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.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the Hybrid battery drained; however, the engine failed to activate as needed. Due to the failure, the vehicle stalled, and the contact coasted the vehicle to the shoulder of the highway. Due to the failure, the vehicle was initially towed to the residence then to the dealer. The vehicle was kept in dealer possession where repairs were made to the ECM (Electrical Control Module). Since the repair, the contact stated that the vehicle intermittently failed to start up while depressing the START/STOP button. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
The car regularly reports it is healthy and functioning correctly. It is regularly serviced and there was no advance warning of this problem. While driving the car displayed a message to the driver, something such as "reduced propulsion" and the speed of the car was reduced while the internal combustion engine intermittently raced in an uncharacteristic manner. The amber Check Engine light was displayed. A review of error codes later found a communication fault developed with the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM). As soon as it was possible, we got the car to the side of the road and shut it off. We then attempted to start the car and it displayed a warning that no key fob was present (but there was a key fob in the car). A few minutes later the car started and we were able to drive it to a service center where error codes were captured. Afterwards, the car drove as normal, and later even the amber Check Engine light was extinguished. The service center explained this could be an intermittent problem where the car will suddenly throw the error message ("low propulsion") and the car will have to be pulled to the side of the road. It will be a few weeks before the service center can do any work on the car. Since the car may start and drive, but suddenly find its speed reduced to far below the speed limit, the car can no longer be safely operated.
The battery control module failed and it was replaced at the dealership. The low propulsion mode went into effect twice before it failed and I could not drive it in my driveway. The warning lamp was on but it was on for a while before the failure due to low battery on the key fob. Chevy is aware of the problem and there is a class action lawsuit just for the battery control module issue. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The gm repair started the "vehicle power control module" - gm (24296765) is bad. Cause the car to stop, and not restart, 12v won't charge. dealership states the part on back order over 60 days, not expecting it any time soon.
- Texas City, TX, USA
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This vehicle has a very dangerous malfunction. There was no power when I tried to move out of the way of an out-of-control semi truck while driving on the highway by pressing the pedal. I made every effort to maneuver because I was terrified. But because of the power outage, I could have died. This is really worrying, and I hope you can address the issue raised by Chevy so that someone else might be spared and so that future generations of electric cars are constructed to a standard that includes safety. Thank you.
The car started stating "put in park" every time I would try to put the car in drive. I would shift back and forth from park to drive over and over and I could get it to clear. One time it lost all power and had zero control. Sat on the side of the road for an hour. Shifting back and forth until it stopped and let me engage the drive. The last time it happened in a parking lot and it would just say"shift to park" I couldn't get it out of park. Had to have the car towed. Tow driver had to drag the car on the flat bed with a wench because it was stuck in park. Had the vehicle repaired. Replaced an electronic control module that had previous service bulletins on but GM would not cover the repairs. I was lucky I was not injured our involved in a wreck when I experienced these issues. I was not aware I could file a report about this until I read there was an open investigation on the same issue I had.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start up after multiple attempts. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a local dealer where the mechanic informed the contact that the 12-volt battery needed to be replaced. After the battery was replaced, the contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the Propulsion Power reduced message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to AutoNation Chevrolet West Colonial (3707 W Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32808) where the contact was informed that the battery had failed for a second time within two weeks and needed to be replaced. After the second 12-volt battery replacement, the vehicle started making an abnormal cranking sound while the vehicle independently surged and then lost power. The contact stated that an unknown power failure message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact drove the vehicle to another dealer, AutoNation Chevrolet Airport (5600 Lee Vista Blvd, Orlando, FL 32812) but the vehicle was later towed back to the original local dealer. The contact was then informed that the vehicle had a defective EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Started acceleration on the freeway, car couldn't turn on engine, message came on dash "reduced propulsion mode" and check engine light came on, could only drive on battery, car was very sluggish, luckily had battery to exit after a few miles to get off the freeway. Had to restart car. If I had depleted the battery as I usually do that day, I would have had a dead car on the freeway with ton of traffic buzzing me and my family.
The car will occasionally lose power when driving on battery. In my experience this most often occurs after turning, but can occur seemingly randomly at other times. It's a frightening experience because you just don't know when it will occur, what you'll be doing, and how it will impact other drivers. I spent $8k trying to fix the issue and took it to two dealership issues who said the transmission needs to be replaced. We got the transmission replaced, but the issue persists. The issue happens daily. I don't know what component failed, but yes, it is available for inspection. Safety is put at risk because the car randomly loses power while driving and switches to gas mode. Yes, the problem has been seen by a local dealer. No, the vehicle or component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance rep. No, there are no indicators of the failure before or after the loss of power.
Sometimes when the vehicle powers on, it will not engage to drive in gas or electric mode when fully charged or with a full gas tank. Also sometimes while driving, it will say "gas mode not available propulsion limited". It frequently says "charging not available" as well. This is an on going, intermittent, problem.
I was making a left turn at a light and the vehicle suddenly popped up -??shift to park-?? warning on the dash and simultaneously lost power. The vehicle would only roll under what momentum was generated prior to the warning. Luckily I was able to get through the turn and coast safely off to the side of the road. Chevy volt is currently at the dealership being assessed. They are telling me I will need a new 12v battery and new gear shifter for $1100. These were replaced, but the dealership called and told me I will now need a new ECM, or something like that, for an additional $2400. Car is currently at Ricart Chevrolet in Dublin, OH waiting on my decision. And I-??m being told the part needed is on backorder and may be a month to arrive. After researching this, it seems Chevy knows about this issue and seems very irresponsible to knowingly put volt owners in harms way. Needless to say I-??m not happy and feel something should be done by Chevy to rectify the situation.
