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.
While driving on the highway, the EGR valve in my car malfunctioned, initially causing my dashboard to read "Propulsion Power is Reduced". After continuing to drive the car, the dashboard read 'Engine not available, service soon', where it stalled and we had to restart the car. After restarting, the car went into EV mode with significantly reduced speed. Our safety was put at risk due to the initial stalling and subsequent reduced speed on the highway. The problem has been reproduced since the initial incident and our dealership confirmed the problem relating to the EGR valve which continues to blow fuses when the engine is over-exerted while using gas. The dealership said that this is covered under warranty however, there has been a 5-year back-order on the part and they are refusing to offer any loaner car or compensation for a rental car.
My 2018 Chevy Volt displayed a warning message of "Propulsion Power is Reduced" on the dash when I started the car in a parking garage on Saturday, March 9th around 10am. The car would not drive normally and made a strange noise. I had to stop and start the car six or so times before it drove normally for me to get home. Had this happened at high speed, it could have caused an accident or worse. I contacted the local Rockville, MD Chevrolet dealership and they ran the diagnostic test on the BECM and HPCM2 systems and performed battery capacity reset. I do not believe this software reset will correct the technical issue. According to the dealership records, such a software reset was performed in 2021 by the previous owner before we purchased the car second hand in July, 2022. The dealer would not replace the BECM unit but there is supposedly a special coverage bulletin issued by General Motors. We need the unit replaced ASAP for safety.
While driving, an engine warning "Reduced propulsion Message" came on. Then it said " Engine Unavailable". The car would not go to gas engine. We panicked as we were 20mi from home and only had a few miles of electric left. I was able to drive to the nearest Chevrolet Dealership. It has been sitting there parked for 2 months. Uncharged. We are told that the problem is the EGR valve but no part is available anywhere. It is a known problem but GM has no parts available to fix. I am not getting any answer as to how long it may take to get the part. Meanwhile, I am without a vehicle. I only have approx 25,000 on the car. We have not been given a replacement car or been given any clear response from GM or the Dealership as to how long this may take to locate a part.
Early on the week of November 9th my car displayed a message that there was "Low propulsion power - engine not available." Upon returning home and parking the car it started without incident the following day. On November [XXX], my vehicle stated "Low propulsion power - engine not available" but this time the car shut down completely leaving me unable to return home. I had the car towed to Fairway Chevrolet for repairs. The service technician indicated that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced and the part was out of stock and would take 3 weeks to become available. No rental or loaner car was provided. On November [XXX] I was told that my car was fixed and it would be able to be picked up. I picked up the car and parked it at home and drove the car I was currently renting to California for the Thanksgiving holiday. Upon returning home, I returned my rental and returned to my car. The car behaved normally but after driving down a busy roadway for less than 2 miles the "Low propulsion power - engine not available" message reappeared and the car shut off IMMEDIATELY. This is horrifyingly dangerous especially considering the speed and location of where I was driving. I had the car towed to Fairway Chevrolet but didn't speak to anyone until the morning. In the morning I called in and explained what happened and stressed the safety fact that my car was returned and malfunctioned in a very dangerous way. The tech said that they were going to perform a diagnostic which they were going to charge me for, even though the original repair did not fix the defect. Fairway performed the diagnostic and stated they need to clean the engine bay and run a separate diagnostic of the brake system. These total more than $1.6k out of pocket and are not related to the power deactivating while in motion. My car is still at Fairway as they have not started the repairs and I am still self paying for a rental car. Fairway is uncooperative and refuse to check into the propulsion INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM
