Need a little more info please. Are you saying the shift lever physically moved to neutral?

I have a 13 as well and I had to apply max braking once and everything was ok.

John

 

That's strange. I have a 2012 with 38K miles, and I've never had the shifter physically move without my hand moving it. I don't remember ever seeing it mentioned in the forums either.

 

I was driving downhill in my husband's awesome 2013 Chevy Volt and had to brake hard and suddenly, and as I did, the car popped into neutral.

Having the gear shift level physically move into neutral (if that's what happened) upon applying the brakes would be a first. I'm not sure how that could happen. I suspect you meant instead that the car felt as if it was in neutral?

 

Can you comment on the road surface conditions? Sounds like anti-lock brakes engaging.

 

If you drive across a bump or pothole in the road while simultaneously braking, it can feel like the car is either shifting into neutral or loses braking force for a fraction of a second. I have felt this several times and I think it is the antilock brakes or maybe traction/stability control kicking in. If your shift lever actually moved into neutral that is something new. If you had to brake suddenly and unexpectedly, PERHAPS you bumped the lever into neutral without realizing it? But I think you have to press the button on the shifter to do that so unless you had your hand on it already with your thumb on the button you probably didn't do this.

 

If your shift lever actually moved into neutral that is something new. If you had to brake suddenly and unexpectedly, PERHAPS you bumped the lever into neutral without realizing it? But I think you have to press the button on the shifter to do that so unless you had your hand on it already with your thumb on the button you probably didn't do this.

What the OP experienced is no doubt the result of ABS or traction control on a bumpy road or some such thing, but as a matter of fact, the shift lever can be moved all the way from L to N without pressing the button, but not into R. This is especially useful if you accidentally turn the car off while rolling down the road. You can push the lever to N; it goes where you need it and stops; then press the power button twice without touching the brake pedal, and the car is running again.

It would be hard to believe the shift lever moved on its own, but if it did, we certainly want to hear confirmation of that, because it has never happened before.

 

I think the OP means that while using regen braking the car lost traction for a moment making it "feel" like it was in neutral. This is an effect of the ABS on loose gravel or ice. You momentarily loose the "feel" of braking when a wheel slips. This does NOT mean the gear shifter goes into neutral.

 

Perhaps the shifter was not completely in D and did not click into place. Yet it was good enough to drive. Then when braking hard, the forward momentum of the shifter pulled it into N.

 

As pointed out, when using regenerative braking, if there is a situation where low traction is detected the regenerative braking will be disabled in favor of ABS brakes. One member here likened this to feeling like you've been shot out of a cannon.

In the future when going downhill put the shifter in L (low) and make sure you're also using the brake pedal. A nice bump or patch of gravel/ice/slippery stuff will change how the car responds and you'll need to be using the physical brakes then.

 

Hard braking with some ABS types can lead to a slight delay before the car will accelerate again.
I had to brake very hard a month ago in my 2013MY Volt on a street that was a little bumpy. The car in front of me laid on the brakes and I had to brake hard to avoid tail ending him. Unfortunately there was a big SUV behind me that couldn't brake nearly as well, so when the car in front of me accelerated away, I hit the accelerator as well and nothing happened for nearly a second. The Volt just sat there, then it accelerated normally. Scared the bejebus out of me because that SUV almost nailed me. My Volt wasn't in neutral, but it felt like it was for a second. That might not sound like a long time, but when you want to go, half a second can really drag on and on.

 

I had an odd spot in the road ( small access plate ) that would drop regen when in L

I started to take some data using the three-axis + ACCELEROMETER in the Iphone using the iSeismometer app

Dallas street crew fix the road that night so I only had one pass with the phone just in the car seat.

--------------
the app works on most smartphones

New smartphones may have 6 axis ability and give some good data.

 

Originally Posted by theandersen5I was driving downhill in my husband's awesome 2013 Chevy Volt and had to brake hard and suddenly, and as I did, the car popped into neutral. Has this happened to anyone else? I love the car and try to use it instead of our family minivan whenever possible, but this scared me!

Hello theandersen5,

I can understand how concerning this must be. The forum members have provided some fantastic advice and are asking great questions to further understand your situation. I would be happy to look into this further for you. Just send me a private message with your full contact information, VIN, mileage and preferred dealership. I can have your Volt Advisor contact you with more information.

Katie O.
Chevrolet Customer Care