7/6/2024 Was driving 45 mph on a busy road (running only on the gas engine of this plug-in hybrid). Propulsion Power Reduced message showed near the speedometer. My speed was immediately decreased. The check engine light also came on. Despite pressing the gas pedal, the speed could not be maintained and I had to pull off quickly before causing an accident. Luckily, no accident occurred but I fear would could have happened if I wasn't in the right place to pull over quickly. After getting the car towed to a Chevy dealership, they diagnosed the problem as being with the hybrid battery - it needs to be replaced. I don't understand why I had a full tank of gas, was running on gas, and that a bad EV battery would cause ALL propulsion to stop so quickly.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

This is a report on a previous safety recall that has failed to fix the problem. The recall is GM Program # N172130462 for sudden-onset reduced propulsion. The recall repair was performed on this vehicle at 91,064 miles. However, since the recall, a reduced propulsion condition has recurred multiple times. Subsequent to the most recent episode, the vehicle has been in the dealer's repair shop for 5.5 months. The dealer technician affirms it is a software problem, but is unable to figure out how to repair it, even with assistance of a General Motors field engineer. The dealer technician told me that the GM field engineer knows of other cars with the same problem.

- Johnson City, TN, USA

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).

- Bowdoinham, ME, USA

Driver's side front wheel began making extremely loud whining-like sound while highway driving. Parked the car until it could be accepted at the certified Chevrolet service department at a local dealership. Technician immediately diagnosed the problem and expressed it as "common." The issue is a separation of the "electric driver motor B rotor bearing cage" requiring a revised bearing installation. This is clearly a design flaw as GM requires a new/revised bearing installation, and is likely progressed with the vehicles regenerative braking. Gen1 models do not have a customizable regenerative braking option to alleviate this stress on the rotor bearings. In researching the issue, the service bulletin provided by GM is has progressed to an appended letter L (bulletin no. Pip5081L). A large number of Volt owners share this experience, many of which qualify for warranty repair. My vehicle's warranty period expired by less than one year and 11,000 miles.

- Greenville, SC, USA

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.

- Farmland, IN, USA

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.

- Del Mar, CA, USA

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.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Radiator leak

- Daly City, CA, USA

Air bag sensor pad in front passenger seat is faulty. Dash light comes on and off at random in front seat. May lead to airbags failing to go off. Front passenger seat faulty, air bag sensor pad is not installed beneath the foam in the seat, instead it is on top. Has lead to numerous problems when even just setting a bag on the seat. This is a safety problem. Powertrain issue, battery section 3 failed prematurely due to a $5 temperature sensor failing. Cost to replace the entire battery section was $3000+ dollars for a $5 part.

- Greenfield, WI, USA

Came to stop at busy intersection when the car lunged forward several times until I threw it into neutral. This unintended acceleration has happened three times since I had the car's battery serviced a little over a month ago. In addition, the car will sporadically not go into regeneration mode as it is supposed to do when coming to a stop or slowing down. This also just started happening since the battery service was performed.

- Castroville, TX, USA

Car says service high power charging system, checked the coolant levels and they are low. Car refuses to charge now since the warning, even though I added coolant to the reservoirs.

- Victorville, CA, USA

After shifting into "D" drive, on a flat area, and while standing still, then pressing on the accelerator, the car went backwards as if in R. repeatedly shifting back into P or R and then to back into D, did not change the behavior. Kept going in reverse as if in "R". only turning the car on and off a few times brought it back to normal.

- Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

The Volt was purchased in November of 2012: In / around June of 2013 a warning light came on and it was taken into the local dealer (where it was purchased) it was found to have a leaking coolant system for the primary electric battery (lithium ion battery). They could not find the leak so they refiled the system and included a fluorescent dye and returned it to me (the amount of coolant was ~7 liters). 12 months later (plus or minus a few weeks) in 2014, the same light came on, it was again serviced (they claimed to have fixed the leak) and it was returned to me (~7 liters coolant). 12 months later (plus or minus a few weeks) in 2015 again the light came on, this time a substantial part of the coolant system was replaced around the lithium ion batteries (claimed to have found a few leaky connections). The vehicle was again returned to me (~all knew coolant). 12 months later (plus or minus a few weeks) in now 2016 the same light has come on yet again and it will be returned to the dealer for repair yet again. Leading to the warning light the car's fan runs longer and longer while charging (its trying to cool during charging) and the ac stops working / blowing cold. The light usually come on shortly after starting. Attempts are currently being made to contact a Chevrolet Volt / electric car advisor to work with the Chevrolet zone manager on fixing / repair this vehicle. This is not only an obvious manufacturing defect, which the dealer clearly can not repair. But also, a major safety concern, if they warning light failed and the battery of this car overheated it would likely cause an intense fire (its a large lithium ion battery). Furthermore, they coolant being released by this vehicle is a substance monitored by the epa. This is again a genuine manufacturing safety defect and needs to be resolved or the vehicle declared a lemon.

