10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 7
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 12,588 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Message displaying shift to park when in park (shift to park issue). See service bulletin 18-na-297. Even though the Volt is not part of this service bulletin, this is the exact problem occurring. The problem is not occurring every time, but is getting more frequent.
- Sterling Heights, MI, USA
For the propulsion many times while driving it occasionally slows down or speeds up kind of like a bucking horse. For the electrical the bluetooth connectivity to my cell phone and also my fob often disconnect and then I can't lock or unlock my car. For the other issue I have a shift to park problem that locks my car and I can't switch gears or turn the car on or off for a few minutes then it all of a sudden turns back on but the issue is that when it says shift to park it is actually in the park position.
- Palmdale, CA, USA
When I would put my car in park, the car would not turn off. It wouldn't happen all the time and I thought I wasn't putting my foot on the brake, or I thought maybe I did something else wrong. It was frustrating as I thought I was going crazy. Then one day 'I was so frustrated, I slammed the gear shift into park and it actually turned off. That was an 'ah ha' moment. Shortly after that I made an appointment to get my car checked for the problem. That's when I got upset'the guy says 'oh, it happens all the time to this model'. so then my husband says'shouldn't you pay for it if it's a known defect. The service engineer says it's not still on warranty and is not a recall. So we paid the $500 to get it fixed. But this should be a recall- it's a safety issue now that I know the car was not turned off many times'sometimes I only knew it wasn't off because my radio would play when I locked the door'and the door wouldn't lock. This such a safety issue on the highest level..I paid the money but truly it should have been fixed by GM because of the safety issue. So then the service guy says to call GM, even gave us the number which turned out to be General Motors but you needed a customer code so that did no good (855-462-2737). So now I'm asking you guys to look into something the service dept at delillo Chevrolet says 'we see this a lot'. the problem would happen when I thought the car was in park'it looked like it was in park but it wasn't. they called it: Switch in shifter contacts not sending signal to body control module. So that's my story, as frustrating as it was. My car now shuts off on a regular basis. I just feel sorry for the next person who can't shut off their car!!!
- Fountain Valley, CA, USA
Commonly known online as the "shift-to-park" issue, when the driver attempts to park the vehicle by sliding the shift mechanism into park the vehicle does not recognize the position and will not allow the vehicle to shut off. A message appears on the dash display instructing "action required....shift to park." Vehicle is stationary on level ground. Problem began as intermittent, but continues to become more frequent.
- Escondido, CA, USA
After shifting into park I received a message on the screen saying that the car must be shifted into park before it would be powered down. I was unable to power down the car. This is known as the "shift to park issue." The vehicle was stationary.
- Longmont, CO, USA
Shift to park error that is a known problem that GM has known about. It will give you a "action required: Shift to park" on the display when you put the car in park and will not allow you to turn off the car. I've seen people call it replacing becm or replacing the shifter assembly.this problem is only considered covered in the bumper to bumper warranty, however, every Volt has this issue and should be recalled by GM and fully covered. The dealership knows what the problem is but requires me to pay an $145 inspection fee just to locate the problem.
- Wasco, CA, USA
Shift to park even after factory correction.
- Northborough, MA, USA
Engine will not shut off. 'shift to park' message comes on in information area of instruments despite Volt already in park. Repeated shifting out of park and back eventually after multiple times allows for car to turn off. Started only occasionally to happen about 1 year ago and now happens multiple times per week. This seems to be a common event for Volt 2017 and earlier and other Chevy models and needs a recall. I had to leave car running on two occasions.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
After driving the vehicle is placed into park and power off button pushed. Car does not turn off and a warning message "action required: Shift to park" displays on the dashboard. The vehicle is already in park when this message comes up and shows the "P" in the upper right of dashboard highlighted with the red background.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
It is the "shift to park" problem. The car will not turn off because it does not recognize when it is in park. It has been occurring for more than a week and may be repaired by replacing the microswitch or F-harness related to the shift assembly. This condition happens when the car is stationary upon attempting to turn it off.
