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 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power. The check engine warning light illuminated. Shortly afterward, the message "Reduce Propulsion, Engine will not Start" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective EGR valve. The contact was informed that the EGR valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost and lack of parts availability. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact believed that the cause of the failure was related to high temperatures. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.
Driving on gas on the highway, the adaptive cruise control suddenly disabled with a "Reduced Propulsion" message on the dash and a check engine light. The car started struggling in its propulsion. We found an AutoZone and scanned the codes, and multiple were returned. A Google search pointed us to the "walk home" fuse, which indeed had been blown. Replacing that fuse and disconnecting/reconnecting the battery eliminated the errors. Less than a week later during highway driving (the next time the battery charge was used up and it switched to the ICE) I got another check engine light, but this time without the "reduced propulsion" message. Scanning at AutoZone again revealed a P0404 message referencing the EGR valve. Due to the limited availability of the part I have called into Covert Bastrop (Bastrop, TX) and am waiting to hear back on their ability to fix the car.
On [XXX], while driving on [XXX] in Virginia, the check engine light came on in my Chevy Volt. A message on dash said that there was reduced propulsion, and the gas engine quit running. The car switched to battery power, which would not have lasted long enough to get us home. At this point, we were stranded on a very busy highway which seemed quite dangerous. Using battery power, we were able to get off the highway. We then made arrangements to have the car towed, approximately 150 miles to a car dealer/repair business in Frederick MD. The vehicle was checked out by the car dealer who identified the EGR valve as the problem. However, they did not know when the part would be available, and still, 4 weeks later, do not have any date for availability of the broken part. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On 8/30/2024 I had driven my 2018 Volt (purchased new on 3/27/2019), with about 45,000 miles on it, on a normally 5 hour trip. About 3 hours into my trip on I-94 my car suddenly slowed down with a "Reduced Propulsion" message and a check engine light that came on. (The engine probably has run less than 25,000 miles of the total miles I have driven it, with the rest being purely on battery.) I was extremely fortunate to have been in the slow lane when the car suddenly stopped accelerating. This could have easily turned out very, very bad. The next day I had a dealer diagnose the car for a little over $400 - they told me there was a problem with my engines EGR valve and that the parts were back ordered so they couldn't give me an indication of when it could be repaired. I got the car back to my home dealer and they charged me another $200 to re-diagnose the problem and came the same conclusion of a bad EGR valve. They too have been unable to get a valve from GM. They have quoted me about $4,000 to have a new valve installed when they can get one. Heck, the car only has 45,000 miles on it!!
- Waukesha, WI, USA
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While driving our 2018 Chevy Volt, dashboard warning message -??Propulsion Power Reduced-?? displayed. Vehicle performance was not otherwise affected. Subsequent diagnosis from our Chevy Dealer was, among other things, a faulty Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. We were informed that our vehicle was -??no longer safe to drive in this condition-?? and the vehicle has been sitting on the Dealer-??s lot awaiting a replacement part for 2 months and counting, with no expectation of near-term resolution of our problem. We are aware that this is a widespread problem on 2017-18 Volt models, with many dissatisfied owners.
The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) value has failed after only 20,000 miles of engine usage in my hybrid car. This is a highly-common part that fails and when it fails it shuts the engine down while driving; which leaves the driver stranded. General Motors does not have the part available to purchase and has been on backorder for nearly 4 years. They do not have a resolution and they are not recognizing the GM Service Bulletin that was released 21-NA-116 in Feburary 2023. This is unacceptable. The dealership wants thousands of dollars for a $150 part (that you can't purchase).
Failed EGR Valve. While I was driving, I got a "Propulsion Power Reduced" message and "Engine Unavailable." My car slowly began losing power, leaving me with about 30 seconds to safely pull over. I had it towed to the dealer and they diagnosed a faulty EGR valve. This seems to be a widespread problem with the Chevrolet Volts. To make matters worse, the replacement part is extremely hard to find, with many people waiting on backorder for over a year.
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)
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dripping Springs, TX, USA