[Joiner]

Could anyone with a 2017 Volt LT run a simple test for me? My car has been in the shop non-stop thanks to a braking issue. The car was returned to me today, only to be taken back immediately. When I first put on the cruise control at 65 mph it worked, i tapped the brake for incoming traffic, and when I hit set again it wouldn't turn back on. I waited until no one was behind me and hit the brake harder than usual, then hit set and suddenly it worked again. I repeated all these steps 3 times on the way back to the dealership, all results the same.

Does anyone else's Volt do this? Oh, when its in the "won't set the cruise control mode" it takes more gas to get it moving and it slows down faster anytime I let off the gas. All driving was done in D. Thanks in advance.

 

[N8XWB]

To turn the cruise back on, are you hitting SET or RESUME? If you hit SET, you will be setting the speed at your current speed which, if you slowed down, will seem like it isn't set, because it is now set at the speed you slowed down to.....

 

[turboguy327]

Sounds like user error

 

[Joiner]

N8XWB, turboguy327 - Ouch, crazy to assume someone doesn't know how to work cruise control.

No this is not user error. Whether you hit resume or set, it will not do it. It has been to the dealership 4 times now for this issue. They say that my car has a unique issue, I decided to ask you guys simply because I didn't know if this is something that these cars do and maybe neither myself or technicians working on it know about it because these cars are different. If you hold the brake pedal up the cruise control will set and stay on up until the moment you lower your foot.

 

[freshcut]

So basically it sounds like the brake pedal isn't fully returning to the upper most rest position, most notably when lightly tapping the brake pedal as if the return spring is weak and the weight of the pedal itself is enough to keep it depressed just enough to make the vehicle think brakes are applied. I'm not sure if manufacturers still utilize a brake pedal return spring but a spring, or a maladjusted brake switch would be my initial thoughts.

 

[llninja]

So basically it sounds like the brake pedal isn't fully returning to the upper most rest position, most notably when lightly tapping the brake pedal as if the return spring is weak and the weight of the pedal itself is enough to keep it depressed just enough to make the vehicle think brakes are applied. I'm not sure if manufacturers still utilize a brake pedal return spring but a spring, or a maladjusted brake switch would be my initial thoughts.

It might be interesting if you could get a friend to follow you with a cellphone (both on bluetooth) and let you know what your brake lights are doing. If you had a gen1 with the lower rear window, I'd use the tape and aluminum foil trick to be able to see a reflection of your brake lights in the rear view mirror. The other thing is maybe you have a sticking caliper so the car thinks you are still hitting the brakes. Whatever the case, it sounds repeatable and the dealer service department should be able to diagnose this unless they are total idiots. The dealership closest to my house once drove my car 10 miles to test a Bluetooth problem citing they wanted to get the phone away from wifi to make sure that wasn't interfereing. I pointed out that they could have just left the car in their shop and turned off the wifi on the phone. Ii think they just went on a joy ride at my expense and were too stupid to try to cover it up by charging the car. Alas there's no hiding from the onstar app. With an ice vehicle I probably wouldn't have noticed 10 miles missing. I now go to a dealership 18 miles away for service instead of 3 miles away. Plus the new service manager Paula is much more easy on the eyes than Michael was.

 

[voganni]

I agree with freshcut. Observe your brake lights. This should be fairly easy with the high-mount stop light. Or for starters, back up to a window or reflective wall and see if they stay on until you lift up on the pedal. Sounds like a mis-adjusted switch.

 

[Joiner]

They have replaced the switch 2 times and also a wire connecting to the ecm. Since it has still been doing it, even after all of that, I figured I'd ask you guys if it was somehow normal operation because of the regen braking system and maybe it was possible that the dealership and I just didn't know about it because it isn't you common car. If that somehow was the case, I didn't want to waste both theirs and my time.

From your guys responses this obviously is not normal. The car will just have to keep going back until its fixed.

 

[Arcanox]

They have replaced the switch 2 times and also a wire connecting to the ecm. Since it has still been doing it, even after all of that, I figured I'd ask you guys if it was somehow normal operation because of the regen braking system and maybe it was possible that the dealership and I just didn't know about it because it isn't you common car. If that somehow was the case, I didn't want to waste both theirs and my time.

