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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,838 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Chevrolet Volt drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2017 Chevrolet Volt Owner Comments (Page 4 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #120

Mar 312022

Volt

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

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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

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

problem #107

Sep 142021

Volt

  • miles
Car started giving message -??Place car in park-??, even though car is in Park. Thus not allowing me to turn my car off. I have to move it from Park to Drive multiple times before it registers and I can turn my car off. This happens at least once a day, but seems to be getting worse and worse-?? looking online many others are having same issue across many Chevy models.

- Dawsonville, GA, USA

problem #106

Jul 012021

Volt

  • miles
After parking the car and moving the shifter to the "park" position, I tried to turn off the vehicle. The message "Action Required: Shift to Park" appeared, and the vehicle would not turn off. After the problem began, it happened more and more frequently, sometimes requiring 3-5 attempts to shut off the car before it successfully turned off and I could leave it parked. After this happened almost every time I drove for two months, I took the car to a Chevrolet dealer, where they confirmed the issue and replaced the shifter. The problem has since ceased, but it was a very expensive repair for a problem that seems to be very common in Volts.

- Hyattsville, MD, USA

problem #105

Aug 282021

Volt

  • miles
Car exhibits "shift to park" message when attempting to turn off car. This issue is still occurring after the completion of the technical service bulletin and jumper wire installed. Bulletin No.: 19-NA-206

- Winnetka, CA, USA

problem #104

Aug 102021

Volt

  • miles
Car is stuck unable to start, screen shows "Shift to Park" when trying to put into gear.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #103

Aug 042021

Volt

  • miles
I have owned the 2017 Volt since August of 2017. Late 2018 or early 2019 I started having an intermittent problem when I turned the car off. The screen showed an error message "Action required - Shift to park". The car was in park already. I would push the start button. Shift into gear and shift again into park. In the beginning that solved the problem. But the car did not fully shut down when the error message is displayed. If the door is opened, the signal that the engine is running beeps. I took it to the dealer service department. They kept the car for a day to diagnose the problem but did not get the error message. But as the problem was intermittent, it continued. I returned the car to the dealer and they said they made an adjustment that should resolve the problem. It didn't. The problem became constant and I could not shift into park. The car did not fully shut off and I couldn't lock it. I returned the car to the dealer and it was there for several days while they waited for a new shifter. It was on their EV charger full time so as to not drain the battery. The shifter was replaced in February 2019. I thought this was a random incident but found out it is not. In July 2021 the same problem returned. I called 2 dealers for an appointment and have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment. I looked online for solutions and to see if others had the same experience. I found many postings and comments with screenshots of the same error message and cars not turning off. It seems to be a defect affecting the Volt and other GM cars of the same age. I had an appointment at lunch 8/3/21 and after several tries to engage the parking gear, the car still would not turn off. I had to leave it running in the parking lot for 30 minutes and it would not lock. The car shut off normally when I returned to the office. This is not an issue of safety on the road, but the inability to turn off the car and lock it is a safety factor, especially for women.

- Gardnerville, NV, USA

problem #102

Jul 142021

Volt

  • miles
As do many other owners of Chevrolet Volts and Malibus, I have experienced the "Shift-to-Park" problem last year and again this year. The problem involves shifting to park and then shutting off the motor. The motor stops but the error message "Shift to Park to turn off engine" appears on the dashboard console. The engine has stopped, the car is in park, but the message continues. When I open the door, the beeping alert signal begins and continues. I had it repaired by the dealer last year and the 2017 Volt is back at the dealer's for the same problem again this year. There should be a recall for this widespread problem.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #101

Jun 232021

Volt

  • miles
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

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