The Volt’s battery warranty may be the most comprehensive of any_BEV. There is only one other BEV on the road however.
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - July 17, 2010
The Volt in its almost production ready form.
The Volt PHEV will provide customers with an unprecedented, standard, eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its advanced, Li-Ion battery. It is the automotive industry’s longest, most comprehensive battery warranty for an electric vehicle, and is transferable at no cost to other vehicle owners.
The Volt’s comprehensive battery warranty covers all 161 battery components, 95 percent of which are designed and engineered by GM, in addition to the thermal management system, charging system and electric drive components.
GM’s Volt Mantra… Why do they keep hammering away at this?
The Volt is the only electric vehicle that can operate under a full range of climates and driving conditions without concern about being stranded by a depleted battery. It has a range of about 340 miles and is powered with electricity at all times. For up to the first 40 miles, the Volt is powered solely by electricity stored in its 16-kWh Li-Ion pack, using no fuel and producing no emissions. When the Volt’s Li-Ion battery runs low, an engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank of fuel.
We hope that the 8-gallon spec is wrong as this equates to just 37.5 mpg?
The Volt’s battery is designed to deliver the value, safety, quality, performance, durability and reliability Chevrolet customers expect. Key battery features include:
The Volt’s battery can be warmed or cooled. The battery is designed to provide reliable operation, when plugged in, at temperatures as low as -13 degrees Fahrenheit (-25 C) and as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit (+50 C). In cold weather, the battery will be preheated during charging to provide full power capability. In hot weather – the most challenging environment for a battery – the Volt’s battery can be chilled during charging.
The Volt’s battery management system monitors the battery real-time for optimum operations. More than 500 diagnostics run at 10 times per second, keeping track of the Volt’s battery pack; 85 percent of the diagnostics ensure the battery pack is operating safely, while the remaining 15 percent keep track of battery performance and life.
GM’s selection of a prismatic cell design and LG Chem’s manganese spinel Li-Ion chemistry is designed to provide long life and high power output, with a properly maintained temperature. This enables better vehicle acceleration and increased regenerative braking capability for improved vehicle efficiency.
Fully charging or fully depleting a battery shortens its life. The Volt’s energy management system never fully charges or depletes the battery. The Volt’s battery has top and bottom “buffer zones” to help ensure long life.
Testing for durability, reliability, safety and performance
GM engineers have completed more than 1 million miles and 4 million hours of validation testing of Volt battery packs since 2007, as well as each pack’s nine modules and 288 cells. The development, validation and test teams have met thousands of specifications and validated each of the Volt battery’s components.
Tests include short circuit, corrosion, dust, impact, water submersion, crush and penetration, and extreme temperature swings combined with aggressive drive cycles, also known as “Shake, Bake and Roll.”
It is almost here 
GM’s Brownstown Township plant, which began building prototype batteries in January, soon will begin regular battery production.
"We’re moving fast to deliver for the customer and ensure the Volt launch stays on track,” said Nancy Laubenthal, plant manager of the Brownstown Battery Plant. "Last August we announced the investment in the Brownstown facility and in January built our first completed battery pack. Now we are finishing pre-production batteries and soon we will begin building production batteries for Chevrolet Volts that will be delivered to dealers before the end of the year."
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