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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,511 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.

2017 Chevrolet Volt electrical problems

electrical problem

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2017 Chevrolet Volt Owner Comments (Page 2 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #142

Sep 122022

Volt

  • miles

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

Driving and check engine appeared. Vehicle hybrid power train acted erratically, switching into and out of limp mode. Potential loss of control without any previous warning signs. Diagnosed with a failure of Battery Energy Control Module 24296900. Multiple complaints of the same issue from other owners. 5 other same model cars at dealership waiting for the same part. Estimated arrival is 8-12 weeks. This has been a well documented problem since 2018, and Chevrolet has released a TSB acknowledging the issue, and potentially loss of control and stranding.

- Milliken , CO, USA

problem #141

Apr 122022

Volt

  • miles
The car will not turn off and it says it needs to be shifted into -€œpark-€ after it is already parked. I am left unable to leave my car or lock it when I need to leave which makes this dangerous in case of an emergency where I need to leave the car quickly and cannot without leaving the car on and open.

- Studio City , CA, USA

problem #140

Oct 232019

Volt

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the display screens became inoperable, causing the instrument cluster and gauges to become unavailable to the driver. In addition, the audible alarms were no longer audible. After turning the vehicle off and restarting the vehicle, the failure was self-corrected. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.

- Ukiah, CA, USA

problem #139

Jun 062022

Volt

  • miles

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

Vehicle Make and Model 2017 Chevrolet Volt LT -€¢Miles Currently 28,000 -€¢(Car is recalled) Energy Hybrid -€¢ The vehicle will not turn off, Motor Light Constantly on -€¢ I never received a recall letter, email not mail notification -€¢The whole car smells like smoke and gasoline when AAA gives me jumps -€¢ I-€™ve had two not at fault accidents since I-€™ve had the vehicle -€¢ CarMax sold me the vehicle in February of 2021 -€¢ I spoke with GM yesterday who stated and confirmed that my vehicle is defective and recalled -€¢ The recall states that any 2017 & other Models can-€™t be sold due to a multitude of reasons -€¢ The recall was put in place before it was sold to me -€¢ At this point, I want another vehicle (Brand New, That is recalled and damaged) I-€™m having panic attacks when trying and attempting to drive this car -€¢ I was badly injured and I still

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #138

Sep 182022

Volt

  • miles
Traveling from Mexico, we just got into yuma Arizona heading towards the 8 freeway when my volt displayed reduced propulsion and the engine light came on and the car lost power while driving on the road we had to let the car drift into a parking lot. We let the cat sit for a several minutes and the engine started up but was running hard. After that it ran a little so we decided to rent a uhaul and car hauler to get the car home. Before this happened We were about to head back to California and we were stranded there until we got an Uber to the uhaul place and rented a truck and car hauler, the car would stay on long enough for us to drive it up on the ramp so we had to push the car to get it up there. We finally did and 24 hours later we made it home hauling the cars a 3 hour ride home was turned into a nightmare. Apparently this is serious problem if the car would have stopped a while we were driving through Joshua Tree we would have been stranded on the side of the narrow road in the dark, Or on a major free way, This problem is a safety hazard to all Volt owners and it has been known and reported to happen countless of times so why is there no recall of these vehicles for this problem, people's lives are in danger, this could have turned out way worst, thank God He saved us from what could have happened. My dealer says that they are not sure what caused it and that we may have to pay for repairs. This is unacceptable because there is an obvious problem with this vehicle

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #137

Aug 032022

Volt

  • miles
At approximately 61,500 miles my Chevy Volt would not start. I had it towed to a repair facility who determined the problem was a faulty BECM (Battery Energy Control Module), but that it would still be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. So I had the vehicle towed to a dealership. The vehicle has been at the dealership for six weeks as of the time I write this, but report they have yet to diagnose the problem or offer a solution. Doing research online I have found that BECM failure is a common problem among the Chevy Volt, of all model years. And due to "supply chain disruptions" people are having to wait weeks to months for their vehicle to be repaired. Fortunately my vehicle did not fail in a dangerous location, however the BECM failure could happen randomly at any time at any mileage and appears to be a design flaw. Fortunately my vehicle is still covered by the manufacturer's warranty, but in my opinion, repair should be extended to all Chevy Volts.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #136

May 282022

Volt

  • miles

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

BECM failure caused vehicle to lose propulsion. Could have stopped working in a dangerous situation such as an intersection, steep hill, or railroad tracks.

- Woodinville, WA, USA

problem #135

May 152022

Volt

  • miles
This is related to a long-standing issue with the failure of the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) (part #242969-00) for the 2017 Chevrolet Volt, as well as a lack of availability of the replacement part. This is a documented problem in the NTSA database since 2016. The vehicle error messages on the dashboard include -€œunable to charge-€, -€œshift to park to start-€, -€œreduced propulsion acceleration may be limited-€. The internal combustion engine engages even with a full battery charge on an intermittent basis. Only after turning the car off and on several times or later the next day, would the problems resolve. In several instances, there was a lack of power transfer to the wheels when in drive mode and traveling on roadways, and the car had to be turned off and on to resolve this problem. The car has been inspected by a Chevrolet dealer to confirm the BECM is failing and needs to be replaced. The replacement BECM was ordered by the dealer 7 June, 2022, and neither GM or the dealer will provide a delivery date for the part. A number of postings on www.gm-volt.com reported 2017 Volts would no longer turn on or would lose power when being driven, could not be driven, and had to be towed. The NTSA database indicates approximately 250 complaints have been filed for 2017 Volts that include vehicle error messages on the dashboard for -€œunable to charge-€, -€œshift to park to start-€, -€œreduced propulsion acceleration may be limited-€ and loss of power while driving. Although no accidents or deaths were reported, this is clearly a serious safety issue that NTSA should address immediately with a mandatory safety recall.

