10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 8,997 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
Had to replace EGR valve after losing power on the highway back in 2022. Lost power steering and reduced engine power while driving at highway speeds, luckily was able to get off the highway and limp the car back to my house. I almost crashed due to loosing engine power and power steering. It's appears to be a BECM issue.
- Kingsland, GA, USA
We bought the car for our son when he began to drive. We liked the idea that it was gas and electric. At the time, our son was into electric vehicles. At 44, 000 miles, 7/10/20 the car was taken to the dealership. The engine light was on at this point, the message displayed "Propulsion Power is Reduced". Once the diagnostic was done it was said that the EGR valve needed replacing. Of course, this is during the of COVID. Everything was shut down. No one is working. It is now a wait game. Prior to this our Chevy Volt has been in and out of the dealership with either recall or something else. We enjoy the car because of how it operates with gas and electric. Fast forward it is 80,000 miles now, and the car is at the dealership again. It has currently been there for almost a month. After blowing fuses it has be diagnosed as the EGR valve needs replacing again. The part is not available currently. No one seems to know when it might be available. The part cannot be purchased from our local distributor. GM is the only ones who makes it is our understanding. There is no other dealership near us that has certified technicians who can work on them. We called around and asked. We want to know what the solution is. How can this be prevented? We were over an hour away from home and no dealership was open when it went out the last time. It became worse to the point that we were stopped on the road with flashers on because it was not safe to pullover. Prayer works.
- Camilla, GA, USA
EGR Valve failed and blew fuse while I was on road. I do have the part for inspection if necessary. Part failure caused reduced propulsion in traffic on interstate. Due to GM not manufacturing part, I had to order a refurbished part from China so I could get it put in and use my vehicle after 3 months of waiting for OEM part to come in. Component has not been inspected by anyone, outside of mechanic who would have replaced it. No warnings or symptoms of issue were observed before the part failed.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
On 2/11/23, our 2017 Chevrolet Volt displayed a check engine light and the engine started to overheat, as determined by the driver from the dash coolant temperate display, while driving down the interstate after 1 hour of driving. The car was pulled over to the side of the road and towed home. Upon inspection of the Chevy Volt later, the F03 15 amp mini-fuse(referred to as non-walk home fuse) in the main engine fuse block had blown, which had likely caused the electronically controlled thermostat to close and the engine to quickly overheat, due to lack of coolant. The reason why the F03 15 amp mini-fuse blew is because the control board for the EGR valve catastrophically failed and overloaded the fuse of this important shared electrical circuit. The electronic thermostat is part of this shared circuit, in addition to the EGR valve and possibly other important vehicle functions. I consider this cascade of electronic and engine/cooling failures to be a safety issue for the driver, in addition to being a poor design. As GM doesn't currently have any replacement EGR valves for our 2017 Chevy Volt, which includes the EGR valve control board, we are forced to disconnect the EGR valve from the vehicle and replace the F03 15 amp mini-fuse, in order to make the car drivable. This is contributing to increased vehicle emissions and reduced vehicle efficiency. In locations with emissions inspections, this EGR valve parts shortage results in the vehicle failing inspection and being made undrivable. I think the NHTSA should force GM to recall any 2nd generation Chevrolet Volt vehicles that have this defective EGR valve/control board, due to its cascading effect on the safe operation of the Volt.
