2013 warranty booklet

GM warranty booklets tend to be multi-vehicle coverage, not necessarily Volt specific, so you can locate downloadable warranty booklets for most Volt model years on the chevrolet.com website, but I note the 2013 warranty booklet seems to be missing (they do seem to be available for the 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015 years, plus Gen 2 years - often simply titled such as "2019 Chevrolet Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information"). Here is the one for 2015, which I suspect differs little, if any, from any of the other model years:


Here’s a two page list detailing Federal/California emission component coverage available from the Honda people.


Since your GM New Vehicle Limited Warranty terms have already expired for your 2013 Volt, what you need is the language from the California laws stating the part you need is covered under warranty. Your GM Volt warranty page tells you the title of the PZEV warranty coverage you have. Perhaps you could search the internet for more information from California and the California laws regarding the coverage provided by a warranty with that title. I did locate this Draft warranty requirements for the hybrid battery, dated December 2021:


In another thread you mention the part you need is a Drive Motor Battery Radiator Surge Tank, which sounds like a part more associated with a radiator than with a drive motor. The Volt warranty booklet seems to say radiators are specifically excluded from coverage under the Powertrain or Drive System warranties. Within the California draft warranty document linked above I note on page 5 the passage in section I: "...the vehicle manufacturer shall not be liable under this article for repair or replacement of any replacement part which is not a propulsion-related part or battery..." Perhaps your GM dealer is considering the radiator surge tank you need to be "not a propulsion-related part" of the hybrid battery system.

wordptom said:

GM warranty booklets tend to be multi-vehicle coverage, not necessarily Volt specific, so you can locate downloadable warranty booklets for most Volt model years on the chevrolet.com website, but I note the 2013 warranty booklet seems to be missing

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this meshes with what i found on the Helm site, as it listed all 2013 vehicles as covered by the booklet they were selling. still, there's no chance i'm paying them $25 just for shipping on a book that should cost less than $10. as i mentioned, i found a copy on ebay and it should be here early next week. i'll scan the whole thing once it arrives so that everyone has a copy of it online, once and for all.

wordptom said:

In another thread you mention the part you need is a Drive Motor Battery Radiator Surge Tank, which sounds like a part more associated with a radiator than with a drive motor. The Volt warranty booklet seems to say radiators are specifically excluded from coverage under the Powertrain or Drive System warranties. Within the California draft warranty document linked above I note on page 5 the passage in section I: "...the vehicle manufacturer shall not be liable under this article for repair or replacement of any replacement part which is not a propulsion-related part or battery..." Perhaps your GM dealer is considering the radiator surge tank you need to be "not a propulsion-related part" of the hybrid battery system.

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the specific part that the dealer mentioned as having failed was the sensor. the sensor is specifically listed as covered for 15/150 in CA, based on the images someone had posted here a while back from an actual 2013 warranty booklet.


they are wanting to replace the tank because they say there's no way to replace just the sensor, that it's part of the tank. there is no leak from the radiator, nor the tank itself, or at least there was not when i dropped the car off. i checked underneath it after every drive for the past few months prior to taking it in, there was no fluid leak whatsoever and there was no leak found on the full vehicle inspection that they gave the car prior to the oil change (and prior to "diagnostics" to figure out what was wrong with the high voltage system).

regardless, the document you linked defines "propulsion-related part" on page 1, and it seems pretty clear this qualifies as one:

“Propulsion-related part” means any system, component, or part that is used to refuel or recharge the vehicle, store fuel or energy for the vehicle (excluding the battery), propel the vehicle, or recover or recoup vehicle kinetic energy, including components used to control, manage, or thermally manage such propulsionrelated components. These parts include drive motor(s), inverter(s), converter(s), on-board charging system components, fuel cell stack components, refueling and fuel tank components, fuel cell air and fuel delivery components, regenerative braking system components, and the power electronics, electronic control units, and thermal management systems of such components and systems

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the car won't charge without this being fixed, hence this is most certainly a "part that is used to refuel or recharge the vehicle."

2013 Chevy warranty info attached. I found these on line a few years ago - in this single page jpg format. I probably could combine them into one document but it didn't seem worth the trouble at the time.

another update: replied to the dealer and let him know that i have a copy of the warranty booklet clearly indicating this should be covered. haven't heard back from him since.

spoke with the advisor at GM who is working my case: she also seemed quite surprised that i have the warranty information. she said she did not have access to the booklet herself (seems very strange, but whatever), and requested that i provide the relevant pages from the warranty booklet to her. i've already sent those over to her, via e-mail.

i'm not one for conspiracy theories, but the fact that the 2013 warranty booklet mysteriously isn't available online (even though every other year is), combined with the fact that even the GM employees apparently don't have a copy of it, and that the dealer suddenly stopped responding to me when i told him i had a copy of the warranty booklet that clearly identified this as something that should be covered...it all just seems a little too coincidental.

anyway, now we wait...