On the morning of April 27, 2022, our 2017 Chevy Volt, with what I believe to be a fully charged high voltage battery (was plugged in to charge the entire previous night) and at least a quarter tank of gas, would not start either the electrical or gasoline drive train. The 12 volt battery showed low voltage, so I purchased and replaced the 12 volt battery. The Volt continued to not start in either gas or electric propulsion mode. Checked the OBD 11 codes, and they matched up with what was reported on line to be Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) failure. On May 3, 2022, the Volt was put on a flatbed and taken to Holz Motors in Milwaukee. They verified the BECM failure, ordered new BECM, and was told none were available. Put on waiting list for BECM, and the Volt was repaired 8 weeks later on June 28, 2022. Cost of repair was $2439.63. Volt had 110,875 miles on it and was out of warranty. Not happy to bear the full cost of replacement of the BECM, but felt fortunate that it failed while parked in my garage. There were NO symptoms leading up to failure, and the car was totally unable to move. Overnight voltage drop of the 12 volt battery (the one I replaced also went dead) meant that operation of door locks, etc would also soon have occurred. Outcome would have been much worse if this failure had occurred while driving.
Car intermittantly lost propultion while driving. this started happening more and more frequently. One time driving on the freeway propulsion cut out and I barely made it to the side of the road. Put the car in park and it would start again. Drive for a few hundred feet then it would cut out again. Finally took it into the dealer when I was driving down the highway and propulsion cut out and I was stuck in the middle of traffic. As I was driving the instrument cluster power remained on but the engine just cut out. I was using the electric motor at the time but this is happened on the ice as well. As I rolled to a stop in the middle of traffic I put it in park so that I could restart the car as I had been able to previously but it would not start. It would not let me shift the car out of park into neutral so I could push it to the side of the road. After several attempts of disconnecting the battery and the high voltage battery I was able to get the car out of park into neutral. Even when I shifted the car into drive the propulsion system would not work, a officer stopped traffic to allow me to push the car to the side of the road. After getting to the dealer they were able to determine that a ground strap to the engine chassis was at fault. It interrupted the communication on the can bus which wouldn't allow the ECU to communicate with the drivetrain Which just shut down the propulsion system. This was extremely scary I have attached a snapshot of fault codes and snapshots of a video I took showing that the screen would just show that the car was initializing the entire time
Becm module is failing currently we have an engine check light that illuminates every other drive. Started November 26th. We experienced reduced propulsion message. We have experience the car not going into gear to drive or go reverse. It seems these issues occur at random. Check light codes are u2619-u2624. A dealership will be taking a look at the car on Monday
The check engine light came on in my car with the message "service charging system." I took the car to the deal and they determined it was the battery control module that was failing. They told me the car would eventually stop turning on and I could either take it and drive it until it wouldn't turn on or I could leave it with them until they got a replacement part that is currently on backorder with no estimated time they can get it. I asked if the car was safe to drive and if it would stop working while I was driving, they assured me it would not stop while I was driving. I opted to take the car home and on my home, while driving, the car died on me. Luckily I was already in a turn lane and was able to get off in a neighborhood. The car gave me a message "propulsion system unavailable" while I was driving and would not power the car forward or backwards. This happened about six weeks ago and I am still waiting for the replacement part.
In the last couple months, have received multiple warnings regarding reduced propulsion that, as I understand is a potential failure related to the BECM. Besides the warning, I haven-??t noticed any major change in performance, but I am concerned there may be a defect. I haven-??t yet contacted dealer about this issue, but I noticed there was a formal report made about this and wanted to be sure my vehicle was included in the count.
Cart fails to start nearly every time I try to start it. BECM failure seems to be the issue. Car instructs to shift to park then fails to start until eventually it clicks over and will start in gas mode. Sometimes will randomly flag into low propulsion mode while driving, which majorly affects acceleration speed. Car will no longer charge and must be used in gas mode due to known electrical defects. Sometimes have to wait 10+ minutes for the car to start.
-- My 2017 Chevrolet Volt experienced a failure of the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) in the powertrain system. This failure prevented my vehicle from being driven. The BECM and related battery pack components were replaced under warranty by a Chevrolet dealership. Those parts, to my knowledge, are not available for inspection. -- From a safety perspective, my vehicle was luckily parked when the failure occurred. Many Volt owners have reported -- via online Volt forums and on Reddit at r/volt -- that the failure has occurred while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in a safety issue when the vehicle loses power and stops in the middle of a street or highway. -- A Chevrolet dealership confirmed my vehicle's BECM failure through diagnosis and code reading (see attached documentation). In my case, the BECM initially failed and I lost the ability to drive my vehicle when it was stopped in a parking lot (while I was on vacation, 225 miles from my home). I left the dead vehicle in the parking lot overnight. The next day I was able to start the vehicle and drive it to the nearest EV-certified Chevrolet dealership, where the BECM permanently failed in the dealership's service entrance. I watched the dealership service staff push the dead vehicle into the service bay. It should be noted that I was lucky -- the replacement BECM part was available from GM to the dealership in two days. NHTSA will receive complaints from other Volt owners who waited weeks and MONTHS for a replacement part and repair, all the while their vehicle could not be driven. -- My vehicle's BECM was inspected, the failure diagnosed, and the part replaced by a Chevrolet technician at a Chevrolet dealership (see attached documentation). -- The BECM failure on my vehicle happened immediately with no warning. When I could not drive my vehicle, I saw cryptic "propulsion lost" and "shift transmission to park" error messages on the instrument panel.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fullerton, CA, USA