When the new 2016 Chevy Volt is released there will no doubt be an increase of used electric cars on the market as people trade their older models in for newer ones. A lot of these vehicles will be sold for only a small amount of their original price due partly to federal and state incentives which brought the original cost to the first owner down and therefore made these vehicles appealing to a different class of consumers. The prices may be tempting however buyers remain reluctant when it comes to purchasing a used EV because they are unsure about service and repair costs. Some good news may be on its way though.
The Chevvy Volt has a battery warranty included with it which is valid for a minimum of 8 years and 100,000 miles, however many of the Volts appearing onto the market have gone over 100,000 miles. The idea of needing a new battery can be offputting, more so with a number of dealers charging up to $34,000 for a complete “drive motor battery replacement.” This amount is more than the MSRP of a 2016 model.
A lot of concerns regarding EV maintenance and repair stems from the individual pieces that form the drivetrain and charging system. The outlook becomes a bit more appealing when we look at the Volt in terms of analogs to a traditional internal-combustion car. The volt battery pack is made up of three lithium-ion modules arranged into a T-shape and each one can be serviced by itself. Module 1 consists of 90 cells and corresponds to GM part number 22954462 and retails for $3,258.33. Module 2 consists of 72 cells and corresponds to GM part number 22954463 with a retail price of $2,930.00. Module 3 consists of 125 cells corresponds to GM part number 22954464 with a retail price of $4,933.33. Although these part numbers have been put into the dealer oder systems they currently are not showing up in the distribution centers yet. When the three modules are added up they come to a total amount of $11,121.66 and remail on hold for dealer ordering. On the plus side, in the majority of cases these battery cell modules don’t need to be replaced at any point.
The battery pack has plenty of other individual pieces on it which can be services, including the Battery Interface Control Modules (BICM) and the Battery Energy Control Modules (BECM). These modules are used to monitor and control the battery packs and charging system and they have been known to stop working, alhough the lithium-ionis not to blame for this. A number of them have been replaced under warranty, however these can come at a cost of around $255 a piece for the part. To replace a module, parts, programming and labor will set you back roughly $2,100. To service these modules dropping the battery pack is necessary so labor can be a big hit.
To have the entire pack replaces, things have become more promised judging by recent reports of refurbished battery packs becoming available for roughly $4,000. When this happens you swap your entire battery pack for one that comes from a refurbishing place. Instead of producing new parts, these refurbishing places take packs that come in on exchange and put them together with the harvested pieces that are within spec from multiple packs to create refurbished packs.
The last option when it comes to battery repairs is to have a look at automotive recyclers and junkyards to see if there are any battery packs that can be found in any salvaged cars. When I had a look on car-part.com I managed to locate a complete battery pack with all the modules at junkyards from the area I live in, from between $1,450 and $2,100 while just the battery cells run about $1,255 to $1,700. Prices of used BECM and BICM modules vary between $50 to $125. If you are happy to do some work on the vehicle personally (making sure you are aware of the extra risks of working on a vehicle with high-voltage equipment) you can manage to replace the majority of individual parts without having to spend a great deal of money. If you would rather work with an independent mechanic, for dropping a pack and installing a replacement labor rates are roughly $1,000. If you take into account that battery prices are quickly becoming lower with a new generation of mechanics learning to operate them daily, then the outlook of a 200,000-mile Volt does not appear too bad.