Keep in mind you no longer have any warranty coverage for which GM is obligated to pay under their new car warranty. Any GM obligation would arise under the terms of the CARB-mandated coverage, as described in California law. Those terms are only vaguely described in GM’s "2013 Chevrolet Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information" booklet.

If I understand it, your dealer has described the issue as a failing sensor within a Drive Motor Radiator Surge Tank. Perhaps GM has concluded a "Drive Motor Radiator Surge Tank" is not covered by the CARB warranty terms. Seems to me you should locate the text of current California law that indicates that sensor within that specific surge tank is covered within the terms of the CARB warranty regulations and applies to your 2013 Volt. Your Volt Warranty page lists the titles of the CARB-related PZEV and Limited Warranties for eligible vehicles. Isn’t there any California source that can provide you with the full text of those listed warranties?

wordptom said:

Keep in mind you no longer have any warranty coverage for which GM is obligated to pay under their new car warranty. Any GM obligation would arise under the terms of the CARB-mandated coverage, as described in California law. Those terms are only vaguely described in GM’s "2013 Chevrolet Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information" booklet.

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You responded with almost this exact same reply earlier in this thread, and I addressed it then, but I'll do it again here. I have never (not for one second) suggested this should be covered under the new car warranty. I'm long past the bumper to bumper warranty, obviously.

However, as for the PZEV warranty: the warranty booklet is not vague about this. At all.

If I understand it, your dealer has described the issue as a failing sensor within a Drive Motor Radiator Surge Tank. Perhaps GM has concluded a "Drive Motor Radiator Surge Tank" is not covered by the CARB warranty terms.

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They have identified the engine coolant temp sensor as being the part that failed. The tank is only being discussed insofar as that they're saying the sensor is part of the tank, and the whole tank needs to be replaced in order to replace the sensor. I flat out asked the advisor why they needed to replace the tank if it was the sensor that failed. His response was: "the sensor is part of the tank." There is no failure in the tank itself whatsoever to be considered here.

The sensor is very clearly listed on page 30 of the book as being covered for 15 years, 150k miles in CA if it's a PZEV Volt (mine is). It's literally right there in the scan of the warranty book that has been posted multiple times in this thread.

Seems to me you should locate the text of current California law that indicates that sensor within that specific surge tank is covered within the terms of the CARB warranty regulations and applies to your 2013 Volt. Your Volt Warranty page lists the titles of the CARB-related PZEV and Limited Warranties for eligible vehicles. Isn’t there any California source that can provide you with the full text of those listed warranties?

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The warranty coverage on the tank itself is irrelevant, as it's not the part that failed. The sensor is the part that they identify as having failed, and is covered - it's not my problem if they have to replace the tank to fix the sensor. The warranty booklet says that all parts and labor to repair a warrantable condition are covered.

Also, CA law has nothing to do with this, other than that it requires 15 years and 150k miles on emissions parts for a PZEV car (again, which mine is). Per CARB and the ongoing discussion I have open with them, it's up to the manufacturer to decide what is covered under that warranty.

Contrary to your assertion that the warranty book "vaguely describes" these parts and terms, that isn't the case. Page 28 reads:

"For 15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first for a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV):

- If any emission-related part* listed in this booklet is defective, GM will repair or replace it. This is your (PZEV) Emission Control System Defects Warranty.
* PZEV Hybrid Batteries and Hybrid A/C compressor are covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first."

Then, on page 30, which is the section that defines "emission-related parts" (emphasis mine):

"All listed parts 15 years / 150,000 miles, whichever comes first, on California PZEV (NU6) vehicles registered in a PZEV state except Hybrid batteries and Hybrid A/C compressors, which are covered for 10 years / 150,000 miles, whichever comes first."

Also on page 30, literally immediately to the right of that sentence, the coolant temp sensor is listed.

Again, pages 30-36 are the "Emission Warranty Parts List," which discusses the PZEV warranty and literally says ALL LISTED PARTS EXCEPT THE BATTERY AND COMPRESSOR. The coolant temp sensor is listed in this section.

I don't know what you think is vague about that, but it seems pretty damn clear to me. They mention twice within a span of three pages that all parts listed under the emission warranty parts list, other than the battery itself and the A/C compressor (10/150k), are covered for 15/150k.