- GM announces an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty for its Volt battery.
- Warranty will cover all 161 components in the advanced lithium-ion batteries, plus the thermal management and charging systems and the electric drive components.
BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Michigan — General Motors announced Wednesday that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will get an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its lithium-ion batteries. The announcement was made at GM's plant in Brownstown Township, which is putting the batteries into production next month.
General Motors said the warranty will cover all 161 components in the advanced lithium-ion batteries, plus the thermal management and charging systems and the electric drive components. The automaker is calling the guarantee the "most comprehensive of any electric vehicle." It's also transferable to future owners of the car at no charge.
At the announcement on Wednesday, GM praised its Volt battery as being the only mass-market EV battery that can be warmed (up to 122 degrees F) and cooled (as low as -13 degrees F) and still run reliably. GM says its engineers have carried out a million miles and 4 million hours of Volt battery pack testing in the past three years.
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car_battery says:
12:25 AM, 08/15/2011
Wow, I know another battery manufacturer, which is also very good.
More information from Leoch International, http://www.leoch.com
etcgreen says:
10:59 PM, 10/19/2010
This warranty extension seems rather deparate. The claims for the number of Volts already with down payments may be marketing hype.
Toyota and Honda prorate their warranties - I exect Chevy Volt will do the same. If you have 90,000 miles and the battery will only hold 1/2 the range charge, then they will cover their fair share at $2,500 and the vehicle owner will pick up the other $7,000 to replace the battery pack?
We have run total life cycle ownership cost models for the Volt against comparable advanced diesel vehicles. Somewhere between x2 and x3 cost per mile depending on driving patterns.
The Volt will be a Jolt to your cost of driving and if the battery fails at 100,200 miles, most will likely total or sell the car rather than to replace the battery. Most diesel cars will run for over 300,000 miles with just regular maintenance and $100 batteries.
tbone85 says:
02:50 PM, 07/15/2010
" But yes, hybrids are a horrid idea to try and get people used to electric cars for commuting and then having a fuel cell car for anything over 300 miles. "
Horrid for you. Horrid for the oil interests. There are many very happy hybrid owners who don't seem to care. I like the idea of the Volt and hope it's successful enough to launch lower priced and better performing models from multiple manufacturers.
canabacon says:
11:29 AM, 07/15/2010
Still just a series hybrid because they do not want to pay Toyota like Ford and Nissan do for the Series/Paralell hybrid system. Thus why Honda has the series hybrid as well, just setup the opposite. But yes, hybrids are a horrid idea to try and get people used to electric cars for commuting and then having a fuel cell car for anything over 300 miles. Tesla already has a 300 mile range EV, and now a partnership with Toyota and will be building cars out of the so called "Closed" Nummi plant in California as stated on their website. Sorry to the Autoworkers union who keeps on trying to say that plant is closed just because some companies are smart enough to know that unions mean less pay and benefits actually get to the workers. Happy weel paid workers = no use for a union.
juan_mx says:
10:50 AM, 07/15/2010
@canabacon
Actually GM is the one that calls the Volt:
"an electric car that uses gas to create its own electricity".
It is electric in the sense that the only motor connected to the wheels is an electric motor.
It may be called hybrid because it uses a gas engine to recharge the batteries,
but it is a different concept than the other hybrids in the market.
Actually it is similar to the Honda FCX in concept, but instead of hydrogen and a fuel cell, the Volt uses gasoline and an internal combustion engine and you can use it everywhere, not only in California.
I am not a big fan of GM, but I believe the Volt is a great idea, and I hope the second generation gets a turbine instead the conventional gas engine to make it more efficient.
canabacon says:
10:02 AM, 07/15/2010
Wow, I see alot of posts calling the Volt an electric car. it is not, it is a plug-in hybrid that is already out-dated by the competition. This is a product to start wooing people into electric cars for daily commutes. And this kind of warranty is normal hybrid warranties. Nothing really big about it, but it makes news because it is a GM product. People who buy hybrids are typically educated, this means not many GM products sold, but it's a starting point. Keep trying GM, and maybe you will catch up to the competition, and "may the best car win."
bimmerjay says:
07:47 AM, 07/15/2010
"One of the things I like about GM is they stand behind their products, and are usually quick to fix any issues that come up long term."
Like the heated washer fluid system recall? They fought it, begrudgingly issued a recall, didn't fix the problem (nor did they apparently properly identify it), fought again, then recalled it again, this time instead of fixing it just disabling it. The latest recall affects over 1.5 million cars.
GM if anything has a history of battling with the consumer and suppliers.
lmbvette says:
07:40 AM, 07/15/2010
Hey Stingray, I'm a GM guy, but lets be fair about GM and their products. How long were window motors a problem in the 4th gen F-body? How many battery issues are there in C6 Vettes? There are lots of problems in GM cars that they NEVER fix or address. This holds true for all manufacturers. Bias frequently plays a role in these types of discussions.
stingray454 says:
06:52 AM, 07/15/2010
"audidriver says:
07:34 PM, 07/14/2010
The long term test Prius just required a couple of thousand dollars of repairs. Would the parts that failed in it be included under the GM warranty?"
Yes, it would. "Warranty will cover all 161 components in the advanced lithium-ion batteries, plus the thermal management and charging systems and the electric drive components."
Thermal management includes the cooling pump that failed on the long term test Prius.
One of the things I like about GM is they stand behind their products, and are usually quick to fix any issues that come up long term. Unlike Toyota who seems to stick their heads in the sand and pretend there's nothing wrong, only reacting when they're forced to by the DOT or NHTSA.
goaterguy says:
05:54 AM, 07/15/2010
Tbone85, that's an excellent question. What entails normal wear and tear in a battery?