- Ipswich, MA, USA

problem #134

Feb 142022

Volt

  • miles
When attempting to engage the vehicles drive system, it would occasionally fail to recognize the propulsion system battery. This could potentially leave someone stranded in dangerously high or low temperature environments without food or water. Powering off the vehicle and then powering the vehicle back on would sometimes fix the issue. The issue occurred very randomly and was unable to be reproduced once working again. It would continue to happen more frequently and require more tinkering to get it working until almost complete failure. This appears to be a common issue and found to be the result of a failed BECM (battery energy control module). It triggers the check engine light and a series of trouble codes. It is estimated that the replacement of this module takes roughly five hours. Unfortunately, supply chain issues have recently resulted in owners being without their vehicle for multiple months with no loaner vehicles available and no additional compensation. See discussion https://www.gm-volt.com/threads/becm.343297/

- Springfield, IL, USA

problem #133

Jul 272022

Volt

  • miles
Our VOLT yesterday had a complete Battery Electronic Control Module Failure. This is apparently a VERY common problem with 2017 models. The car is not drivable once this happens are parts are back ordered. I read 1 dealer had 4 just sitting there waiting for the part. Some people over the past year have been waiting up to 100 days for the part. Yesterday at Keys Chevrolet in Van Nuys, CA we were told it would take at least 1 month to get the part is. If the problem is this prolific GM needs to produce more parts or issue a recall for these cars. All these customers should not be without their car for months at a time because parts are not available.

- Tarzana, CA, USA

problem #132

Jun 192022

Volt

  • miles

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

My car had the Shift to Park and Battery Control Module go out while on a family trip with the family in the car, on the highway. The car was in the left lane of 2 lanes on the highway with no propulsion or way to move it except to push push the car off the side of the highway. Thankfully some people stopped to help. My car had stopped with no way of moving on a 55 mph 2 lane highway. We were at risk of cars not seeing my hazards and hitting us from behind. We had to push the car across the right lane to get it off the road. We had two cars stop to help direct traffic away from us while we pushed it to safety. But when we were on the side of the road, we were stranded in 100 degree heat along side a busy highway and the car was not able to use the HVAC because of the issue. This is a known issue and has been for years. A google search of VOLT Shift to Park Battery Control Module will result in THOUSANDS of complaints. It has become general knowledge that if you own this model, you WILL have this issue. They ALL will, it's just a matter of WHEN. It can happen at 30,000 miles or in my case, 111,000 miles. Chevrolet knows this as well as the dealerships. I have read many other stories of people being left stranded because of this. Chevy covers it under warranty. But my car was 11,000 mile past warranty. So I had to pay full price. Every dealership I called to see if they had the part to fix my car said that they didn't have the part AND they had 1 or more of my type of car in their dealership currently with this issue at any given time FOR YEARS. Thankfully since my car wasn't in a wreck, there was no police or insurance paperwork filed. Once the shift to park issue happened while I was driving and we were stranded, the check engine light came on. It was not on when I started the trip up until the car died. Then the check engine light came on.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #131

May 012022

Volt

  • miles
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.

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #130

Apr 292022

Volt

  • miles
BECM shut car down and has gone into low propulsion mode causing danger in traffic.

- North Canton, OH, USA

problem #129

Apr 242022

Volt

  • miles
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

problem #128

Mar 122022

Volt

  • miles
Shift to Park alert. Vehicle does not think it's in park when it is actually in park.

- Orting, WA, USA

problem #127

Feb 062022

Volt

  • miles
Went into a store to pick up a snack and the cashier noticed that my driver side door was on fire. The entire indoor panel was melted and burned. It looked like the fire started on the inside of the door panel where the wiring is. The car was turned off at the time of fire

- Springfield, VT, USA

problem #126

Feb 042022

Volt

  • miles
Car couldn't be turned off. Dash would say "shift to park" when it was already in park. The problem was intermittent but the number of times needed to get the car to shut off was increasing. GM was aware of the problem but said it hadn't risen to Recall status. I saw over 500 of the same complaint online. They charged $800 to replace the switch and wiring. GM has stopped making Volts, so that could be why no recall"?"

- Hermosa Beach, CA, USA

problem #125

Feb 032022

Volt

  • miles
I am having a shift to park error message when I am in park

- Encino, CA, USA

problem #124

Jan 102022

Volt

  • miles
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.

- Park Ridge, IL, USA

problem #123

Jan 282022

Volt

  • miles
Shifter Will not see car in park have to keep shifting up and down before car knows its in park.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

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