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
I purchased my used 17 Chevy Volt 2 months ago. Suddenly my car started having intermediate issues of showing "shift to park" when the vehicle is clearly in park mode. When this occurs the vehicle cannot be shut off. I have attempted to contact GM but they claim there are no recall or service bulletins for my VIN/vehicle. There are countless online complaints from 17 Volt owners showing the same issue (this is also occurring with other GM models & I am also seeing similar complaints on this site). GM is fully aware of this defect & has only issued service bulletins on some VIN # - while they should have cause - based on numerous complaints - that this impact is occurring with the majority of 17 Volts. This is a safety issue when a 3,794 lbs vehicle cannot be shut off. I am asking that NHTSA issue a recall in regards to 2017 Chevy Volts & the "sh*t to park" issue. While this is an intermediate issue and some days my car shuts of fine while others it takes moving the shifter back between gears in order for the electrical component to recognize it's parked - I will try to contact my local dealer for help but I am filing this complaint to put GM & NHTSA on notice regarding this well known defect that is not being addressed and could be a serious safety issue. GM should do the right thing and address this issue which is well documented - by providing a recall. Please see these similar complaints for GM on various models showing "shift to park": https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2018/GMC-acadia-shift-to-park-issues-lawsuit.shtml https://www.reddit.com/R/Volt/comments/8et2nw/action_required_shift_to_park/ https://abc6onyourside.com/on-your-side/westerville-family-in-limbo-as-GM-leaves-them-in-dark-over-shift-to-park-issue https://www.cruzetalk.com/threads/shift-to-park-lock-problem.51401/ https://repairpal.com/cannot-turn-off-2016-Volt-action-required-shift-to-park-522
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
Shift to park error message consistently appearing preventing the car from effectively turning off when car is shifted to park.
- Granite Bay, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. On several occasions, after parking the vehicle, it took several attempts to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to pearl motor company (3100 S clark St, Mexico, mo 65265, (573) 567-4254) where it was determined that the key fobs needed to be replaced. The key fobs were replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000. Consumer stated relay was finally replaced and problem solved.
- Montgomery City, MO, USA
Shift-to-park alert after you power down car. Effectlvely, the car won't turn off. Brought to GM in 2018 and they replaced the shifter. 18 months later, the problem has returned. Appears to be a chronic defect in the 2nd gen Volt.
- San Diego, CA, USA
The shifter switch is defective and will not allow the car to be turned off.
- Grafton, OH, USA
My Volt had a sudden loss of propulsion and warning "action required - shift to park" and was in service at my local Chevy dealership for 41 days to solve this dangerous issue. When the vehicle was returned to me it would no longer charge to 53 miles electric. On my level 1 charger it has charged to 52 or 53 miles since the first day of ownership on 1/24/17. The vehicle will change to 36 - 40 miles now which is greater than a 30% loss of electric charge. I am not referring to driving range which varies with conditions. The problem has been serviced by the dealership 3 times for a total of 53 days. The problem seems to have been resolved on the last service visit where the shifter assembly and the transmission control were replaced. I am now in arbitration with GM under the California lemon law and the BBB. I am requesting a buyback of the vehicle for impairment of use, value, and safety.
- Paso Robles, CA, USA
The sensing diagnostic module failed at ~38K miles causing the airbags to stop working. This happened when the vehicle was parked.
- Brooklet, GA, USA
The battery energy control module failed at ~34K miles. This happened when the vehicle was parked and prevented the car from using the batteries for driving. The failure made the car unusable.
- Brooklet, GA, USA
Faulty front proximity sensor or camera resulting in false positives of object in front of the car. False warning lights and warning sounds as if an object is in front of the car when no object is in sight. Usually during the rain but occasionally not. Occurs when the vehicle is traveling less than 6mph. Happens around 75% of the time during the rain and about 5% of the time during dry weather.
- Amherst, NH, USA
- Arlington Heights, IL, USA