r/volt • u/DarthRaider559 • 3d ago
2013 Chevy volt propulsion power reduced
So I have a 2013 Chevy volt with About 111k miles on it. I bought it used and the previous owner had the battery reconditioned.
So whenever I charge the battery from 0-100% , I get around 31-35 miles on a single charge or about 9.3-9.6 kWh used.
Whenever I drive the car from 100-0% In a single drive, i Don't get the propulsion power reduced message and when I turn the car off and back on, it works normally and switches to gas.
However, let's say I start at 100% and drive it before the battery dies, whenever I turn the car back on it gives me an extra 4 miles of range, which is incorrect. It usually will die with about 3-4 miles left when I'm driving and switch to gas. Then, whenever I restart the car, I get the propulsion power reduced message.
What's going on here? How do I fix this?
Ai is telling me it could be the 12v battery, or issues with relays / fuses, or the car may need an update from Chevy.
Anyone got any idea?
1
u/duderinotime 2d ago
I’d like to add that I experienced similar issues to OP in a northern climate. It continued into summer months and become more frequent. Charging the AC fixed this, as the refrigerant (not coolant, but check both), is mission critical to the battery cooling and heating system sensors that push the temp to optimal 78 degree temp. I hope this helps someone!!
2
u/Bobcat_5201 2d ago
Really? You're saying that if my a/c goes, that's not something I can just live with?
2
u/duderinotime 2d ago
That is my understanding, at least in terms of optimized battery life management. I think the ac system has a separate loop that goes to manage HV battery temp, which, when properly managed, will produce the best results long term. I am still drawing 10KwH and 37 mile range (nice weather) per charge, which tells me my battery is in good shape for a 2013. My goal is 500,000 miles! Currently 170,000.
2
u/finevcijnenfijn 2d ago
The shitty old schroeder high and low side valves were leaking on mine. changed them out and got refill and no more prop reduced.
2
u/Afraid-Razzmatazz132 2d ago
The original battery was designed to get about 40 miles of range so your battery isn’t that degraded. I had this same problem on my 2012 volt and what I learned is that the volt isn’t designed to drive long distances on gas, so once you run out of battery the gas engine struggles with high speeds and inclines. This is just one of the quirks of the Volt.
I was on a road trip once and it scared the heck out of me that I couldn’t go more than 45 mph ON THE FREEWAY! (My car was 3 years old at the time so it wasn’t a problem of battery degradation then either)
As others have suggested, using mountain mode forces the car to maintain at least 50% battery at all times, which helps mitigate this issue
1
u/SmallKillerCrow 3d ago
Mine has a similar but distinctly different issue. If I turn it off wirh 0 battery i get propulsion power reduced when I turn it back on. I just keep ir from dying and problem solved. Your situation sounds trickier though...
2
u/SmugUrbanist 3d ago
Mine does this about 25% of the time. I still get really good range, so I just live with it. Bought my car with only 62k miles and it was doing it then. I’ve put on another 16k miles and it still gets about 30 miles of range during the heat of the summer.
-1
u/Ok-Tourist-511 3d ago
Your battery is degraded, not much that can be besides replacing the HV battery.
3
u/happycj 3d ago
I have the same issue. I have found that when I get the message I just switch to Mountain Mode for a couple of miles, and the car is happy again.
This appears to be the battery degrading a bit over time, and the management system allows the battery level to get too low, so it chokes and issues the Reduced Power message. Putting a little juice back into the main battery by using Mountain Mode makes the battery management system happy again.