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.
As I understand it, the EGR valve failed causing the car to shut down suddenly on the highway. Apparently by blowing the "walk home" fuse. The EGR valve has been unavailable from GM worldwide since Oct 2023 and there is no estimate when it will, if ever, be available.
Reduced propulsion message appears on the dash and car lost propulsion on the highway. The EGR blew a fuse and the car enters the walk home mode. This problem should be covered under warranty but my dealership says it is not covered. This issue causes the car not to be able to drive. Chevy is back ordered for the part and there is no estimate of when the part will be available. They apparently do not make the part anymore and there is no fix. the GR seems to have bad soldering and blows the fuse #3.
While driving on high-speed devided highways including stretches where traffic was 2-way (single lanes separated by concrete barrier during road maintenance) Chevy Volt indicated "reduced propulsion", and in 2 cases forced shut-down of electric and gas engine where the single-lane travel had cement barriers on both sides of the driving lane.In at least one case, the engine forced 30-40 mph travel until a break in the right-hand cement barrier was interrupted and I could get off the highway. In another case, the engine and fuel propulsion shut down but there was a breakdown lane on the right allowing traffic flow but exposing me to risk due to how close 65 mph traffic was passiing me. In each failure case, after turning off and re-starting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to have re-set propulsion control and I could continue the trip at normal speed until another warning but not complete faillure occurred (both lanes being available so I could drive to an exit, turn off the ignition, restart and resume the travel). I believe the failure was in the BECM (Battery Energy Control Module) but the Chevrolet dealer identified an EGR failure that prevents their repair team from diagnosing the BECM. Whatever the failure was, it put me iin a very dangerous situation in at least 2 points in my 600 mile trip.
This car has a failed EGR valve which first became evident in March of 2024. There are no parts available, this in an emissions issue but the failure causes blown fuses which can cause the car to completely stop running which is a safety issue. Reduced propulsion is a symptom which is dangerous and this has been confirmed by three Chevy dealerships. I have had the EGR valve cleaned to the tune of $1200, have a deposit on a new valve which doesn't seem to exist for $850. There were no other messages before the failure. I am driving the car with the EGR valve disconnected, mostly on the battery power but no end is in sight to this problem.
While driving, a warning chime sounded and a message appeared saying "propulsion power reduced." The check engine light also appeared. The car lost power, would accelerate only very slowly, and eventually died along a busy road. After a period, I was able to restart car and drive very slowly to dealer. I was told that the problem was a faulty egr valve, which was blowing a fuse and would do so again. Dealer was unable to find a replacement valve anywhere in the nation. GM apparently is not manufacturing replacements for this components, and from reports found onliine, plenty of others have had the same problem. The temporary fix is to disconnect the egr valve, which results in increased vehicle emissions. I will be unable to pass my next emissions test next year. The safety issue is that the vehicle can quit running without warning in any situation.
- Churchton, MD, USA
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Vehicle began exhibiting issues with BECM, reduced propulsion/limp home mode with range-extender activation. Car unexpectedly stopped running in the middle of the road, came to a complete stop and unable to move off road under car's propulsion.
P1E00 error code resulted in the propulsion system being reduced and climate controls turned off. My wife, driving at the time in a thunderstorm, lost the ability to drive the speed of traffic and also her windshield completely fogging up where she could not see. She could have been killed in this scenario in a number of ways. Took it to the dealer where GM apparently has no spare parts available for months"?" Parts at fault are related to the EGR valve and cooler. CEL light came on and off for a few days prior. Failed to be able to pull the error code because it would go off.
Purchased the '17 Chevy Volt for my Daughter on [XXX] with 58,867 miles. On [XXX], 60,600 miles; She was driving on the interstate when the engine temperature spiked, followed by a check engine light and a warning message: "Engine unavailable." The vehicle suddenly lost power when she reduced pressure on the accelerator, causing a rapid reduction in speed. nearly causing her to lose control. The vehicle's OBD Codes were scanned at a nearby auto parts store resulting in 30 DTC appearing. I found hundreds of complaints and posts about the F3UA fuse blown and a faulty EGR valve. A service bulletin for this issue was published by GM in Feb 2023. I notified the dealership of the issues and the vehicle was brought to Deacon Jones Chevy of Clinton, NC on July 16th. The service department informed me that the 12V Battery was bad and needed replacement to "correct" the issue, at a cost nearly $550. I asked if the fuse mentioned was blown and was informed that it was not. The check engine light was cleared and my daughter drove home. Before getting home, the check engine light came back on, the temperature spiked, and "propulsion power is reduced." message appeared. This was accompanied again by a rapid reduction in speed nearly causing a collision. I called the dealership back and informed them of the incident. They requested to have the vehicle brought back to the shop, however, towing was out of the question because the dealership is 70 miles from me & I did not want to drive the car in its condition. I took the vehicle to Team Chevy in Swansboro, NC, who ran proper diagnostics. I was informed the F3UA fuse was blown, caused by a short in the EGR Valve. The original dealer offered to split the cost, but Team Chevy said they could get the part & match price. When ordered, it showed the EGR Valve was backorder with no ETA. 6 weeks in and no safe transportation for my daughter and grandson. Significant safety issue with no replacement parts or accountability, ludicrous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR
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)
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Shrewsbury, MA, USA