Can You Warm Up a Cold EV Battery on a Chevrolet Bolt?

Описание: Can you quickly warm up the high voltage battery of an electric vehicle in the dead of winter? More specifically, can I make it happen on our 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

Following cold and warm battery charging sessions that show either end of the DC fast charging spectrum, I wanted to test a viewer suggestion to hit highway speeds and then pull back with maximum regenerative braking.

Hopefully, this would provide sufficient action for the battery pack to warm up and be ready to accept a charge rate closer to that of the second session (43kW), rather than the piffling 15kW rate we saw in the cold session.

Cold battery DCFC link:    • Winter EV Charging: How to Waste Time & Mo...  
Warm battery DCFC link:    • Chevy Bolt EV Charging in Winter Pt. II: W...  

This video covers mainly my first attempt to make that happen but also references a subsequent test with more extended highway driving towards the end. Both yielded similar results and should provide useful insight for Bolt EV drivers - or potential owners - considering how they'll use the car. There's also a reminder that Tesla owners aren't immune from this issue, as my Model 3-owning in-laws experienced on their way over to Boston from Cleveland, OH this past Christmas!

Let us know about your experiences with cold battery charging in the comments and thanks again for watching.

Also feel free to e-mail thoughts, questions and content requests to [email protected]. I want the channel to be as useful as possible for not only Bolt owners but other electric vehicle drivers and those considering an EV as their next car.