EZ GO RXV A/C Drive Opinions Wanted
 

Hi,

I am considering a purchase of the new EZ GO RXV with the A/C Motor and six 8 Volt batteries.

The test drive was impressive with actually acceleration going up the steepest hills I could find. The regenerative braking also seems to make a lot of sense.

The range according to dealers is near 60 miles, however, assuming that is true, I remain concerned about the battery life (understanding that batteries just "ain't what they use to be") according to some people that I have talked to.

So, I am wondering if there is anyone who has had actually owned one of these carts and what your experience has been with the cart itself and the life of the batteries.

Thank you!

Rxv
 

SteadFast, I bought a 2008 RXV used on 2/12/2009.
These older models had four 12 volt batteries. If you do a search on this forum you should find a lot of threads on the EZ GO RXV. I guess I got lucky as so far I have had no issues. Good luck on what ever you choose.

Thanks, new peeps...

I did a search for EZ GO RXV but the search did not provide any results because the system indicated that the phrase was too short. When adding other words to the search such as "golf cart" or "problems" most of the results were not related to my question... that's why I am submitted the post.

Glad to hear that you have had good results with your cart so far.

Thanks again.

We replaced a 1992 EZ GO electric (Upgraded motor) that went all of 15 miles on a charge with a 2010 EZ GO AC electric. After a year we still are impressed with its performance. We have a spedo/Odometer on it and have gone 30 miles a few times before recharging with the meter showing only a little below 1/2 charge. Top speed is a consistent 22 MPH. And as you noticed pick-up is great. I don't think I'd try to even get close to 60 miles on a charge so who knows if their claim is reasonable. ( For all we know the guy who rated the EZ Go is the retired Federal DOT worker who assigned the milage claims to all the new cars. (down hill, with a tailwind, motor off, with a 60 pound driver, never exceeding 10 mph, no air, no power anything, etc.)
We've had no problems so far (2800 miles), but it seems that some of the 2009's have some real issues. From prior posts its hard to tell if the problems are serious or if the dealer is incompetent at supplying a fix.
Our neighbor has a 2009 , beats the heck out of it, and so far it has not given him any problems. ( 6000 miles on his spedo.)
We also have a gas Club Car which I wouldn't give up. MY wife had to have the electric, but so far I'm impressed with the thing and it has become the main cart in use.
One neat feature of the EZ Go is the automatic "parking" brake lock. Orginally I didn't think much of it during the sales pitch, but I sure miss a feature like that on my Club Car.
:thumbup:

We picked ours up 10 days ago. Sunday we did a toal of 38 almost consecutive miles and the light came on as we were pulling in the driveway. We were told it will take about 25 charges for the batteries (6 8 volts) to reach peak efficiency and that the range would be 45 to 50 miles on a charge. Like the performance of the AC motor and the braking system. If I needed another electric cart I would buy another based on my experience so far. We dealt with Scot at Advantage in Southern Trace. I liked the fact that they had carts to take home for 24 hours to demo.

George

If I were you, I would also check out the Star electric at Allstar carts on 441 near Five Guys. They have the NEW system of longer range battery's which consist of eight six volt. Most of the better carts will be switching to this system once they configure their carts for the additional space. There's a guy on here that hates Star carts so take that with a grain of salt and just check it out for yourself because they are way above EZ-GO.

I did not know that they now have 6-8v batteries
 

Interesting, I did not know the RXV has gone to 6-8 v batteries. This is a big step in the right direction IMO. I do not own one, but it would be on my short list if looking at new carts.

FMF Doc - How batteries are broken in greatly affects the life of the batteries. Check out this link:

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter...n_Methods.html

The suggestion I keep repeating is if you are going to own electric and want to get the most of your batteries, you should understand SOC and when your pack gets to 48.4 volts (50% SOC). That is the max distance you should drive, not what a salesman tells you. For battery break in you should NOT discharge the pack to less than 49.6+ volts (75% SOC) for the first 15-20 trips. Check out the table at the bottom of this link for various voltages and SOC:
http://www.trojanbattery.com/Battery...e/Testing.aspx

A great test for a 24 hours demo, fully charge cart, take voltage of pack, drive the cart until the pack is at 48.4 volts. Ask the salesman why you only went 31 miles before the pack was at 50% SOC :D

PS. I made 31 miles up, the new RXV may go 40 for all I know....

The search engine in this software is a bit weak, but you can utilize google to front end the search. Go to google and type in:

site:talkofthevillages.com RXV

I forget who first pointed that out, but I used that technique for all the forum sites now....

Thanks to all for the great feedback so far...

Regarding the 8 six volt batteries, only some dealers will install them as an option. Not all are doing it at this time based on my limited research. However, I do know that Advantage Golf Cars will install them for $490.

How long they will last remains a concern for me.

To avoid confusion on my part, do you mean 6 - 8 volt batteries as mentioned in previous posts? I wonder if they have to change the frame?

How long batteries last is based on:

Quality of battery
Proper breakin
Proper maintenance
Depth of discharge per usage

Being conservative, I budget 3 years for a pack of batteries based on others experiences and packs I own. My Dad's Club Cart has T890s (upgrade from T875) and they are now four years old. They still get about 26 miles. My Club Car which I bought this winter has 6-8 volt T875s and they are almost 3.5 years old and still get 26 miles. This pack is dieing and will need replacing within a year. These carts likely went around 35 miles when pack was new.

If you drive your cart 5 miles a day, I suspect you could make a pack last 8+ years or more. Here is a chart which illustrates the point, albeit optimistic IMO. A cycle is a discharge and recharge. The deeper the discharge, the fewer cycles you can expect.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ylifecycle.jpg

Hope that helps.

Thank you, ajbrown...

Sorry for the confusion. The EZ GO dealer does Six 8s... The Yamaha dealer does Eight 6s. I had them confused.

I don't know if they have to do anything to the frame.

I have the new EZgo and am very happy with its performance.
I've been told by an EZGo dealer, that the cart was engineered for the 4 12v batteries and to change that configuration could effect performance.

Yes, I have been told the same thing... in fact one dealer questioned the warranty if the change was made. However, having test driven both the Six 8v and the Four 12v versions both my wife and I seemed to feel that the Six 8v version performed better. Keep in mind this comment is based on two test drives only. I don't know how they would compare long term.

Thanks again for the many great replies so far...

I certainly believe there could be a warranty issue as EZGO can define that, but I would really push back with the dealer on the idea that having 6-8 v batteries would reduce performance. Granted there is about 50 pounds more weight, but me and some of my pals have an extra 50 pounds :mmmm::beer3:.

To me, 48 volts is 48 volts, you have simply increased the amp hours of the pack. Would love to hear the technical details of the dealers claim, as I cannot think of any. Going T1275(12v, 150ah) to T875 (8v, 170ah), you will only get a 10% kick in range, so maybe even investigate the T890 (8v, 190ah) when going through the process.

As to the engineering being done for 4-12 volt batteries? I suspect that engineering was forced to use 4-12 volt batteries for shear cost per unit to manufacture. Also, their target market is a golf course where 3 rounds of golf is the demand (18 miles). I am a bit surprised their LSV does not offer 8-6 volt configuration, like Par Car and Tomberline (I think they offer 8-6v). If the AC is as efficient as they say with the Regen braking that cart may push 70 miles.


Alan has NO inside knowledge on the above, just having fun chatting.....

I have had a RXV a year and have had no problems. Like others have said, I like the fact that it does not slow down on hills.