- Hoover, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the brake pedal was applied and did not respond numerous times. The failure occurred intermittently. While driving, the transmission brackets fractured and caused the transmission to become detached. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for inspection and repair. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V271000 (electronic stability control, service brakes). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The vehicle continuously stalls out at any speed the only way to get power back is by putting the car in low gear and then back into drive.

- Interlachen, FL, USA

Upon arriving at our vacation destination, we were in the process of checking into our hotel in tulsa, ok. It was a hot so I told my autistic adult son to stay in the passenger seat with the A/C on while my wife and I unloaded the luggage. The car had been backed up a slight grade into the parking spot. Moments later my wife screamed out that the car was backing up. She ran to the passenger door and reached in attempting to put the car in park. Instread she bumped it into drive and the car moved forward dow the grade. She ran along side it trying to protect our son who by this time had attempted to exit the car. She bruised up her shins quite badly. At this point I had reached the drivers door and applied the brake. I believe this is a design flaw present in many GM vehicles with console automatic shifters. Heres why: The console makes provision for storage in the area ahead of the shifter. (this is true of the sonic loaner car I am presently driving) unfortunately items stowed in this manner can interfer with the shifter going into park. In my case, my bluetooth headset was in the compartment ahead of the shifter. When you move the shifter toward part, electronic controls activate the transmission to go into park, the doors unlock, and the shift indicator light reports park. But, ,,,, the shifter is actually in the mechanical park detent. The shifter needs to travel nearly an additional 2 inches to reach the lock in detent. If it is blocked by an item in the storage area, it will not lock. In this event, the shifter can be pulled back into reverse without the driver present. I took the car to jim glover chev in tulsa. The service writer duplicated the problem and was prepared to document it but reneged after talkig to management. Kelsey chev in lawrenceburn, ind. Has it now, cant fix it. The electronic portion of the park process needs to be sinked w

- Cleves,, OH, USA

When the vehicle would come to a stop, the parking brake would engage by itself. The only way to disengage it was to turn the vehicle off and on again. The second time I did this, the vehicle failed to shift out of park, and the vehicle was disabled in the middle of a roadway. The cause was a faulty charging port sending out a false proximity signal to the car's computer, making it think it was charging...updated 08/27/15

- Oostburg, WI, USA

While I was driving home my car would surge then lose power. I pressed the onstar button and a vehicle test was conducted. I was told the transmission needed attention. Also, the vehicle lost power while driving and I had to pull off the road. I was on a rural road so no one else was affected. Had I been on the interstate this could have affected others and myself in a negative way. I took the vehicle in and jessup auto in catherdral city, ca kept it several days and corrected the issue. The main issue is losing power while driving.

- Dhs, CA, USA

Upon braking and passive deceleration the car makes a loud audible whining noise coming from the engine compartment. The dealer states it is a regenerative brake bearing failure. This issue is related to the bearing cage failing causing the bearing to lose its integrity. GM-Volt.com/forum/showthread.php?17877-loud-whining-during-regen.

- Nashville, TN, USA

Driver had returned home, stopped car, depressed gear shifter button to put gear in park, and was electrocuted from the point of gear shifter. The vehicle was already slated to be "repurchased" by GM due to other ongoing mechanical malfunction issues. The vehicle was returned to the driver for use while the new vehicle was being built by GM for delivery to the driver. When the vehicle was at the dealership for additional malfunctioning repairs, the last time before incident (including a malfunction with the main battery component the dealer determined) the dealer's mechanic reported finding a "stiffness" or malfunction with the gear shifter. The dealer ordered and replaced a part to the gear shifter. The driver drove the vehicle without incident for about three weeks before the electrocution occurred. GM was informed of the incident immediately afterwards. GM instructed driver to call 911 to have "first responders" disconnect the power in vehicle. Fire dept refused to cut power cables in vehicle, for lack of knowledge of the systems, and fear of their safety, since the driver was no longer in danger inside of vehicle. Luckily, when incident occurred, driver was able to quickly remove their point of contact from gear shifter before the hand and arm muscles had involuntarily contracted in place permanently closing the contact and resulting in further electrocution. Driver sustained significant electrical shock injury to hand/arm including pain, shock, soreness, numbness, and tingling sensation. Since incident, GM is only willing to transfer driver to their product allocation department which acts in a legal capacity and accepts claim reports for further investigation. Driver's immediate concern is not to sue GM but to insure all reasonable efforts are made to inform other Volt dealers of incident and hopefully prevent other drivers from being electrocuted......updated 01/30/13 updated 2/4/2013

- Santa Rosa Valley, CA, USA