- Evansville, IN, USA
On [XXX] my 2017 Chevrolet Volt with just 24,000 miles on it suddenly jerked/lost power/revved up while on the highway while using the gas engine--frightening/dangerous -- and continued to do that until I got to my destination. The error read "reduced propulsion". I was afraid of pulling off the highway for fear the car wouldn't restart and I had my 91 yr old mother in the car so we bucked along in the slow lane, the car revving fast, then losing power. It was very frightening and i proceeded with the flashers on. Took car to dealership balise in warwick ri. Tech said it was a bad EGR valve. They told me that GM would cover the repair under warranty but the part was on backorder. I opted to leave the car at the dealership hoping for the best but they said another customer had been waiting since September. They told me to take the car home, but i didnt feel the car was safe to drive. Web search reveals this is a common problem and people are waiting all over the U.S. for this part for over a year. Subsequent phone calls revealed that the part may or may not be manufactured ever again, and the dealership suggested I buy a refurbished part on ebay and have it installed at a local repair shop at my cost --- but that would null the warranty, and seemed risky to me. I asked the dealership to buy my car and they offered me $5k less than fair market value-so I declined. Opened a case at GM and they also had no answer, and offered to give me "points" to buy another GM car. Havent had use of the car since because I'm afraid to drive it with the car revving forward and at the next moment losing power. My car has been sitting in the dealer's lot for over 3 months, while I continue to pay registration, insurance and watch the value of the vehicle decline. Dangerous and GM will not buyback or rectify!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Westport, MA, USA
We were driving in traffic. The battery had plenty of charge. Suddenly, there was a warning notice about propulsion power problem and the car converted to gasoline mode. We continued to destination and parked. When we went to start the car, it would not start at all. Had car towed to our local Chevrolet dealership (all service done there) and that is where it is still sitting. The part needed (battery) is on back order. This occurred on July 21, 2023. Today is March 13, 2024! as of today....approaching 250 days sitting in the dealership open lot,
- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA
On Christmas day, 12/25/2023 my EGR valve failed about 60 miles from home blowing my F3 fuse and putting the car into walk home mode. Luckily after some quick searching i was able to self diagnose the EGR valve as the problem as this appears to be a frequent problem with this model of car. Lots of posts online. I replaced the fuse and unplugged the valve and was able to get my vehicle home. Jan 6th 2024 a dealer confirmed the diagnosis and confirmed it as a warranty repair. Stated since the car was drivable (ev mode) i could bring it home until the part came in since it was back ordered. It has been 66 days since the diagnosis, 13 since my safety inspection expired taking my vehicle off the road due to the check engine light on. Working with both the dealer and GM directly, neither have been able to resolve my issue. I informed all parties that my inspection would expire on 2/29/2024 and my car would no longer be drivable.
- Rochester , NY, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was restarted but stalled again after driving for several miles. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the EGR belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,382.
- Grapeview, WA, USA
I purchased my chevy volt on 8/17/2022. Early to mid November 2022 the check engine light appeared on the dash. It was determined the EGR valve needed to be replaced. I took the vehicle to Ferman Chevy Tampa on 11/21/2022. They replaced the EGR valve and we paid $1346.07 for the work completed. Then late December 2022 - Early January 2023 the check engine light appeared once again on the dash. It was determined that the EGR valve placed in the vehicle was a faulty part and the volt needed a new EGR valve. We waited approximately 1 month for the repair. Early November 2023 the check engine light came on once again. After inspection it was determined that once again a faulty EGR valve was placed in the vehicle. This is the 3rd time the same issue has occurred in a year. Today is Monday 2/26/2024 and volt has yet to be repaired, that is nearly 3 months! Apparently the part is not available and GM has no idea when it will be available. We were recently told possibly 2025. My husband came across some information stating that 1,600 people are currently waiting for an EGR valve for their Chevy Volt and that 2,000 have been ordered, but no one knows when they will arrive and after 3 EGR valvles going bad in one year even if the part becomes available I don't know if that will fix the problem or if it will just happen again. The car is inoperable for any long distance driving. We paid $26,431.83 for this vehicle a little over a year ago and its basically inoperable with solution from Chevy or GM. Aside from this issue I love my Chevy Volt. Its actually the 3rd one I have owned, but this is not fair to me as the consumer when they cannot reslove the issue. Thank you for you consideration in this matter.
- Apollo Beach, Hillsborough, Fl, FL, USA
Sudden failure of exhaust gas recirculation valve resulted in unexpected significant power loss on limited access highway and immediate loss of speed and acceleration. Driver was able to move to side of road with care and proceed in "limp home" mode. No warning lights activated prior to this event. Event could have been catastrophic if it occurred during heavy traffic conditions. Occupants could have been trapped in vehicle stuck in left or middle lane with no way to safely merge into oncoming high speed traffic. Car is available for inspection. GM dealer has provided the diagnosis of repair and suggested replacement of ERG valve and ERG valve cooler. This is a known defect and GM is unable to provide timely delivery of replacement parts. Waiting period of up to six months was predicted by GM dealer. Driver reports posted on internet forums reflect many Volt drivers reporting these same events and concerns.
