This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2012 Chevrolet Volt, the vehicle has been losing power for propulsion on the highway/roads at all speeds. Shutting off. Electric charge is supposed to switch to the gasoline motor when it is low, but it does not, and vice versa. It shows hybrid battery management has a loss of propulsion with a message of low propulsion power. The original problem was not fixed with a recall a few years back because the same problem is showing up. Now, Chevy does not have this VIN being recalled. But worse, the conditions in the software are causing a powertrain failure while driving. Please help. I am pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I'm constantly receiving a "Propulsion Power Loss" notification on my car. I have brought the car in to a Chevrolet dealer and they refuse to fix it unless I start paying out of pocket costs because the ticket is "closed". This has been going on for about a year since I purchased the car last November and I'm terrified to drive this car since it literally looses power.
Car suddenly entersinto a no start and stall.this is being repaired by H&H Chevrolet in omaha at owners expense.the problem seems to be in a faulty batterycharge sensor. The part is being ordered by H&H service department andis notyet installed.as of 2/9/2022.
While traveling slowly (about 25mph) on an uphill grade, my Volt suddenly, with no warning messages or other alerts to me, lost propulsion, power brakes and power steering. This car is extremely hard to steer and to brake without the power assists, so I really had to wrestle with the wheel to avoid losing control of the car, and I really had to jam on the brake pedal to get it to a stop, even though I was moving slowly and had a gravity assist from the uphill slope. It seems to me an event such as I experienced could be catastrophic if it occurred at high speed, and / or on a steep downhill slope or a street with a lot of traffic. Incidentally, when this happened I had just turned onto a side road from a highway with lots of traffic moving at 60-80 miles an hour on a slope so steep that in spite of numerous warning signs, accidents, including fatal accidents, occur regularly on this section of the highway due to drivers failing to apply their brakes hard enough or early enough to keep the car on the road. As a result I felt like I had barely escaped with my life, only as a result of a sudden whim that entered my head to leave the highway for the scenic side road. It may also be relevant that the incident occurred directly after I picked up the car from the Chevy dealer following repair for another incident where I lost propulsion, power brakes, and power steering - the difference being that the car was stationary during the previous incident. The photo shows the electrical connections that the dealer ultimately determined were responsible for the second (Oct. 20) incident, and maybe the first as well. These terminals are enclosed, and not visible to the car owner, even with the hood lifted. Checking the terminals is not part of any maintenance recommended in the owner's handbook, nor apparently in the standard service procedures, even when a car comes in with symptoms that could be caused by a loose connection, even after replacing the 12V battery, as they did.
2012 Chevy Volt, has been stalling out on the highway since it was brand new, every 6 months. It has been to the Chevrolet dealer many times and they just reset it and move on. In every case the car works for a short time, 6 to 8 months max and dies out again. They have updated the software many times, but nothing has changed it. It keeps stalling out on the interstate with high speed traffic, a severe hazard. Chevy dealerships have never been able to get to the core of the issue. The last time it died, the dealer said they did not know what else to do and told me to call GM. I have every receipt of this happening. The last time this happened is today, 9/29/2021 and has happened 3 times in the last month now. My wife and kids life was at risk several times with this car. It is an extreme safety hazard.
- Fort Worth, TX, USA
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The vehicle has illuminated the check engine light with a warning that the battery is too cold. This occurred while in motion on a highway under normal conditions in summer temperatures. An internet search has indicated that a temperature sensor may be to blame, and that the electrical system may try to heat the battery to an unsafe level.
Temperature sensors responsible for monitoring the battery pack fail unexpectedly. Sometimes displaying a "battery too cold plug into warm" message or a check engine light. Personally, this is the second time I've had a sensor fail. The entire module containing the failed sensor must be replaced. The battery is made up of three different sections called modules. When a sensor fails, the car will simply refuse to start despite being within a normal operating temperature range. I've had the message display when in motion. This time however, the message was accompanied by a check engine light, and a burning odor that resembles burning plastic while the engine is running. I have yet to experience reduced propulsion of any kind while driving.
