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.
I was driving and put my car in -€œhold-€ mode and received an error message -€˜propulsion power reduced, engine not available-€™. I was preparing for a ~300 mile drive and so I pulled over after a few miles to see if turning it on and off again would do anything. My car kept saying -€˜shift to park-€™ and wouldn-€™t turn back on. Finally got it to turn in and tried the gas mode again and got the same error. Dealership not open due to holiday and am now missing out in plans because I can-€™t drive in gas mode
2016-2018 Volts are have a hung issues with the Battery Engine Control Module (BECM). When it fails, the car stops driving and will shift itself to park. Mine lucky failed when I was stopped but the car is unable to move when it fails. It will not drive on the motor or the battery.
On 2 difference occasions over the past 3 weeks, my car has malfunctioned while I was driving. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to this. All of the lights on the dash came on, the power steering went out, the brakes would not work properly and I could not accelerate. I had my child in the car and we narrowly avoided being hit by other cars both times since I couldn't control the vehicle. I couldn't even power the car down initially but was finally able to turn it off and back on and function resumed after several cycles. I was driving on electric battery that time. The first time, the dealership stated that the following codes were present: P1e00 and P16BA. They replaced the g1 a/c compressor. The incident occurred again a week later when I was driving on gas. At that time, there were history U codes present for every module, per the technician but no current codes to identify the problem. The problem has not been able to be reproduced since. The 2nd incident occurred out of state and my car was towed back to Texas where I live. The dealership there refused to investigate the incidents since they couldn't reproduce them and there were no current codes showing. It has subsequently been towed to a different dealership where they are still trying to identify the issue. I contacted General Motors and was contacted by a rep who escalated the issue. The next rep escalated it again greater than 48 hours ago and I have received no further contact from GM. The 2nd rep informed me that since the dealership that it was originally at says that it's safe to drive that they can't do anything. This car is NOT safe to drive.
While driving in the EV-mode in a traffic the car suddenely lost its ability to accelerate. The ICE started, the CHECK ENGINE icon appeared. I managed to park in the right lane with hazard lights flashing, but my car caused a traffic jam. The battery showed its present capacity, but the drive mile estimation showed only 1 mile. After some shutoffs/starts I managed to get home. This happened one more time after a day or two. It could cause a collision from behind as again the car lost its propulsion ability unexpectedly.
I was driving 65 miles per hour on the freeway and suddenly my car lost propulsion. A light came on that said the car had lost propulsion and I had no power to keep driving on the freeway. Luckily, I was able to get to the side of the road without getting hit by other cars, but it was a close call and very scary. I had it towed to the dealership and they could not find any problem with it after investigating for an entire week. They gave it back without any repairs because it was apparently working fine for the dealership. This same problem happened again about 6 months later as I was driving up a long hill. Again, it was a scary close call to get to the side of the road safely. This time I just turned the car off and let it sit for awhile. Then I turned it back on and everything seemed to be running just fine. This is a major safety problem. I-€™m now afraid to drive this car and no one seems to know how to fix the problem!
- Roseville , CA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
My car, like many other 2nd Gen Volts, experienced a BECM failure that resulted in two events where the car unexpectedly lost all propulsion power and came to an uncontrolled stop. I believe the electric power steering was also disabled in both events. Luckily these events both occurred at low speeds, not on a crowded highway, as I do not believe this failure would allow the driver to get to the shoulder. The car was immobilized after both events and needed to be reset to drive home in a 'reduced propulsion' limp mode. There were not, to my knowledge, any warnings, CELs, etc. before the first event. The car has been with the local Chevy dealership for over two months waiting on part availability, as this is a common failure. It appears from online discussion that this is extremely common on this year and make.
Check engine light came on during highway driving and dash showed "Propulsion Power Is Reduced". Dealer said bad EGR valve and/or EGR cooler caused fuse to blow. Replacing fuse did not resolve the issue as it occurred again. EGR failure is a common issue with this vehicle and there is a GM service bulletin 18-NA-089 issues in March 2018. Driving with this condition can cause the engine to overheat as well as cause increased emissions due to the EGR being non-functional. This condition can be dangerous if the engine overheats and shuts down during highway driving. Emissions control systems such as EGR should be covered by the manufacturer but I had to pay out of pocket for this repair.
The car suddenly started starting problem, then the electrical charging component to refuel the power from an electrical charging outlet was unable to charge. Now it does not start at all. I brought the 2017 Chevy Volt to a dealer, it has been more than a week and they said that the part to fix the problem is not available yet and I have to wait. They do not have any idea when they will get the part.
