10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,261 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Chevrolet Volt:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #127

Nov 072022

Volt

  • miles
Our car would not start. Took to dealer for repair. They changed 12 volt baterie and a fuse. Next couple days later same problem. No start or baterie. Took back to the dealer they diagnosed a bad becm battery electric control module. They have had it for 2 weeks with no estimate on when the part will be available. I understand it is common failure on volt cars.

- Rigby , ID, USA

problem #126

Sep 162022

Volt

  • miles
Vehicle went to low propulsion mode and would not move at a stop light during rush hour traffic. After many trial and errors restarting the car it finally moved under low propulsion mode. We were almost hit from behind many times because of people at the last minute turning around a stalled car... GM diagnosed the issue as a bad BECM (battery energy control module). Our service rep said it is a very common issue with this car and that they have a few others waiting for a replacement part. I am at month 2 waiting for my vehicle to get fixed.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

problem #125

Sep 122022

Volt

  • miles
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 #124

May 072022

Volt

  • miles
I will get a "shift to park" message on the dash when parking the car and trying to turn it off. When it happens, the car will not turn off and claims it is not in park. The shifter is physically in the park position, but the car does not recognize it. I have to shift it in and out of park multiple times to get it to recognize that it is in park. On a few occasions, I have had to leave it on and lock the doors because it just would not recognize that the car was in park.

- Highland, IN, USA

problem #123

Aug 112022

Volt

  • miles
The vehicle stopped on its own without obstacles. The vehicle fails to stop under adaptive cruse control and you have to disengage to stop or it will hit the car in front. When stepping on break during adaptive cruse it lurching forward before breaking takes over causing a hazzard. When you shif to park it doesn't register and will kill battery. Adaptive cruse does not keep it centered in clearly marked lanes.

- Dartmouth, MA, USA

problem #122

Jul 142022

Volt

  • miles
from all my reading and my own knowledge and what I have read on forums from others who have had the same issue, this problem is due to the cars BECM (battery energy control module) going bad unexpectedly. apparently this has happened to many other people driving the generation 2 Chevy volt at varying mileages. On the highway on her way home from work, my wife experienced a large loss of power and the car started shuddering and switching between the electric and gas powertrain as well as slowing down quite a bit. the dash showed a notification of "propulsion power reduced". the car also lost power to many of its accessories. she ended up having to pull over on the side of a busy highway and turn the car on and off again till it would finally work and managed to limp it home along back roads. if she had not had a shoulder to pull on to she would have been stuck in the middle of the highway. the car had absolutely zero issues before this, but since the incident has had a check engine light illuminated and is unable to charge unless the codes are reset. it is drivable again after getting some codes cleared but as it poses a serious hazard we are trying to find a temporary car till we can get this fixed. our car has about 100900 miles on it, but these failures happen as soon as 25k-50k on a lot of vehicles. it has not been inspected by anyone yet as it happened yesterday.

- Lakeport, CA, USA

problem #121

May 062022

Volt

  • miles
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.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #120

Mar 312022

Volt

  • miles
When parking and turning off the vehicle, I get a message saying "shift to park" even though the vehicle is in park already. This keeps all the electronics and the car still partially "on."

- Longville, LA, USA

problem #119

Jan 182022

Volt

  • miles
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.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #118

Mar 082022

Volt

  • miles
Shift to park alert comes on when car is already in park. Vehicle does not recognize that it is in park. This happens almost every time I put the car in park then hit the power button to turn the car off. That-??s when the message -?? Shift to park-?? appears. GM has a service bulletin about this problem which is apparently well known. This is supposed to be covered under my Voltec warranty but dealership was going to charge me until we pointed out the service bulletin to them.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

problem #117

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 #116

Feb 202022

Volt

  • miles
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.

- South Elgin, IL, USA

problem #115

Jan 132022

Volt

  • miles
After a little over 3 years and 16017 miles, my Volt would not recognize it had been shifted into park and would not shut off. This started occasionally doing this, and reshifting out of and back into park solved it. Finally, I could no longer get the car to recognize it was in park and could not shut off the car (still running on electricity). I drove it to the dealer, and they kept it a week. They replaced the transmission shift controller and cable. The repair total was $452.85, and my Ally extended warranty covered all but the $100 deductable. GM has a technical bulletin out on this issue: #19-NA-206.

- Pinole, CA, USA

problem #114

Dec 152021

Volt

  • miles
I bought the car in 2020. It had intermittent problems with the car registering -??shift to park-?? when the car was in park. This would not allow the car to be started, leaving me stranded. The intermittent problem has become much more frequent now. Yesterday and today 16 Dec 2021, the car is not ever registering that the vehicle is in park. The transmission display shows I am in -??P-?? (park), but the display keeps saying -??shift to park-?? and the car won-??t start.

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #113

Nov 232021

Volt

  • miles
When placing my car into Park and then powering it off I get an error message telling me to shift to park to shut vehicle off even though it is in park. Problem is two fold: I cant turn the car off and the result is a battery that runs dead. Very frustrating and if the car isnt off it could accidentally be put into gear by a child.

- Palm Springs, CA, USA

problem #112

Nov 222021

Volt

  • miles
The vehicle often will not turn off after pressing the power button, even though it is in the Park position the vehicle stays on with the console message -??Shift to Park-?? displayed. Normally releasing and the re-engaging the foot brake and toggling the shifter lock resolves the problem, but today (Nov 22, 2021) the vehicle did not recognize that the vehicle was in Park when in a city parking lot after approximately 10 minutes of attempting to turn off the vehicle. If the vehicle does not recognize that the shifter is in park and does not turn off, the battery may drain, and if one needs to leave the vehicle, the operator cannot be sure the vehicle will remain in position. No warning lights appear for the vehicle on turning on the vehicle.

- El Cerrito, CA, USA

problem #111

Nov 042021

Volt

  • miles
shift-to-park problem. This is a noted problem with these Volt's. The Dealer is charging around $450 to fix this problem. With more than a couple of service bulletins on this, it is a troublesome issue.

- Syracuse, UT, USA

problem #110

Oct 272021

Volt

  • miles
My Chevy Volt has the "Shift to Park" error. It intermittently will not turn off, which means you also cannot start it. This left me stranded at night in a county park, which closed before the tow truck could arrive. The car has 40,205 miles and the dealer says this problem is not under warranty because it is a "bumper to bumper" issue covered only under the 36,000 mile warranty. As categorized by NHTSA, this is an electrical and power train issue and is a glaring defect that is essential to the car even functioning and should not happen on a car with 40,000 miles.

- Charleston, SC, USA

problem #109

Oct 042021

Volt

  • miles
Car does not sent park position when lever is pushed in park position. This results in car not being turned off and drains the battery.

- Danville, CA, USA

problem #108

Jun 012021

Volt

  • miles
For approximately 4 months, after shifting the vehicle to park and attempting to shut the vehicle off, I get a warning message to -??Shift to Park-?? even though the vehicle is already in park. The vehicle will not shut off unless I shift the vehicle into reverse and then back into park.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »