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.
Without warning, my car stopped charging. Noticed it was at 0 miles despite charging it the night before. Believing I may have not properly connected the home cord (supplied by Chevy) to the car, I chalked it up to being my mistake and plugged in again the next night. Same result. 0 miles. Then it immediately started acting like a 12V battery failure with engine warning lights and then it just refused to start and/or charge and was dead in the water. I called AAA for a battery jump and they came. It got the car started, but the check engine light remained lit for two days and I primarily ran the car on its gas generator to hopefully charge it. Just last night, the check engine light went away. Despite having a partial charge, this morning 8/29, it registered 3 miles down from being higher. I just plugged in to my home outlet using the chevy cord, and again, it would not charge (no green light on dash indicating active charge and a message on the dash should "unable to charge". I suspect a Battery Energy Control Mondule (BECM) failure which seems to happen with this car. My 12V ACDELCO battery is relatively new (3 yrs) and not used heavily (given COVID).
Starting June 2024 my car started s displaying the check engine light with the message -??Propulsion power is reduced-?? when driving on electric. When the message is displayed it switches to gas even if it has a full charge. Since June 2024 the check engine light is mostly on but sometimes turns off when electric is depleted and it-??s running on gas. The message is randomly displayed when I accelerate
While driving my 2017 Chevy Volt on the highway, a -??Propulsion power is reduced-?? message appeared accompanied by the CEL. Prior to this there had been no indication that anything was wrong. The warning was quite vague and it wasn-??t at all clear what it actually meant so I continued driving. Shortly after this, I began to notice a bit of a -??chuggle-?? or lurching sensation (particularly on hills). This made the acceleration slightly unpredictable, and at one point even triggered the forward collision warning when the car accelerated a bit after I took my foot off the gas pedal (coming up behind another car at a traffic light). I pulled over and attempted to figure out what the issue was. I had a notice regarding the BECM recall in my glove box which listed a reduced power mode as a potential symptom, so I scheduled a service appointment (figuring it was that) and continued my trip. I stopped to get gas, then a mile or two down the road the engine overheated and shut off. By sheer luck I had a few miles of range left in electric mode which allowed me to pull over safely, but I was now stranded over 100 miles from home. I managed to get the vehicle to a dealership in Danvers, MA where they diagnosed the problem as a failed EGR valve. My understanding is this is related to a defect in the valve electronics.The valve failed and blew the F3 fuse, which also supplies power to the engine cooling system. It doesn-??t take long for the engine to overheat and it seems this can lead to a complete loss of power while driving when the electric range is already depleted. The valve is currently unplugged while I await a replacement but there is no word on how long that might be. Other Volt owners have had to wait months or even years to get a new valve. The repair quote I received is also unreasonably expensive (> $4,000). I failed my state emissions inspection and am in the process of applying for a waiver. Given how common this is, I'm surprised this isn't already a recall.
Car had not properly charged for the last 2 nights despite saying it was charging the entire time. When leaving my residence the car suddenly stopped working and I had to pull off to the side of the road with no power. The car was then stuck in park and would not turn off.
[XXX], while driving on [XXX], check engine light came on with reduced propulsion warning. Continued driving to destination without incidence. Did not drive again until [XXX]. [XXX] while driving using "hold" method of propulsion using internal combustion engine, check engine light remained on, after the engine warmed up, all of the sudden, there was a noticeable reduction of power, followed shortly by the internal combustion engine shutting off while I was entering onto an interstate highway ramp. Fortunately I was able to pull off to the side of the road and back down the ramp without incidence and return home under grossly reduced battery propulsion. July 8, took vehicle to Chevrolet dealership (Baierl Chevrolet, Wexford PA) under battery power. Was told ECM module was bad. ECM module was replaced, error codes cleared, vehicle ran as expected. after driving approximately 50 miles, check engine light with reduced propulsion warning returned. Turned vehicle around and returned to the same dealership. Was told EGR valve was bad while blowing fuse F03 (Non walk home circuit). The dealership did not have a replacement in stock and it would take 7-10 days to obtain a replacement. I had to rent a vehicle out of my own pocket to return home for employment purposes. July 11th, I emailed dealership's service advisor for status of replacement part. Never heard back from service advisor. July 15, 11:24 am, talked to dealership service advisor, was told part was in transit with no estimated delivery date. July 22 called service adviser and left a voice mail message for a return status call. Never received a return call. July 23, called dealership, talked to parts department for part status, was told part had not shipped from warehouse yet and there was no estimate on shipment. After having to return the rental vehicle, I am without a vehicle for my daily required activities. Not an acceptable situations. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Baltimore, MD, USA
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My BECM (battery energy control module) failed. Chevy recalled this for -??some-?? Volts of my year, but not mine. It cost $3k to fix. How can they say my BECM was not defective if it failed? They knew it wasn-??t working and recalled it for some, but not all. They need to recall all Volts becm. This feels very shady.