- Sewickley, PA, USA
Recall work was performed by dealer for EVAP pipe. Insulative repair was used because pipe had not worn through. This was advised to me from dealer that performed recall work. June 2023 took vehicle to dealer due to check engine light being on. Was advised that insulation that was applied to resolve recall had "slipped" causing EVAP to develop a hole and was needing to be replaced at this point. Opened case with GM with no resolution due to failed recall work. Did not feel I should be responsible for labor due to failure of their recall fix.
- Hamilton, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine valves. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 84,000.
- Lauderhill, FL, USA
I was traveling at 75 mph with the cruise control on when a message came on about reduced purpulsion. My vehicle lost all power and rapidly decreased speed, the gas pedal did nothing until my speed had dropped under 60 mph. I was on the freeway and could have caused an accident. Chevrolet says a programming update was needed to fix the problem but my BECM is now also out.
- Annandale, MN, USA
Driving on the road with a near full electric battery and then lost most of my power and got this message on the dash along with a check engine light. "Propulsion Power is Reduced" - I was in freeway traffic on a hill and had to put hazards on to move to the slow lane. Engine came on and seemed to be revving to full power to maintain speed.
- Winthrop, WA, USA
BECM failure on car confirmed at 128,000 miles. While driving the car's check engine light came on; immediately followed by a message of reduced propulsion and the EV range dropping to 0. Vehicle switched to gas and ran very rough for a short distance to an available stop. Have been informed by dealership that the vehicle is now unsafe for driving due to a potential stall.
- Newberry, SC, USA
While we were driving on the freeway, we saw a check engine light and -??propulsion power is reduced-?? message. The car began driving very roughly and we had to slow down. We had this happen once before where the car engine stopped working entirely while driving at city speeds after seeing this error earlier in the summer, so we pulled over as soon as we could. We were traveling in a remote area at the time, just before the holidays, and it was fairly cold out. The car dealer inspected the car and told us it was unsafe to drive, that we could not take it back until it was fixed, and that it was an EGR valve problem. We previously had this fixed under warranty as well for similar behavior, and the car is barely five years old with very few miles on it. It-??s our only car and we have been waiting on the part for weeks now, with no response on when we-??ll be able to have our car back, and no rental car that we can drive in the meantime to get to our jobs and get groceries. The part is covered under our warranty. Both times this has happened to us, we were actively driving. In the city, it was very unsafe for the engine to unexpectedly stop as we were driving because of the amount of traffic and pedestrians, and because it meant we didn-??t have full control of the vehicle. On the freeway, it was very unsafe because of the speed we were going on the freeway. Knowing that our engine was at high risk of unexpectedly stopping working while driving on the freeway from the past experience in the city made it difficult to safely concentrate on pulling over and also maneuver in traffic.
- Malden, MA, USA
Vehicle lost power on highway and on local streets. -??Propulsion power reduced-?? warning. Car brought to dealer 7/2023. EGR valve ordered at that time. The EGR valve has not been available since that time. No time frame for availability has been given.
- Falls Church, VA, USA
The Volts BECM has failed. There are warning lights constantly warning about Engine and low Propulsion. There are multiple symptoms. Most serious is that car has stalled while driving 3 times. If I pull over, put in park, then turn off; I can restart the engine using battery mode. It does not drive well in gas mode where gas fuels generator to charge battery for propulsion. It is now very loud and often won't allow you to drive faster than 30 MPH. The mileage diagnostics (MPG) are just over 50% of what they were before problem started. It often randomly switches from battery mode to gas. This is undesired. My problem is that the only certified tech is on other side of Island Volcano. I have no confidence that I can drive it to dealer, given the distance and power required to climb mountain. So, I am stuck with no way to fix. There are widespread reported issues, similar to mine, caused by defective BECM (Battery Energy Control Module). Problem started September 2023 and have issues every day I dare drive it.
- Kailua Kona, HI, USA
Upon starting vehicle and shifting to drive, vehicle gives message to "shift to park" and will do nothing else. Also, while battery is fully charged, vehicle will display "unable to charge" and show no mileage left on EV mode - then at times (but not always) upon starting vehicle, mileage increases to what it expected.
- Chandler, AZ, USA
- Scipio, IN, USA