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.
In June of 2023 the car experienced propulsion power reduction. The car was at the dealer awaiting repair for 3 weeks. On Dec. 14,2023 the same thing happened again. The car was also unable to accelerate once mobile. The car has about 90k miles on it.
Vehicle is 2018 Chevrolet volt with approx 91000 miles, purchased new in California with both PZEV and Voltec warranties in place. Vehicle produced MIL in December, in Colorado, with exterior temperatures ~30 degrees, after attempting to remote start. The resulting OnStar Codes P1AEE, P1AEF, and P0AC4 indicating "the electric propulsion system is not performing as expected. Please service immediately." Drove the vehicle to the nearest dealership assuming there could be an unexpected loss of power. Identified PIC6285B as trouble shooting aid for the dealership. The dealership stated they contacted their GM TAC representative and the service foreman and TAC agreed the vehicle needed a transmission flush. No indication that the work would be covered by the bulletin found. Customer contacted Chevrolet EV advisor and confirmed vehicle did not qualify for any warranty as the diagnostics indicated a category 4 issue associated with the bulletin but the repairs required were a transmission flush. This was contrary to the published bulletin, other customer reports, as well as the specific DTCs expected. Customer believes diagnostics would be covered by bulletin or warranty given a repair was identified based on the trouble codes that were pulled. Dealership and GM did not agree with customers belief. Customer forced to pay in order to recover vehicle after 1 week.
Car died while driving down road. Has engine codes to service high voltage system although It showed a full battery it only had 1 mile range and the gas motor wouldn't run.
The Battery Energy Control Module needs to be replaced (BECM). The car is available to be inspected at Key Chevrolet in South Burlington, VT. The car was parked when it failed. The car wouldn't start (lights on the dashboard came on) and it wouldn't turn off. I got a "shift to park" error message, regardless of which gear I was in. The car wouldn't go into Drive to go forward with either the drive battery or the gas generator. I had the car was towed to the dealership. It was inspected and diagnosed by them. When they did the diagnosis, they said the BECM had failed and there were cells in the drive battery that needed to be replaced. The BECM failure is a common problem with Chevrolet Volts and is covered by the Voltec warranty. There were no warning lights or other warnings (e.g., reduced propulsion) whatsoever. The car had shut off like normal but would not start or turn completely off. I was fortunate to have had the BECM fail while the car was parked. My understanding is that BECMs can fail while the car is moving and the power will stop and you won't have any control.
My 2018 Cheverolet Volt stopped charging via the PHEV port, the check engine light came on, and "Propulsion Power Is Reduced" read on the driver display. Car acceleration began to lag and I called the dealership service department immediately. I took it to the service dept and they said the repair is under warranty but the part is back-ordered with no ETA on when I will get my car back, but I should keep it there to prevent from getting stranded. They will provide no loaner car. It is currently at the dealership and I have no transportation. This appears to be a BECM issue.
- Edmonds, WA, USA
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The vehicle failed to restart after being parked in a garage all day while at work. On board diagnostics returned multiple codes concerning the EV battery and vehicle integrated control module. Specific descriptions include: The Lithium-Ion Battery is not performing as expected. An issue has been detected in the Onboard Charging System which manages your vehicles battery pack charge level; Vehicle network communication code. The network provides a communications link between systems inside the vehicle and when the network is disrupted a code can be set. If vehicle functionality is impacted please seek service soon. Dealership indicates the Battery Module needs replacing and part is back-ordered with unknown delivery time. There had been no warning or other diagnostic codes visible prior to the failure.
While Driving my 2018 Chevy Volt from Payson Utah to Provo Utah going north on the I-15 Freeway the car Lost Power and came to a stop. Luckily I was in the outside lane and was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder and wait for a tow truck to take the car to the nearest dealer in Spanish Fork Utah. My safety could have been seriously affected if I had remained stalled on the freeway. The car would no longer start or Turn off. The display only showed that the car should be shifted to park even though I had already completed that request. The car has been inspected by the Dealer for GM. No one else that I know of has inspected the car. No Previous warnings or messages appeared before the incident occured.. The Dealer is Telling me the car-??s battery energy control module needs to be replaced and that it could take months to get a part. This is way to long for a car to wait to get repaired if the manufacturer claims to still be making the part.
