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6.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,848 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2016 Chevrolet Volt engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Chevrolet Volt Owner Comments

problem #11

Sep 262022

Volt

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While on a road trip, we were traveling on a rural highway at roughly 55 mph. We received a warning message on the dashboard stating that "Propulsion power was reduced" and the engine began running rough, with surging noticeable based on throttle position. We also noted that engine temperature was rising above what was typical for the vehicle. The vehicle was able to maintain highway speed, and we were able to limp the vehicle to a safe location. Based on a web search, we were able to diagnose the issue (a failed EGR valve) as well as a way to limp the vehicle to a local dealership. They made a change that allowed us to limp home safely (unplug the EGR valve's electrical connector and replace the blown fuse under the hood). The vehicle was taken to a Chevy dealership when we made it home. The failure we had diagnosed was confirmed, and the component was replaced. The repair was not covered under warranty, and cost a significant sum to repair (1139.91). Additionally, this appears to be a very, very common failure for this make and model of vehicle- to the point where there is so much demand for this repair to be performed that these components (the EGR valve specifically) are difficult to obtain from Chevy. Additionally, the failure mode is such that when the EGR valve fails, it pulls excessive currents, and blows a fuse that also controls a number of important engine cooling components, leaving engine cooling significantly compromised. If we had been going faster, or if the weather was warmer, or if the load inside the vehicle was heavier, it would have been easy to overheat the gas engine and leave us stranded. I am concerned about the incidence rate of the failure, (based on online reports) the relative small number of miles on the vehicle when the failure occurred, (~57k) and the possible knock-on effect of the failure of the gas engine's ability to cool itself due to a relatively unrelated failure.

- Lakewood, OH, USA

problem #10

Aug 262022

Volt

  • miles
Got a Check Engine light on Aug 26 2022 driving about 5 minutes out of my house. With that light turned on, the EV showed zero miles range (it was fully charged when I left the house), the ICE engine kicked in but it was running very harsh and when I stepped on the gas peddle, it would not accelerate and can only go about 30 mph. I immediately made a U-turn and returned home for the car is not drivable. Took the Volt to my dealership on Aug 29, 2022 and service manager diagnosed as a BECM failed and now waiting for a replacement, which they said they are not able to find one. This is going on week #7.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #9

Aug 302022

Volt

  • miles
Vehicle suddenly experienced "reduced propulsion mode" on the highway. Multiple codes were triggered in the ECM. Root cause of the problem was the EGR valve which is on a shared circuit with multiple other components including a water pump which causes the car to overheat.

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

problem #8

Aug 272022

Volt

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Received a Reduce Power warning with a check engine light on. OnStar e-mail notification saying there is an issue with Lithium-ion battery and to service the vehicle within 7 days. When this happened I was driving on the street not far from my house and sure enough I was not able to keep up with the speed of the traffic so I turned around and returned home. My battery was fully charged when I left home and when this happened, it showed my battery was depleted and switched to my gas engine but was not able to drive over 40 mph for the gas engine was making a weird sound as if it is not able to run smoothly.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #7

Aug 172022

Volt

  • miles
My car, without warning, lost power while driving and then flashed an engine light. This happened on a street and I was able to coast to safety, but if it had happened in an intersection I would not have been so lucky. The problem was confirmed by a dealer as a failure of the Battery Energy Control Module, which has been happening to this car with numerous other owners, according to the Volt owner website.

- Graniteville, SC, USA

problem #6

Jul 012020

Volt

  • 45,558 miles
The vehicle issues a message to move the gear shifter into park (shift to park) message even when it is already in park. The vehicle will not engage nor will it enable the driver to turn the vehicle off which results in unsafe driving circumstances and strands the drive in untenable situations. This is known in social media as the "shift-to-park" problem with Volt and other GM vehicles while GM is hush-hush about the issue. There absolutely needs to be a recall issued for all affected vehicles as this is clearly a manufacturer design issue given all of the problems drivers are having. It starts as an intermittent problem and continues to get worse over time with out any warning.

- Saratoga, CA, USA

problem #5

Jun 162020

Volt

  • 40,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When attempting to turn off the car it says "action required: Shift to park" and will proceed as being left on, despite being in park. This occurs about 70% of the time the car is driven and takes several tries of turning on the car, moving, parking, and turning back off before the engine shuts off without this warning.

- St Louis, MO, USA

problem #4

Dec 162019

Volt

  • 29,368 miles
Unable to turn off power to car with error on dashboard saying shift to park. Have to power on and off several times while moving the shifter in and out of park to get the car to turn off.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #3

Dec 012016

Volt 4-cyl

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the back-up camera was malfunctioning and the front console would not work if other services were being used. The contact had to turn off and restart the vehicle to get the console to work again. The vehicle was taken to reliable Chevrolet (800 N central expy, richardson, tx 75080, (972) 201-9240) where they re-flashed the module and changed the camera; however, the failure recurred and the vehicle would shut off when parked. The vehicle was a hybrid and the battery was depleted. The contact was concerned about the carbon monoxide level in her garage. The vehicle was getting more and more difficult to shut off and the contact had to wait several minutes to make sure it finally shut off. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they stated that they would contact the manufacturer and call back. The failure mileage was 5,000. The consumer stated unresponsive display goes blank when starting the vehicle. The consumer further states when a vehicle is turned off having errors not recognizing the vehicle is in park.

- Richardson, TX, USA

problem #2

Jan 072017

Volt

  • 7,400 miles
In regard to recall 16055 reprogram hybrid powertrain control; module 2. I had this recall done on January 5, 2017. This service changes some settings without notification to the owner. Critically important it changes the engine run on remote start from off to on. If the owner starts their car to warm up in the garage the engine will run unknowing to the owner. This could be a very dangerous situation for the buildup of carbon monoxide in the garage.

- Victor, NY, USA

problem #1

Sep 122016

Volt

  • 14,000 miles
2016 Chevy Volt wouldn't start, less than a year old, current on maintenance. Towed it to dealer, they said there were some recalls - but couldn't tell me what was wrong. Got it back after 2 days, was fine - then on 9/22/16 wouldn't start again - I was stranded in the dark, got it jump started. Took it to the dealer, since it was running fine he didn't take it in. Told me next time it happens to get it towed in. Wouldn't start again yesterday, unreliable car. Please investigate.

- San Jose, CA, USA

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