While driving on the interstate at 75 mph I had to accelerate briefly to allow another vehicle to merge safely onto the road. Immediately my dashboard gave me a warning message saying -€œreduced propulsion acceleration may be limited-€ and the engine warning light came on. The temperature of my coolant began to rise over 230 F & then 240. Miles from my destination, I reduced speed & took the next exit to stop for fuel and read my owners manual. I discovered that the same message could appear if the car was not put into -€œmountain mode-€ thereby failing to reserve a certain amount of energy in the battery. I had hoped we starting the engine & resetting the computer with the car in -€œMountain mode-€ would resolve the matter, but that was not the case. I let the engine cool down for a bit & restarted my trip as I was just 20 miles away from my destination. Later on, I got another message as my engine began frequently skipping and sputtering that told me my -€œengine as not available-€ despite having a bear full tank of gas. I pulled over to read the manual & discovered that this message indicated once my car ran out of electric energy it would just stop working! As I had been on the road for 6.5 hours prior, I knew there was no electric reserve to pull from & said a prayer that my 4-yr-old daughter and I could get safely and get a tow to the dealership. The -€œreduced propulsion-€ message is part of a recall on the gen2 Volt, tho that recall relates to a software glitch & the remedy just provides -€œadditional warning time-€ for this serious issue. My car just turned 5 years with 33,000 miles on it. I have followed all maintenance recommendations. Seems like an electrical emissions issue, & with a lithium battery on board, fire from overheating scares me as much as than engine failure on the interstate. But I had a full tank of gasoline! Dealer says it is a -€œshort in my EGR Valve-€ & that part needs replacing.
When I start engine it says action required shift to park and it-€™s already in park. Then car won-€™t move. This has happened several times. Sometimes it will start but says vehicle propulsion is reduced and I drove it like this once and it was dangerous. This keeps happening and I am scared!
Car intermittently fails to shift from Drive to Park which means car can-€™t be turned off. Car intermittently fails to allow the fuel door to be opened which means it can-€™t be refueled.
It is an ongoing issue and that happens intermittently. When arriving to a stop (at times) the car still advances forward about a foot, even when the brake pedal is being used as far as it can. Also the vehicle claims to be losing propulsion, often, and seems strained when operating when the message appears.
The car does not turn off completely and shows "shift to park" when the transmission is in park mode. It is a common issue but Chevy does not recall and charges consumers for out-of-warranty vehicles.
My wife and I were taking a 200 mile trip. I was using the "hold" mode, driving at 65 mph, and about 60 miles into the trip a message came up that I was in reduced power mode and the check engine light came on. I pulled over and read the manual and then proceeded another 30 miles using the engine. I reduced my speed to 50 mph. After stopping for an hour at our destination, we started back home, but the same alerts were on the screen. I went to a local Chevrolet dealer, 5 miles. Before getting there the engine shut off. I had 40 miles of battery left so I proceeded the last 2 miles to the dealer on battery power. They could not service the vehicle so I had it towed by aaa 90 miles to tulsa. The day before I left I had received the monthly diagnostic report which stated all systems were fine. The car has 27,000 miles on it. The dealer says it is the egr valve, which are back ordered. I don't know when it will be repaired.
The vehicle will not turn off after being put in park. Shifting to park should allow the vehicle to be turned off with the start/stop button. It will not turn off in the park position.
Prior to starting my 1,100 mi trip with my 2017 Volt premier, I inflated the tires, checked fluids, & charged the car. The monthly diagnostic report I received the day before my departure indicated no problems with the car, which had approx 40,500 mi. I was driving on interstates & highways using hold (gas) mode, occasionally mountain mode. Approximately 275 mi. Into the trip I received power propulsion reduced alert. After an additional 50-75 mi I received an action required: Engine overheating reduce speed alert. I exited the interstate and proceeded to the nearest dealership to determine if it was safe to continue on my trip. I was told that the propulsion alert was not an immediate concern & that the overheating was likely not related. I also received a GM diagnostic E-mail stating there was an emissions problem that should be serviced within 7 days, but did not become aware of this E-mail until a day later. Approx 200 mi later, I was on a remote, unlighted highway when I received an engine unavailable alert and lost power. My car quickly decelerated, but I was able to get to a narrow shoulder. I tired to put the car in park, apply emergency brakes, and shut the car down but it was difficult to tell if these features were working. I put the hazard lights on and waited for a chp officer due to lack of cell service & highway safety concerns at night. After 3 hours, all systems failed, including lights. Only manual locks worked. After two 30 mi tows to get to a dealership with a Volt tech, it was determined that a bad egr valve was causing a fuse to blow, . the valve was ordered (tech remarked that the part is "popular") & installed. The issue seems to be fixed. But, it is unclear if this is a design flaw, manufacturing flaw, or a one time occurrence.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Draper, UT, USA