerticalScope and ask them. While waiting for them to respond, stay away from threads discussing anything other than EV Silverado. Problem solved.

 

[bbrriiaann1973]

I saw a Mustang Mach E today in the bright orange color, looked pretty cool. I guess the styling is not for me, but neither is the RAV4 Prime and my wife loves it, I love borrowing it.
Just saw the Hummer EV shut down in the middle of the road for the TFL YouTube channel, hope they can sort that kind of stuff out. Brave new world where your car can crash, not physically, but software and be completely immobilized in the middle of traffic. Kinda gives me the Willies, seems like that could make or break the EV thing for people. I think if that happened to me I might sell the EV and buy an ICE truck to make it till EVs are sorted.

Hey Brian, you ever had one of your cars shut off in the middle of traffic?

Absolutely, I have had a couple go completely dead. One on the freeway, one on a surface street, and another in a intersection. Look none of this stuff is that big of a deal. The times that I broke down, you put it in neutral and push it to the side of the road. People are making the EV trouble bigger than it really is because they want to justify them not being built or having to buy one

Yeah so the problem with the hummer was it wouldn’t even go in neutral, I imagine that’s a big deal when it weighs 9000 lbs. If the software crashes you can’t put it in neutral, that seems like bad design. Did your three cars that died in the middle of the road happen to be GM?

I've only owned GM cars and trucks in my life, which is the way it should be!