I had the BECM fail as part of many 2017 volts with this issue at around 40K miles. This failure has caused multiple near accidents with immediately losing power at highway speeds. The last time this happened (after the BECM was replaced) was a couple of weeks ago. They said the reason for the failure was a programming issue, and they have updated it. It is flabbergasting to me that a programming issue can result in such a dangerous result. The car reduced propulsion on the highway and got stuck on the offramp while trying to pull over on the busy highway. Not only were we left stranded on the highway with me being 8 and a half months pregnant, but my husband almost got into an accident twice while trying to make it over safely. Chevy needs to be accountable for these significant failures that seem to continuously happen to Chevy Volts. It's not just the BECM - they have multiple things that are causing extremely dangerous results. When they replaced the BECM they also replaced the 12V (with significant out of pocket cost to us) and leaving us with no vehicle for a long time. We bought a new car right after this incredibly scary incident.
Driving at highway speeds, check engine light came on with a warning of "reduced propulsion power" and sudden loss of speed in heavy traffic. Dealer diagnosed issue as failed EGR valve but is unable to source repair part due to frequency of failure causing years-long backorder.
On a recent trip on a highway on our 2017 Chevy Volt, the Exhaust Gas Recirculation [EGR] failed and caused "low propulsion" errors. We ended up with a surprise bill of more than a thousand dollars to replace the EGR cooler assembly, but the problem was not resolved. The dealership then said we need to replace the EGR Valve which is estimated above $2700 plus labor. Upon checking the GM-Volt users community this is a reoccurring issue on several thousands of vehicles and the inflated price is due to the fact that GM redesigned the EGR valve to fix their original faulty design. We as consumers shouldn't be responsible for such an outrageous cost and mainly safety due to a design flow by GM. This issue should warrant a recall by GM to fix the issue once and for all.
The EGR valve had an electrical short, causing the 15A F03 fuse to blow. This causes a "reduced propulsion" message to appear and also causes the vehicle to start overheating. The faulty EGR valve is available for inspection. This failure occurred while we were on the interstate driving 70mph. We were also at least an hour from home/family. The EGR valve short is a known problem with Gen 2 Chevy Volts. Online message boards are filled with posts about this issue. The vehicle was inspected by a Chevy dealership (we had to have it towed). However, the EGR valve is on national backorder with no ETA on when they would be available again. We are currently driving the car with the valve unplugged. However, this causes the engine to run less efficiently and at higher temperatures, so we cannot run it for long periods of time. There were no warnings before the problem occurred, it just suddenly happened while we were driving on the interstate. Luckily we were near an off ramp and a hotel; since the problem occurred on Easter weekend, there weren't any dealerships open.
Driving at freeway speeds when suddenly the cars propulsion power failed and I went from 75mph to 45mph with no warning and no way to accelerate. Happened multiple times even after pulling over and turning the car on and off. I was told by the dealership that was a gas engine part and that I could drive it on the electrical engine only. When attempting to drive on the electrical engine, I received a notice of engine failure and had to coast into the driveway of a dealership. I was told the engine -??could explode-?? if I continue to drive
The car stalled at a high rate of speed on a freeway because of EGR failure. Engine check light is on, along with a warning about a critical problem with emissions system that requires immediate attention. The part is out of stock in all dealership within a reasonable reach. The problem is under warranty, but I have made multiple attempts to fix this issue with no success.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the next morning when he attempted to start the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound. The contact shifted into reverse and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a battery malfunction. The vehicle was repaired; however, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact related the failure to Manufacturer Communication Number: 10251431 (Electrical System) and TSB Number: N232422680 (Special Coverage Battery Energy Control Module Malfunction). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 142,974.
My service engine light came on. After that happened, my engine started to get hot. It got up to 230degF, received a reduced propulsion message and wanted to shut down when going 70mph on the interstate (depended on the construction). Quick reaction on my side before the engine shut down I had "held" the battery (which i do for long trips to ensure options in event of emergencies). Meaning i still had energy in the battery that could be used to propel the vehicle. I was able to shut down the engine by unholding the battery before losing control of the vehicle due to no propulsion. The electric propulsion took over and I could get off the freeway. Conditions were: I was driving in a rain storm on a very busy interstate around Eau Claire wisconsin right around 5-6pm with lots of road construction. If I would have lost the engine and power, I would have crashed at a high rate of speed. I would have lost steering, windshield wipers and headlights. Investigation showed that fuse F03 (walk home fuse) was blown. Further investigation showed that the EGR Valve circuitry was causing this failure. After unplugging EGR valve and replacing the fuse, engine was able to run and not overheat. Plug the EGR valve back in and the fuse blows again This is a well known issue on these vehicles and has been around since 2019-2020. Lots of data and information available on this issue on the internet. To make the issue worse. No parts are available for replacing this faulty valve at the moment. Only 6 valves available in the whole USA with those promised to other customers (i Called the dealers). Additionally there are more vehicles waiting for these valves.. Vehicle goes to the shop on [XXX] for confirmation of issue and get on a waiting list for the EGR Valve. I can't believe this is allowed to continue with GM. THis needs to be fixed!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While car will turn on as normal, wheb put I to drive is says "Action Required - Shift to Park". The CEL code indicates, among other things, "EV/Hybrid Battery ppsitive contactor circuit stuck closed". I've read this has happened to may owners. Reading online seems to indicate
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.
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Los Angeles, CA, USA