It surprises me that a Volt switches to range extend mode after using only ab...

Matt Barre - 2013-04-26

It surprises me that a Volt switches to range extend mode after using only about 10.5kWh of a 16.5kWh battery. I'm sure this was well thought out by the designers so the battery can continue to contribute to propulsion as well as power auxiliary systems. I'd assume there's a large safety margin on this design as well. Would it be feasible to reprogram the ECU, or "chip tune", a Volt to bump up the 10.5kWh limit and extend the all-electric range? I'd certainly be hesitant to do it, but still curious if it could be done...

Alex Yuan (AySz88) - 2013-04-26 08:25:18-0700

I'd add that a lot of the margin is for the long-term longevity of the battery (the deeper you cycle, the faster the 16.5kWh number shrinks). Obviously, if you override that, you void the battery warranty.

Greg Parde - 2013-04-26 10:32:22-0700

For battery life GM only charges the battery to 80% off capacity and only discharges to 20%. So the Volt only works with 60% of the total battery capacity.