[xxx] 2012 Chevrolet Volt the vehicle has been stopping at the end of a battery charge when it's supposed to switch to the gasoline motor. The hybrid battery management has a loss of propulsion message caused by the battery voltage in various cells not being balanced. There was a recall and the only change is when the car stops it is able to limp off the road instead of coasting in neutral. The original problem was not fixed Y the recall. Also the recall was applied to the 2013 and newer and not to this VIN. The newly recalled settings are no better than the original issue and the same condition in software is causing a powertrain failure while driving. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My car has had ongoing problems with power propulsion, electrical system, and start-up since new and several items were replaced in 2017. I purchased 6 year / 100,000 extended warranty when new. Several items have been replaced. But updates are needed to keep the car running properly. Now the warranty has expired but the vehicle still needs updates to run properly and the dealer wants paid to install updates. This is a scam if the car wont run with out being updated yearly. I have a video of the car in 2017 when I started it up and it sounded as though it was going to blow up. I couldn't shut it off and called onstar to shut off the vehicle. That is when several items were replaced. The car is in the dealership again for another update. 8-28-20. There was an updated performed 11-11-19 and 10-10-18. It seems as though there is always an update being performed.
I was driving the car normally in electric mode, and parked it with one mile remaining of electricity. Upon restarting the car a few minutes later, the gasoline engine came on and was revving at a very high rate. In addition, a pop-up message on the dashboard read 'propulsion power is reduced.' The engine continued to rev high and I was only able to achieve a speed of about 30 mph during my two-mile ride home. Upon parking the car in garage and charging it, the problem disappeared. It was 90 degrees outside when this happened.
The issue is caused by a previous software update to the vehicle interface control module (vicm) which was installed to improve the car, but which may have disabled the cell balancing function, causing the Volt to enter a low-voltage condition. This puts the affected Volts into a situation where it would enter what is called a low-power "limp-home" mode, before shutting down completely cause the Volt to shut down in traffic. Dealer states that needs to replace battery which it cost about 6000. Chevrolet is not responding for the defective problem that caused the recall. Low-voltage battery cell issue or propulsion reduce
My 2012 Chevy Volt has completely shut off at freeway speeds, and surface streets on over 15 occasions. The power steering assist goes out, the brake assist goes out and it's very difficult to steer and break the car, I have nearly avoided several accidents, there is no warning that this will occur.the power steering assist goes out, the brake assist goes out and it's very difficult to steer and break the car, I have nearly avoided several accidents, there is no warning that this will occur once I have attempted to safely pull over the car says engine not available, propulsion power reduced, the car will not turn off and it says waiting to initialize on the screen. I have had it towed to my local Chevrolet dealership and paid a diagnostic, they have been unable to determine the cause of the problem and they just reset the car by unplugging the battery and tell me that they cannot replicate the issue.this does not happen while the car is driving on his hybrid battery, it only happens when driving in hybrid mode with the gas motor. In doing my own research, I found a recall campaign that describes the exact issue that has been occurring, it even states that the car may not be safe to drive if this occurs. Recall #18V397000. Each time I towed my Chevy Volt to the dealer it sat there for several weeks to a month, they returned it to me and the next day it died in the road. The car is not safe to drive, the dealer states that they can't diagnose the problem and I fear for my life every time I drive the car because it happens at random.
The drive motor rotor bearing failed at approximately 71,000 miles. This major repair to the drive train makes the car unusually loud and the dealer cautioned that it was a safety hazard and that if left in repaired could cause more substantial damage to other vehicle components.
Volt loses power when switching from electric to gas motor. Has no occurred two times, both resulting in a tow bill. Te Volt depletes the onboard battery charge and is then supposed to switch ove to the niternal combustion engine. Instead, at the time of transition the vehicle loses all propulsion power, power steering, etc. The car comes to a complete stop and will not move. This has happened on a multiple-lane freeway and is very dangerous trying to maneuver a vehicle that has no power to drivetrain or steering.