From your guys responses this obviously is not normal. The car will just have to keep going back until its fixed.

Do you have any floor mats, including the original ones that came with the car?

 

[Joiner]

Do you have any floor mats, including the original ones that came with the car?

Just the original mats, haven't had the car in my possession long enough to add or do anything to it lol

 

[jcanoe]

What is your speed when you press Set or Resume? The Volt may have a minimum speed below which cruise control cannot be engaged or re-engaged.

I have adaptive cruise control (ACC) and it can be balky sometimes. First time using ACC on a given trip, to set the ACC the Volt must be traveling at least 25mph. If I brake and come to a complete stop usually I can press Resume and the Volt will re-engage the ACC from either a full stop or any speed even if the speed is lower than 25mph. Sometimes it takes a second attempt to Resume ACC while I am manually accelerating. I am not sure if this hesitation is time dependent or speed dependent. Sometimes I have had to turn off the ACC and turn it back on to reset. Usually the ACC works fine.

 

[Joiner]

jcanoe- Yeah the minimum speed to set cruise control is 25 mph.

All tests were done on speeds of 60 mph or more.

 

[jcanoe]

jcanoe- Yeah the minimum speed to set cruise control is 25 mph.

All tests were done on speeds of 60 mph or more.

If you turn off cruise control (I believe this is the right button in the CC cluster) and then turn it back on can you then use the Set button to engage cruise control? Maybe it is a bad CC module.

 

[Arcanox]

If you turn off cruise control (I believe this is the right button in the CC cluster) and then turn it back on can you then use the Set button to engage cruise control? Maybe it is a bad CC module.

Joinser said they had to use more pressure on the throttle to accelerate the car, which means it's not a Cruise Control issue. It sounds like the brake pedal is being held down a little.

 

[N8XWB]

JOINER, I didn't presume or assume anything. In your post you stated after tapping the brake you tried to turn on the cruise by hitting SET. I was just trying to be helpful and point out how the cruise would respond based on your input. Anyhow, I have a 2017 Premier with ACC and was happy to try it out on the highway today. I set the cruise at 65, tapped my brake pedal and then immediately tried to turn on the cruise (using both SET and RES) multiple times. In all cases my cruise reactivated without incident. Good luck getting yours repaired.

 

[Joiner]

I hope the dealership has good news for me on Monday. It's the 5th time I've taken it to the dealership since i bought the car 12 days ago. I just want to drive my new car!

 

[Arcanox]

I hope the dealership has good news for me on Monday. It's the 5th time I've taken it to the dealership since i bought the car 12 days ago. I just want to drive my new car!

You beat my record! I thought that'd be impossible to do.

 

[quirkySquirt]

jcanoe- Yeah the minimum speed to set cruise control is 25 mph.

All tests were done on speeds of 60 mph or more.

Mine can set cruise at 24 mph (that is, it will maintain 24 mph). This was in L though going down hill through a residential area with a lot of twisty roads. I just his the minus "-" sign until it bottoms out at 24 mph and sure enough, speedometer reads 24 mph all the way down hill.

 

[Joiner]

Mine can set cruise at 24 mph (that is, it will maintain 24 mph). This was in L though going down hill through a residential area with a lot of twisty roads. I just his the minus "-" sign until it bottoms out at 24 mph and sure enough, speedometer reads 24 mph all the way down hill.

I'll have to check that out. I think it's supposed to be 25 MPH to "set" cruise control, maybe you can lower the speed to 24 with the controls after its already been set to 25 or above?

No word from the dealer yet. According to the Chevy app my car hasn't been moved yet.

 

[llninja]

Mine can set cruise at 24 mph (that is, it will maintain 24 mph). This was in L though going down hill through a residential area with a lot of twisty roads. I just his the minus "-" sign until it bottoms out at 24 mph and sure enough, speedometer reads 24 mph all the way down hill.

Sometimes I wish I could set the cruise to be lower, much lower. I have a great pyranese that sometimes wanders off. With a GPS and cellphone in his collar, I can track him down, but sometimes I don't take the suburban and instead take the volt to go retrieve him. So getting him home means driving really slow with a leash out the driver's side window as he is too big to be in the hatch (plus the wife won't allow a smelly dog in the new car).