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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 8 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #40

Jun 082020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 44,000 miles

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

My Volt produces an error message: "action required: Shift to park" after placing the car in park and tapping the power button. As a result, I cannot turn off the vehicle without a series of turning the car on and off again whilst shifting back and forth from drive to park. My concern is that this extra action will one day produce an unintended acceleration into a person or structure that may cause death, damage or dismemberment to myself or others. I've found numerous reports online that the issues stems from a known problem involving the shift assembly but my local dealership refused to inspect the vehicle without charging a $160 diagnostics fee that may increase based on the issues at hand, which I declined. I've mentioned that this was heavily catalogued on GM forums and my service advisor agreed but mentioned they only offer no cost replacements when the issues happens under 36K miles and I am at 44K miles. A recall should be initiated for the reasons mentioned above.

- Whittier, CA, USA

problem #39

May 042020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 54,000 miles
With the vehicle stationary and in park when I try to turn off the vehicle a message comes on the screen that says "action required: Shift to park" although the vehicle is already in park. It does not let you turn off the vehicle.

- Goodyear, AZ, USA

problem #38

Jun 092020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 31,028 miles
When I shift the car into park and try to turn it off, it refuses to turn off and says "action required: Shift to park" this is annoying as the car is already clearly in park. This has started to happen every time I try to park. Apparently this is a known issue that GM refuses to offer a recall on. Well, I am just going to keep reporting the issue until they do.

- Spring Hill, FL, USA

problem #37

May 222020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 52,000 miles

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

The shift to park sensor is defective. Even though car is shifted to park already, car does not sense it and is not able to be turned off. One would have to jiggle the shifter around vigorously in order to get it to sense it. This happens frequently.

- Simi, CA, USA

problem #36

May 072020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 33,486 miles
When I attempt to shut the car off, I get an error message telling me to "shift to park" however, the shift selector is already in park, the car is just failing to detect it. This is the second time this has happened with this car. The first time it was repaired under warranty. It appears the shift selector sensor is not working properly or fails over time.

- Mountain View, CA, USA

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problem #35

May 062020

Volt 4-cyl

  • 22,778 miles
After I put the car in park and I press the power button to turn off the car, it doesn't completely shut off. It announces I must "shift to park" even though I have already shifted into park. Next comes a series of turning the car on/off again, until eventually the car shuts off properly. I have this on video if needed. This is a common problem that many people online have described. Https://www.sandiegocan.org/2019/11/26/alert-2017-Chevrolet-Volt-shift-to-park-defect/

- Charlestown, MA, USA

problem #34

Apr 172020

Volt

  • miles

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

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

problem #33

Apr 182020

Volt

  • 20,000 miles
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

problem #32

Mar 152020

Volt

  • 34,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that upon shifting the vehicle into park, a warning message flashed on the instrument panel which stated action required, shifter not in park. The contact took the vehicle to capitol Chevrolet (905 capitol expressway auto mall, san jose, ca 95136) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall for the failure experienced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #31

Mar 252020

Volt

  • 30,000 miles
Experiencing the dreaded "shift to park: Action required" error that seems to plague this model. The car will not recognize that the gears are being shifted and is completely stationary. Car is now stuck in a parking lot and will not start and has to be towed to the dealer!

- Solon, OH, USA

problem #30

Mar 112020

Volt

  • 29,200 miles

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

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

problem #29

Jan 012019

Volt

  • miles
Shift to park error message consistently appearing preventing the car from effectively turning off when car is shifted to park.

- Granite Bay, CA, USA

problem #28

Jan 282020

Volt

  • 51,000 miles
After I shift the vehicle into park and press the button to turn off the car, a warning comes up and says "shift to park." I cannot turn off the car until the message clears. The message is cleared by giggling the shifter (already in park) back and forth. This happens almost every time I turn off the car now. After a short google search, many other 2017 owners are experiencing the same issue. Please look into issuing a recall.

- Ramona, CA, USA

problem #27

Jan 032020

Volt

  • 34,000 miles
Transmission will not shift to park. Will not allow car to shut off as it does not recognize the car in park.

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA

problem #26

Jan 082020

Volt

  • 26,000 miles
Getting alert 'shift to park', the vehicle will not turn off, have to jiggle the shifter to get it to recognize its in park

- Redondo Beach, CA, USA

problem #25

Dec 232019

Volt

  • 45,000 miles
The battery control module failed in my Volt on 12/22/2019. My car was diagnosed as such on 12/23/19 and I was sent home with it to wait as GM parts are allegedly severely delayed due to the union strikes that occurred months ago. I was told the vehicle was completely safe to drive. While on my way home, and driving at 40mph in the left lane of a four lane surface road, I lost all propulsion power and received a message reading 'action required: Shift to park' on the dic accompanied by a warning chime. I was very lucky to not be rear ended as the car decelerated very quickly without much warning. The car was clearly not safe to drive, and I had to have it towed to the dealership. The tow truck did not retrieve the car until 12/30/19 as the dealer failed to return my calls about this for several days. The car sat in my driveway until they retrieved it. I am still waiting for the car to be repaired as of 1/7/2020.

- Garden City, MI, USA

problem #24

Dec 142019

Volt

  • 50,000 miles
After you power off my car, I'll get an alert on my dashboard that says, " action required shift to park" the car will effectively not turn off. I'll be unable to lock the car and the lights will stay on for a few minutes. Worse yet, it is intermittent.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #23

Sep 102019

Volt

  • 32,000 miles
Becm failure at 32,000 miles. Car would not charge and would report ev range as 0 when it in fact did have range. The car also would not move/start reliably leaving the change of being stranded somewhere because of the faulty computer. The dealer tried to fix the software on the becm but it ended up being a failed becm. It seems very common for this to fail from what I have read online. The dealer fixed the issue under the voltec warranty and I have not had an issue in 4+ months. There was obviously a bad batch or engineering defect on the stock becm.

- Wahpeton, ND, USA

problem #22

Dec 222019

Volt

  • 35,066 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. While driving approximately 25 mph, the check engine indicator illuminated. The contact stated that the gas engine turned on while there was a significant amount of battery range left. As a result, the contact had to coast the vehicle downhill to the side of the road. The contact attempted to place the gear into drive; however, the gear shifter did not recognize that the vehicle was in drive. Instead, the gear shifter indicated that the vehicle was in the park position. The vehicle failed to move forward or in reverse. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to allen gwynn Chevrolet (located at 1400 S brand blvd, glendale, ca 91205, 818-528-8597) where it was diagnosed that the gear shifter needed to be replaced; however, the repair was no longer covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 35,066.

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #21

Nov 192019

Volt

  • 27,000 miles
When I attempted to turn off the vehicle, with the shift set to "P", I get a message that appears, "action required shift to park", and the vehicle will not turn off. I would have to turn the car on and off several times, sometimes roughly 6-7 times and sometimes I would have to move the shifter back and forth between D, N, R, etc. I had my local dealership (van GMC/Chevrolet) and they replaced the shifter harness which was a known issue. My Volt is continuing to flash the 'action required/shift to park' message and hesitates to turn off and then powers down.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

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