The car will shut itself off with very little time to get to the side of the road if that is even a possibility. When switching from battery power to the gas motor. Randomly. The car will die at any speed. First message is low propulsion power. Next message engine not available, service soon. Less than 4 minutes from 1st message to total shut down. Least amount of time between messages and shut down is 15 seconds. Car will decelerate (on highway where vehicles behind have no warning... no brake lights that car is rapidly losing speed). Never know when it will happen. Usually car will restart and run terrible.. after 20 minutes or so. After restart car runs bad low power. Check engine light is on. After 10 more minutes of driving. It straightens out. Usually. Dealership unable to find problem. Assorted codes in computer. Very dangerous when driving. Especially when it happens and it is 15 seconds to complete shut down. I have opened a case with Chevrolet. No response as of yet. They were supposed to call within 2 days. I will upload an attempt at restart as it is the only one I have where I was safely in a parking lot when it happened. Usually I am not. And many roads in my area do not have a shoulder.
Complete loss of propulsion while driving at highway speed immediately after transition from battery to fuel. Able to coast off of interstate and come to a stop on a busy frontage road, not able to accelerate further to move out of traffic.
I was driving in 50 mph traffic it lost all propulsion. The problem I have sounds exactly like the problem GM has issued a recall for with 2013-2015 Volts. I believe GM did or should have anticipated the problem and did nothing. GM program N172130462 has owners of 2013-2015 Volts bringing their cars in to dealerships for a software update. GM has recognized that these cars "may have a condition where it could gradually lose the ability to maintain voltage. If battery concerns are not addressed, over time the vehicle could enter a reduced propulsion mode while driving, or lose propulsion, or it may not start." I brought my Volt in to the dealership on January 31, 2019, because it was not consistently holding the charge that it normally did and the car would often start in "low propulsion mode" when starting it after turning it off with the battery low or depleted. Despite being under warranty the dealership, bob steele Chevrolet in cocoa, fl, claimed the could not figure out what was causing the problem, refused to try further, and sent me on my way with a bill for their failed efforts. On July 19, 2019, I was driving in on my way to work in my 2012 Volt with 101,400 miles. The car switched from battery to gas as it had many times before. About one mile later it switched back to battery, gave a message that it was going into "low propulsion mode", and stopped providing any propulsion. This occurred while I was on US1 and it was dangerous for me to rapidly change lanes while losing speed to get off the road. I got to a parking lot without enough speed to get up the mild incline at the entrance and was stuck blocking the entrance while I awaited a tow truck. This loss of propulsion could have happened at any speed and things would have been worse had I been on the interstate.
My 2012 Chevrolet Volt shutdown while driving with a full tank of gas when the electric battery reached zero range. The car went into neutral on the freeway at 65mph and would not move under its own power. The car would not jump start or charge. The hpcm2 has disabled charging and caused a check engine light with all 4 batteries in low voltage lock out. This is the same problem as another recall which GM will not perform because the VIN was not included. NHTSA campaign number: 18V397000 I have a unsafe car that is now locked out until the recall is applied but the factory will not apply the recall.
Volt loses power when switching from battery to gas. Has now occurred four times. Each time Volt is traveling on highway 65+mph. Volt depletes battery charge and immediately upon transition to gas will lose all power. Cannot accelerate. Steering wheel loses power steering. Volt will decelerate until 0 mph. Very dangerous. In each instance driver is forced to get to shoulder or off freeway in Volt which is rapidly losing speed. Occurred on highway without shoulder last time. Almost caused a serious accident.
Vehicle dies suddenly while moving, although under full electric charge. Could not restart. Chevy said was software problem and made fix Dec 2018. Just happened again yesterday 2/17. Others reported on Volt blog site. Said wait 5-10 minutes and then restart, which I did and that worked. Concern that loss of power is sudden and without warning. Died in middle of intersection this time but fortunately no cross traffic. This is serious problem -- apparently others have had same issue. Reporting to local Chevy dealer at this time.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bowdoinham, ME, USA