My 2018 Chevy Volt was at a Chevrolet dealership in Burbank and they have been running tests on my car to re-create the problem which they have not been able to do. On [XXX] my car suddenly stopped and shakes violently after I turned it on after about driving 15 feet, and my screen was telling me -??engine not available, service needed soon-?? so I got it towed to the dealership (no prior warning signs on dash or anything). On [XXX] they told me they were not able to find the fix or recreate it and also said -??This is definitely very rare. Drive it around and bring it back in if it happens again-?? which felt like they really didn-??t care for my safety at all. On [XXX], the same exact problem happened with my car, -??engine not available, service needed soon-?? and shook violently (my girlfriend witnessed it) after 100 yards of driving it and then towed my car back to the dealership. On [XXX], 23 DAYS LATER, the Chevy dealership calls to tell me they still haven-??t been able to recreate the problem or find a solution again. I haven-??t been able to drive my car this whole time. I have had a case open with GM this whole time where they have been extremely spotty on communication and pretty much just ignoring me the alot of the time. They called me on Saturday, [XXX] (when they-??re -??closed-??) to tell me their solution but I missed the call, I called Monday and Tuesday but can-??t get in contact with my advisor until finally Wednesday, I call and they are able to connect me and they gave me a final solution on [XXX] of $1500 off a New GM brand car so they weren-??t in any rush to contact me about the final solution. They should repurchase the car from me and pay for damages. Car feels extremely unsafe and there should at least be some type of diagnosis-?? CHEVROLET CANT FIX THEIR OWN CARS, UNREAL!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- North Hollywood , CA, USA
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My BECM failed pulling in to my grandpas house. I was able to park the car, but unable to start it afterwords. Prior to failure, the engine would switch between electric, then back to gas, then back to electric This is a very common issue on these vehicles. I am fortunate this did not occur on the highway, as I had just exited I
Initially was receiving intermittent -??Recieved Propulsion Power-?? warning and no check engine light. Did it about every 2 weeks but became worse. Received Reduced Propulsion power warning on a road trip from East TN to Charlotte then showed a check engine light. I continued to Charlotte I had 4 miles left on battery and was running on gas engine when -??Engine Not Available-?? warning came on leaving me with a nearly dead battery for propulsion. Fortunately, there was a very nearby GM dealership in Charlotte which I was able to drop off and flew out of town for the week. I was told by the dealership that it was an O2 sensor and they had replaced it. Picked up the car the next week. I began the 3 hour trip back to East TN and about 30 miles into the trip I received the Reduced Propulsion Power AND Engine Not Available. I had about 10 miles left on the battery so I stopped and stayed at a hotel with a car charger overnight. Resumed trip home that am, but same code was displayed and engine would not come on. Rented a uhaul w/trailer and towed it home. Dropped it off at Champion Chevrolet in Johnson City and they diagnosed it as a faulty EGR valve. I learned that the part has been back ordered and looking at web forums I see people have described the same problem and they have been waiting many months for an EGR to be available. So, nature of complaint is: I got lucky in that I did not get stranded. Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time. I could have easily totally lost propulsion were my battery were fail and don-??t know if I could have gotten off the roadway.
In June of 2023 the car experienced propulsion power reduction. The car was at the dealer awaiting repair for 3 weeks. On Dec. 14,2023 the same thing happened again. The car was also unable to accelerate once mobile. The car has about 90k miles on it.
Car died while driving down road. Has engine codes to service high voltage system although It showed a full battery it only had 1 mile range and the gas motor wouldn't run.
The Battery Energy Control Module needs to be replaced (BECM). The car is available to be inspected at Key Chevrolet in South Burlington, VT. The car was parked when it failed. The car wouldn't start (lights on the dashboard came on) and it wouldn't turn off. I got a "shift to park" error message, regardless of which gear I was in. The car wouldn't go into Drive to go forward with either the drive battery or the gas generator. I had the car was towed to the dealership. It was inspected and diagnosed by them. When they did the diagnosis, they said the BECM had failed and there were cells in the drive battery that needed to be replaced. The BECM failure is a common problem with Chevrolet Volts and is covered by the Voltec warranty. There were no warning lights or other warnings (e.g., reduced propulsion) whatsoever. The car had shut off like normal but would not start or turn completely off. I was fortunate to have had the BECM fail while the car was parked. My understanding is that BECMs can fail while the car is moving and the power will stop and you won't have any control.
the vehicle will lose power without warning on a regular basis. the vehicle will also accelerate unexpectedly when switching from battery to engine power at speeds under 50 mph. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer and have been informed there is nothing they can do for me, the vehicle does not have any faulty components.
