2012 Comfort setting, NO HEAT

3904 Views 29 Replies 11 Participants Last post by emartin00, Jan 17, 2018

emartin00

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

Well, it's been almost 6 years, and I've never had an issue with getting heat when I want it. I'm used to barely getting warm air in ECO, but today I had it in COMFORT and HI, and still the heat wouldn't come on.
So I did a remote start a couple minutes before leaving, but not long enough to really warm it up. When I got in, the air was slightly warm. Just after leaving my driveway, the thermometer dropped to 22F, so ERDTT kicked in. It heated up quick and provided nice warm air for about 5 minutes after the engine stopped. I kept it in COMFORT 76F for a while, and the air started getting cooler. I turned the temp up to no avail. I'm fighting a bit of an illness, so the cold was bothering me and I was getting frustrated. The engine never kicked back on either (and no HOLD).

Finally I stopped at a stoplight and shut the car down and restarted. When it came back on, the temp read 28F and the heat kicked on instantly. I had warm air in under a minute.

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emartin00

Discussion Starter · #21 · Jan 15, 2018

freshcut said:
True, you CAN get Dex-cool nearly anywhere, but the correct mix uses deionized water in it's 50/50 premix. This is NOT generally found on your local autopart store shelf. Remember, the Volt uses a 360V electric heater and this special coolant uses water that is compatible with the high voltage heater since it's a shared coolant loop with the engine.

Not sure where you guys are from, but I had no trouble finding it...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone...ntifreeze-Coolant-Quickfill-1-Gallon/16889202

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...dex5050/2496962/2012/chevrolet/volt?q=dexcool

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El Dobro

· #22 · Jan 15, 2018

emartin00 said:
Not sure where you guys are from, but I had no trouble finding it...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone...ntifreeze-Coolant-Quickfill-1-Gallon/16889202

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...dex5050/2496962/2012/chevrolet/volt?q=dexcool

The GM antifreeze #12378390 is 50/50, but it is made specifically for GM hybrids and EVs. The water isn't regular water, it has been deionized. Using the Dexcool you posted can damage the system.

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emartin00

Discussion Starter · #23 · Jan 17, 2018

The water in Prestone isn't "regular water" either. They are the same thing.

Update: Drove to work yesterday, and after adding coolant, the heat started working again. When I came out a couple hours later, there was a clear puddle near the front passenger side of the car. Really hoping it's not a hole in the radiator, but it seems like it might be coming form that area. Although the engine radiator is behind the battery radiator, so I'm not sure how it could get damaged.

It's at the dealer now. They didn't have time to get to it yesterday, so they gave me a free loaner Cruze (base model) and man is it boreing. Also, terrible tires, and we had 3" of snow this morning, so that was fun.

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CCIE

· #24 · Jan 17, 2018

People go a little overboard on using the correct coolant. Premix dexcool from any autoparts store should be fine, especially for a topoff. They use the proper water in it.

There is almost zero chance that the dealer techs who flush cooling systems on Volts actually use a different dexcool than they use in every other GM car in their shop.

That being said, I wouldn't buy the dexcool concentrate and mix it with my own distilled water. It's probably fine too, but I wouldn't risk it.

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2VoltFamily

· #25 · Jan 17, 2018

any Dexcool premix will work. same stuff easy to find.

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El Dobro

· #26 · Jan 17, 2018

As long as the water has been deionized.
Per WOT:
WOT Says: “When topping up or replacing coolants, always use pre-mixed Dexcool® coolant and NEVER add regular green anti-freeze or tap water to ANY of the Volt’s cooling systems. This premix coolant (available at your GM dealer) is essentially a 50:50 mixture of GM Dexcool® (or other GM6277M compliant coolant) and filtered low-silicate, deionized water. The use of deionized water in hybrids, EREVs, and EVs is a necessity to ensure high-voltage isolation and to prevent the internal corrosion of cooling system components.”

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emartin00

Discussion Starter · #27 · Jan 17, 2018

El Dobro said:
As long as the water has been deionized.
Per WOT:
WOT Says: “When topping up or replacing coolants, always use pre-mixed Dexcool® coolant and NEVER add regular green anti-freeze or tap water to ANY of the Volt’s cooling systems. This premix coolant (available at your GM dealer) is essentially a 50:50 mixture of GM Dexcool® (or other GM6277M compliant coolant) and filtered low-silicate, deionized water. The use of deionized water in hybrids, EREVs, and EVs is a necessity to ensure high-voltage isolation and to prevent the internal corrosion of cooling system components.”

Which if you look at Prestones details, it says nearly the exact same thing.

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El Dobro

· #28 · Jan 17, 2018

emartin00 said:
Which if you look at Prestones details, it says nearly the exact same thing.

If it says that the water is deionized, then it's ok, demineralized is not the same thing. You can put whatever you want in, it's your car, but for $8.00, I bought the GM stuff that I know works.

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oldstuff

· #29 · Jan 17, 2018

I've done a good deal of research on the de-ionized vs distilled and found that de-ioniized will interact with aluminum in your radiator and in time make a sprinkler of it, otherwise there is nothing I can find that makes me think that distilled wouldn't work very well. Possably the de-ionized idea came from the lack of availability of distilled water in Europe.

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emartin00

Discussion Starter · #30 · Jan 17, 2018

Turns out it was just a broken hose clamp that was causing the leak. That's one heck of a load off. $175 for the repair and full coolant flush and bleed.
Considering I was expecting a busted radiator, I'm feeling much better now.

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