10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 6
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 17,511 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
Car would not turn off. Got the message "Shift to park" on driver display, but car was in park. Had to cycle the gear shifter several times in order to get it to shut off.
- Springboro, OH, USA
While driving on the interstate at 75 mph I had to accelerate briefly to allow another vehicle to merge safely onto the road. Immediately my dashboard gave me a warning message saying -€œreduced propulsion acceleration may be limited-€ and the engine warning light came on. The temperature of my coolant began to rise over 230 F & then 240. Miles from my destination, I reduced speed & took the next exit to stop for fuel and read my owners manual. I discovered that the same message could appear if the car was not put into -€œmountain mode-€ thereby failing to reserve a certain amount of energy in the battery. I had hoped we starting the engine & resetting the computer with the car in -€œMountain mode-€ would resolve the matter, but that was not the case. I let the engine cool down for a bit & restarted my trip as I was just 20 miles away from my destination. Later on, I got another message as my engine began frequently skipping and sputtering that told me my -€œengine as not available-€ despite having a bear full tank of gas. I pulled over to read the manual & discovered that this message indicated once my car ran out of electric energy it would just stop working! As I had been on the road for 6.5 hours prior, I knew there was no electric reserve to pull from & said a prayer that my 4-yr-old daughter and I could get safely and get a tow to the dealership. The -€œreduced propulsion-€ message is part of a recall on the gen2 Volt, tho that recall relates to a software glitch & the remedy just provides -€œadditional warning time-€ for this serious issue. My car just turned 5 years with 33,000 miles on it. I have followed all maintenance recommendations. Seems like an electrical emissions issue, & with a lithium battery on board, fire from overheating scares me as much as than engine failure on the interstate. But I had a full tank of gasoline! Dealer says it is a -€œshort in my EGR Valve-€ & that part needs replacing.
- Fredericksburg , VA, USA
When I start engine it says action required shift to park and it-€™s already in park. Then car won-€™t move. This has happened several times. Sometimes it will start but says vehicle propulsion is reduced and I drove it like this once and it was dangerous. This keeps happening and I am scared!
- Fair Oaks, CA, USA
Shifter is defective so that the car won't turn off, instead sticks on with "Shift to Park" warning. This makes it not possible to lock the car using the buttons, and drains the battery, resulting in stranded driver. Dealership said that they had never heard of it, but I see on the internet that is very, very, very, very, very common problem. Started after about 5,000 miles, has done is sporadically for last 4 years. Getting worse so that rarely turns off now, we just leave it on a charger all the time now.
- Franklin, TN, USA
When turning the car off a "shift to park" message appeared. The car wouldn't automatically lock because it thought it was still in drive. When I returned I tried to turn the car on while still in park, I shifted back to Drive and then back to park and the same message appeared when I tried to turn it on as if it still hadn't turned off. No AC, steering or the startup sound so I tried to wiggle it and then took my foot off the brake and then turned off, I then opened the door to cut power. I put my foot on the brake and the car started normally but this is the 4th time in less than a week. Heat outside at this time of year is 115 degrees+ so being stranded for a neutral safety switch or transmission gear sensor is unacceptable especially when my Wife and daughter primarily use it. We had this problem over a year ago and they replaced the whole gear selector assembly but it is showing signs of failure again.
- Surprise, AZ, USA
Shift to park issue. Can not turn the car off as it does not recognize it is in Park.
- Vernon, AL, USA
Intermittent Shift to Park Message - which on my car is permanent. My car will not shut off as it does not think it is in park. This is a very common problem with a number GM vehicles especially the Chevy Volt and should be subject to a recall. GM has a newly designed transmission control assembly to correct this problem.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
When turning off the car, after shifting to park, I get a message indicating "Shift to Park". As it is already in Park, there is nothing that can be done. I have sometimes been able to get it to go away by continually starting, shifting to drive, shifting back to park and then trying to shut the car down again. Sometimes I just don't have time to do it and have to leave the car in this state and leave the car. I doubt it could be driven as I have the key fob, but it is on and when I get back, the car is powered up. I am not sure if there are safety implications to this as I don't know the cause of this problem. I have researched on line and this is not unique to my 2017 Volt.