The vehicle has a failure of the BECM and the EGR valve and cooler. Both parts are unavailable. I've been without my car for over a month. The service center cannot tell me when parts will be available.
While driving my 2018 chevy volt I received a reduced propulsion error. I pulled over to assess and turn off the car and turn it back on only to find when I turned it back on I received an enginer failure error and the car would not drive forward or reverse. I had to have it towed to a Chevy dealership for evaluation. I understand from research and talking to service experts this is a common failure among the 2017 and 2018 Chevy volt and it is abhorrent that Chevy has not issued a recall on a common failure that compromises the safety of the driver and other drivers around them.
To begin, I will set the scene of my experience. I was traveling east bound on 84 in northeast PA on my way to Long Island for work meetings that day. I was about one hour and a half away from my home at roughly 6am. I was traveling at apx. 70 mph when my car suddenly says "engine unavailable, reduced propulsion." and the fueld tank turned yellow in color on my dashboard. Then a sign said "service soon." My car then COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING. My speed fell from 75 mph or so to 0 in a matter of a minute, I had no idea what was happening because there were no appropriate warnings such as, "Pull over immediately" or "SAFETY CONCERN PLEASE GET OFF THE HIGHWAY" -I would have taken anything to know that this was an actual emergency and I needed to at least get to a shoulder. I luckily was able to come to a stop mostly off the highway in a shoulder. I was located around a bend, in the pitch black, unable to stay in my car out of fear I would be smashed by a tractor trailer or car that did not see my car suddenly stopped. The car would not go in neutral or anything other than park and I left the hazards on (they eventually failed). I called my husband who drove to me while I stood on the side of the highway for an hour and a half in 30 degree weather. I called the police who were eventually able to put up flares and mark me as a hazard on the road. If there was a car traveling behind me, I would have been killed or seriously injured because I slowed so suddenly and had no way of knowing that this was an absolute emergency. The worst part is that this is the second BECM failure in my volt and I have driven less than 1000miles since it was repaired the first time (which took >5 months). The first time this happened my car was on a quiet town road and my brother who was driving just parked and had it towed. He hadn't thought there were any warnings but he wasn't sure. This time, I could have been smashed on the hwy with little to no warning. I can't believe Im alive.
Reduc d propulsion power warning while driving in EV mode. ICE started and was able to make it 1/2 mile home. Failure diagnosed to a faulty BECM. Has been at the dealer for 1 month today with no word on when the part or repair will be done.
......car totally stopped on road in traffic and would not restart. I felt the car losign propulsion so I got off the Intestate and on to a local street. Message in dash was that engine was unavailable. I got out of the car and several cars almost hit my car. Car was flat bedded to Chevy dealer and diagonosed. EGR valve needs to be replaced and is covered under warrenty. HOWEVER, have been waiting 4days and t old that valve not available. This is on a vacation trip and 300 miles away from home.. I can ask for the EGR valve from the car. I am on the GM-Volt listserve and other Generation 2 Volt owners have identified this problem previously. You should initiate a recall since the engine just cuts off and the battery propulsion is unavailable.
BECM failed upon startup. Pressed start and vehicle appeared to turn on. Shifted into reverse but there was no motor power and I began to roll backwards down the driveway. Started the vehicle again and then the engine came on and a reduced propulsion message appeared.
When the Gear shift is placed into park and the power button to turn the car off is pushed, I get an alert that says -??Shift to Park-?? and cannot turn the car off. I have to attempt to turn the car off and on several times before I can actually turn the car off and leave it.
When attempting to turn the vehicle off after parking, the driver's console displayed the message "Action required: Shift to Parlk". The shifter was already firmly in the "Park" position. Moving the shifter back to "D" and then back to "P" did not resolve the issue. Pressing the power button twice more resolved the issue this time without further moving the shifter. This is a well-known and well-documented issue with "Gen 2" Chevy Volts.
When I stop and shift vehicle into park and try to turn off vehicle. The vehicle does not recognize the vehicle is in park and will stay running. This had happened numerous times and is ongoing. Have read there is even a class action suit because of this problem with numerous different gm vehicles. Why has a recall not been issued?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Princeton, NJ, USA