[goaterguy]

My wife was driving my Volt while I was traveling on business (as she usually does) and she mentioned that the car shut itself off while stopped. Has anyone else experienced this?

I know about some hitting the power button twice by mistake to go to the Sport setting but this was not the case here.

Lauren from GM has been great in helping me schedule an appointment with a dealer which I am taking the car to on Monday for other things like the clicking sound while turning on the front axles, creaking sound on the rear suspension, infotainment resetting itself or lagging, overly sensitive forward collision system (constantly warning of an impending collision when there isn't even a car in front of me) and a small trim piece that fell off. I will add this to the list.

 

[DMC5180]

Inadvertently shutting the car off by accident when looking to change drive mode.

Is there a POLL for this?

I've done it at least 3 times in the 9 months I've had my Gen 1. I'm glad they moved the power button on the Gen 2 models. It would have been nice if the mode button was on the steering wheel.


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[srmarti]

Inadvertently shutting the car off by accident when looking to change drive mode.

Is there a POLL for this?

I've done it at least 3 times in the 9 months I've had my Gen 1. I'm glad they moved the power button on the Gen 2 models. It would have been nice if the mode button was on the steering wheel.


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Haven't done it even once in two years. In fact have never done it.

 

[DMC5180]

Haven't done it even once in two years. In fact have never done it.

Good for you. The close proximity of the 2 buttons has foiled my muscle memory several times. Kinda like driving a stick shift most of the time, then you get in a automatic vehicle with column shift and you find yourself reaching for the stick shift that isn't there.


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[Crimson Volt]

I have my phone blocking the Power button since then I've only done it twice.

 

[Genecpu]

I've done it once at a signal light. had to shift to park, turn back on then go.
Glad to hear they moved the button on the Gen2 models.

 

[srmarti]

Good for you. The close proximity of the 2 buttons has foiled my muscle memory several times. Kinda like driving a stick shift most of the time, then you get in a automatic vehicle with column shift and you find yourself reaching for the stick shift that isn't there.


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The car even warns you after the first push. There's very reliable way to locate the button by feel. If that isn't sufficient the other method is not to play with the buttons while driving. There's little urgent reason to be poking at them while driving anyway. So if one is unsure, they can be left alone. Yes Gen 2 has been made more idiot resistant.

 

[goaterguy]

Sorry guys, maybe I wasn't clear on my first post but when I said:

"I know about some hitting the power button twice by mistake to go to the Sport setting but this was not the case here."

I meant she didn't hit the mode button twice to get to sport mode because she doesn't even know about the sport mode. I just confirmed with her that this was not the case.

I'll mention it to the dealer to see if they find a code and hope for the best.

 

[srmarti]

The drive mode vs power button is an old topic that some feel is a serious safety defect and others not so much. I believe the OP is reporting the car is just turning off while sitting at a light. Should we assume she doesn't mean the engine turned off while sitting at a light? That could be perfectly normal. Lets hope we hear a report back when the car has been looked at.

 

[PIYIRIO]

I hit the power button on the freeway in rush hour traffic 65-70mph trying to go to hold mode. After only 3 weeks with the car, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. The worst part is that when I hit the power button to turn it back on, I could barely get the car to maintain speed. I had to pull off on the shoulder, put it in park, turn it off, and restart for it to drive correctly again. I thought there would be some sort of failsafe to prevent this at speed (or at least restart and work again). Most quirks are fixed by the last year run of a model (I have a 2015 Premium).

 

[Qinsp]

For the future - You can restart when moving by using N.

 

[hellsop]

I hit the power button on the freeway in rush hour traffic 65-70mph trying to go to hold mode. After only 3 weeks with the car, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. The worst part is that when I hit the power button to turn it back on, I could barely get the car to maintain speed. I had to pull off on the shoulder, put it in park, turn it off, and restart for it to drive correctly again. I thought there would be some sort of failsafe to prevent this at speed (or at least restart and work again). Most quirks are fixed by the last year run of a model (I have a 2015 Premium).

There is a failsafe. You have to press it twice. And ignore that the DIC looks wrong before the second press. And I vaguely remember that there's a chime too. So basically, you remember that it's gonnna take five seconds to get to hold mode ANYWAY and look at the darned DIC to make sure you're doing what you think you're doing. And remember that the power button is BELOW the top of the hole that the shifter is in, and the mode button is above it. So put your fingers in the hole and keep your thumb up.

 

[BillG]

The drive mode vs power button is an old topic that some feel is a serious safety defect and others not so much. I believe the OP is reporting the car is just turning off while sitting at a light. Should we assume she doesn't mean the engine turned off while sitting at a light? That could be perfectly normal. Lets hope we hear a report back when the car has been looked at.

+1 - I think her ICE is turning off while stopped, which it is designed to do.

 

[wclark57]

There is a failsafe. You have to press it twice. And ignore that the DIC looks wrong before the second press. And I vaguely remember that there's a chime too. So basically, you remember that it's gonnna take five seconds to get to hold mode ANYWAY and look at the darned DIC to make sure you're doing what you think you're doing. And remember that the power button is BELOW the top of the hole that the shifter is in, and the mode button is above it. So put your fingers in the hole and keep your thumb up.

People think your weird if you're looking at your DIC all the time. But seriously, human nature is to expect that you did the right thing so not looking at the DIC, and ignoring the chime--especially if you're prone to leaving your charge door open--is also pretty normal. I think it would have been better to put one of those flip-up covers on the thing or to make the chime in that instance sound more ominous.

 

[Mcgsp]

To the original poster loosing power while driving and not hitting the power button twice is indeed out of the ordinary. But I would look to see if their is either a loose cable, short or a loose circuit breaker. These could account for the lost of power.