- Muncie, IN, USA
The charger that was supplied with the new car caught fire in the J Connector handle and melted (pictures attached). this happened in my garage and I discovered it within 3 hours after it happened due to a chemical smelling smoke haze in the garage, and a pile of ash on the floor under the J Connector. There was no other damage other than the connector and it took a few hours to air out the garage. I had plugged it in to be charged at 12 amps with the dash indicating "7 miles" of charge left. The dash indicated "9 miles" of charge available after the fire (full charge this time of year is approximately 58 miles). The fire went out on its own. The charger has been plugged in the same outlet for the last 3 years and there is almost no load on that circuit other than the car (exterior lighting that has 4 led bulbs of low lumens). After the fire my wife recalled that she thought the charger handle felt hot once the previous week when she unplugged it. This is a serious safety issue because it could have started a house fire and risked the health, lives, and safety of my family--5 of us and a dog, nevermind the damage to property and risk to first responders. I reported this to the dealer I bought the 2017 Volt from new, which is Fitzgerald Auto in Frederick, Maryland. They asked me to bring the charger and car out same day which I did. It took them 3 days to call me and inform me solely that the charger is not covered under warranty anymore because it has been more than 3 years and 36 thousand miles since I purchased the car, and they told me technically it is "an accessory" and not part of the car. They asked me to purchase another charger from them at more than $600 which I declined to do. I do not know if they informed Chevrolet/General Motors of the issue or sent the damaged charger in for analysis. They did not comment at all on the safety part of it.
- Davidsonville, MD, USA
Car would not shut off. Message appeared "Shift to park" on driver display, but car was in park. Had to cycle the gear shifter several times in order to get it to shut off.
- Easton, PA, USA
When I park the car, it will not turn off. Gives the message "Action Required Shift to Park" But it gives that message while the car is in park. Originally, when it first started happening two years ago, it could not be reproduced. As such, while it was under warranty the problem could not be reproduced. Now it happens over 80% of the time I stop the vehicle. I mentioned the problem to the dealer but they could not replicate the issue. Eventually, if you move the transmission linkage around enough the error clears and you can turn the car off. But this puts excessive wear on the transmission linkage. And now, its out of its basic warranty. Its clear the problem has happened to many others out there, with far fewer miles than me (51,300 miles). Why isn't the manufacturer being held accountable for this issue?
- Schenectady, NY, USA
car will not turn off when in part and press power off button. Seems dangerous to me. Please issue a recall.
- Altadena, CA, USA
The car will be shifted in park, but the car does not recognize it. It will show -€œShift to Park-€ and won-€™t lock while sounding the alert. It-€™s very bad for the safety for the vehicle
- Austin, TX, USA
Currently, the Volt will be parked and will not turn off the car. It is displaying a message shift to the park issue. This is very misleading considering the car is already in the park mode and will not turn off.
- San Jose, CA, USA
The vehicle does not recognize when put in park, gives the error "shift to park" cannot turn vehicle off and goes in to accessory mode.
- Garden Grove, CA, USA
When at rest, I shift into park and successfully put the car into park. Then, when I try and turn off the car, I get a message to 'shift to park.' It does not allow me to turn off the car or lock my car, even though I know the car is in park. I have to turn on the car, shift back and forth, and try turning off the car as well. This may have to happen several times, 3-4, before I can finally turn off my car completely.
- Bellaire, TX, USA
After being parked for over 24 hours, when we started the vehicle we got a message shift to park. The car would not go into gear and was undriveable. We tried to contact onstar from the vehicle but thd connection kept breaking up. We got through on our cell and were forwarded to GM. They ordered road side assistancece. While waiting, we again started the vehicle. There was a bew message initializing: Wait to shift but the car did not go into gear. When roadside assistance arrived, they also tried without success. The car was towed to a dealership. In reading various forums, it appears this is a common problem and a major repair. I am curious as to why there has not been a recall fir this issue?
- Bronx, NY, USA
When I try to turn off the car, I put the shifter in the park position and then press the stop button to turn off the car. The dash shows the car in park, but a message shows up saying, "the car needs to be in park before the care can be turned off". I can try several times and get the same message (P-D-P-D-P...) the problem was intermittent and then continuous. The dealer replaced the shifter (described as a known problem) as I was concerned that I could not turn off the car in the event of an emergency (gas generator fire, electrical short, li battery overload, etc). Also, I could not lock the car until some reset condition occurs 10-15 minutes later.
- Torrance, CA, USA
This has been an issue ever since I bought the car I took it in to the dealer and they told me it's not covered under warranty.anytime im about to park my vehicle, and I turn off the car it states on the cluster that my car isn't put into park, which I do and it shows it's in park but the car tells me to please shift it into park. The car cannot be shut off. It's a real safety hazard to be unable to turn off the car because the system won't recognize the car being in park. I have been unable to find a way to fix this issue myself. And from all the complaints that I see from owners it seems this is a real issue that needs a recall and system update so the car recognizes that it's in the park position.
- Santa Clarita, CA, USA
- Cincinnati, OH, USA