2018 Volt will not shut off. Shift to Park displayed on console. Problem has been diagnosed at dealer. Problem is under Service Bulletin 19-NA-206, Voltec (Electric and Hybrid Vehicle) Warranty. Dealer and GM refuses to repair. Problem has been occuring for several weeks.
A Shift to Park message displayed while the vehicle is in park. The car will not turn off and continues to run. The issue is well documented through GM/Chevrolet, as they have a service bulletin (19-NA-206) for it. That document specifically states that the Voltec Warranty covers this issue, but Chevrolet is refusing to service my car based on its VIN number, despite identifying it as the same issue. And for the last question, no lights initially came on but then the check engine light came back on. When the car was finally turned off at the dealership, it turned back on with no issue lights or messages.
Car is stopped and shifted into park. When ignition switch is hit to turn vehicle off display reads "shift to park." Car does not register that car is already in park and cannot turn car off.
When the vehicle is placed in park and I attempt to turn it off, the dash will indicate the vehicle is not in park and subsequently, the vehicle cannot be turned off. Sometimes, if you wiggle the shifter or move it through all the settings (RNDL) and back to park, it will resolve the issue. Sometimes, it can take a few minutes to resolve the issue. It's getting worse. If you can't shut off car someone can steal it, you also can't lock doors.
The vehicle frequently has an 'Action Required - Shift to Park' display on the dashboard even though the shift lever is in park. This means that the car cannot be powered off and you cannot leave the vehicle. It is a problem that GMC is aware of, but refuses to fix under warranty unless the vehicle actively shows the problem while at a GMC dealership.
To begin, I will set the scene of my experience. I was traveling east bound on 84 in northeast PA on my way to Long Island for work meetings that day. I was about one hour and a half away from my home at roughly 6am. I was traveling at apx. 70 mph when my car suddenly says "engine unavailable, reduced propulsion." and the fueld tank turned yellow in color on my dashboard. Then a sign said "service soon." My car then COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING. My speed fell from 75 mph or so to 0 in a matter of a minute, I had no idea what was happening because there were no appropriate warnings such as, "Pull over immediately" or "SAFETY CONCERN PLEASE GET OFF THE HIGHWAY" -I would have taken anything to know that this was an actual emergency and I needed to at least get to a shoulder. I luckily was able to come to a stop mostly off the highway in a shoulder. I was located around a bend, in the pitch black, unable to stay in my car out of fear I would be smashed by a tractor trailer or car that did not see my car suddenly stopped. The car would not go in neutral or anything other than park and I left the hazards on (they eventually failed). I called my husband who drove to me while I stood on the side of the highway for an hour and a half in 30 degree weather. I called the police who were eventually able to put up flares and mark me as a hazard on the road. If there was a car traveling behind me, I would have been killed or seriously injured because I slowed so suddenly and had no way of knowing that this was an absolute emergency. The worst part is that this is the second BECM failure in my volt and I have driven less than 1000miles since it was repaired the first time (which took >5 months). The first time this happened my car was on a quiet town road and my brother who was driving just parked and had it towed. He hadn't thought there were any warnings but he wasn't sure. This time, I could have been smashed on the hwy with little to no warning. I can't believe Im alive.
The gear shifter for the Chevy Volt has an issue where it does not register in Park. I need to contantlty move through the gears to have it be in park.
BECM failed upon startup. Pressed start and vehicle appeared to turn on. Shifted into reverse but there was no motor power and I began to roll backwards down the driveway. Started the vehicle again and then the engine came on and a reduced propulsion message appeared.
Going 80 mph on the freeway with adaptive crusie control on, the car begins to jerk, and the rpm's shoot up and down. The adaptive cruise control disengages, the stabiltrack, abs, and engine light turned on and the car goes into limp mode. As I slow down, the speedometer keeps increasing up to 90. After, I inspected the driver wheel speed sensor and discovered that the sensor tip in the hub had been damaged. The anti-click washer had broken and began cutting the sensor until it failed.
Vehicle displays "shift to park" when it is already in park, and will not shut off. I had to leave it on, and despite nothing apparently on (electric vehicle, no motor running), it drained the12 volt battery and would not start up the next day.
When car is stopped and shifted to park a message comes onto the dashboard telling me to Shift To Park. The car does not completely shut off nor do the lights, and you can not lock the car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA