[Andy00778]

This is a well know issue with Volts. The failed EGR valve has an internal electrical short, which blows F3, the non walk home fuse.

This fuse takes out the cooling system control which means driving on the gas engine very problematic. If it was just an EGR valve failure you could keep driving until it can be taken in. The part shortage was critical a year or so ago so I am surprised it’s in short supply again, unless it’s just part of the same old supply chain problem. I know the part number was changed and hope that means the design defect was corrected.

Mine failed last summer and it was lucky I got a new one in a few days. I have read that some people simply disconnect the EGR and replace F3 until the part comes in.

Mine was covered under the emissions warranty ( btb expired) but I have heard some dealers trying to charge.

 

[[email protected]]

This is a well know issue with Volts. The failed EGR valve has an internal electrical short, which blows F3, the non walk home fuse.

This fuse takes out the cooling system control which means driving on the gas engine very problematic. If it was just an EGR valve failure you could keep driving until it can be taken in. The part shortage was critical a year or so ago so I am surprised it’s in short supply again, unless it’s just part of the same old supply chain problem. I know the part number was changed and hope that means the design defect was corrected.

Mine failed last summer and it was lucky I got a new one in a few days. I have read that some people simply disconnect the EGR and replace F3 until the part comes in.

Mine was covered under the emissions warranty ( btw expired) but I have heard some dealers trying to charge.

Andy, thanks for the info. The service advisor says the repair will be covered by the emissions warranty. So far he has made no mention of the fuse issue you describe. Thankfully, I can drive in battery mode only for 56 miles per charge. That should cover most of my regular trips.

Jordan in Mississippi

 

[Kato659]

I removed and cleaned the carbon off my egr valve with brake cleaner. It's relatively easy to get to. This video does a good job showing how to do it:

Edit: mine was stuck shut with carbon, working perfectly after a good clean.

 

[Danno]

I removed and cleaned the carbon off my egr valve with brake cleaner. It's relatively easy to get to. This video does a good job showing how to do it:

Edit: mine was stuck shut with carbon, working perfectly after a good clean.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had seen that video but hadn't seen any members ever post that they had tried cleaning the valve. I've been toying with the idea of preemptively cleaning mine but I'm generally of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought.

 

[Kato659]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had seen that video but hadn't seen any members ever post that they had tried cleaning the valve. I've been toying with the idea of preemptively cleaning mine but I'm generally of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought.

It's tedious enough that I would wait for a code. 3 months after the fix, the code has stayed gone and it definitely runs smoother than when the code was present.

For anyone considering this, not sure he mentioned in the video but coolant will pee out of the lines when disconnected. Stuff a rag (or plug of some kind) in to save your coolant and make sure to top up the engine coolant reservoir after if needed.

 

[microVOLT]

I had my EGR valve and EGR cooler replaced just a few months ago. The wait time for the parts was one week. There were plenty of parts in GM SPO and a few in 3rd party part stores as well.
Repair time was about 4 hours.

 

[pinballmachine101]

Last week while driving with the ICE engaged, check engine light appeared, car shuddered, reduced propulsion message appeared, and a few minutes later OnStar message was Emissions Issue.

Today the dealer service advisor said the problem was the EGR valve. The bigger issue is that he also said there are no Volt EGR valves available in the U.S. He thought GM would have to rebuild a valve and that my wait could be one week to 6 months. Have any of you had similar parts' issues since Volt production ceased? Any suggestions for contacting GM should a week extend to months waiting for a valve?

Thanks! Jordan in Mississippi, 2017 Volt Premier

I just replaced mine myself with refurb part on eBay, my dealership at Texas refuse to cover it under the emission warranty, basically insist it's not covered and I have to fork out $1000 with them, so I went to eBay and bought the part for $350 some other site maybe cheaper than eBay now. But mine is running fine now, but during the time 2 months that I couldn't get the part, I replace the f3 walk home fuse with 25amp fuse and disconnect the EGR valve, and it work perfectly fine without working EGr.

 

[microVOLT]

You're lucky you didn't have a bad EGR cooler as well. EGR valve replacement is easy enough there's only 5 bolts holding it in place. EGR cooler is behind the catalytic converter and that's not so nice to remove.

Genuine OEM Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve Part# 12691147 Fits 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt: Up To 35% Off On Every Order And Guaranteed Fit When You Enter Your VIN | GM Parts

2016-2019 Chevrolet Volt OEM Part # 12691147 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve

www.chevroletpartsdirect.com

 

[Steverino]

I just replaced mine myself with refurb part on eBay, my dealership at Texas refuse to cover it under the emission warranty, basically insist it's not covered and I have to fork out $1000 with them, so I went to eBay and bought the part for $350 some other site maybe cheaper than eBay now. But mine is running fine now, but during the time 2 months that I couldn't get the part, I replace the f3 walk home fuse with 25amp fuse and disconnect the EGR valve, and it work perfectly fine without working EGr.

With the supply chain issues hitting all the car makers and a variety of parts, more people are considering or going this route when the dealer tells them no parts, no ETA. True, the dealer won't warranty the part or work, but not having a car for 3 to 6 months is not an option for many. And for the price, you could replace it three times and still be within the dealer's price range.

 

[Gray17LT]

Mine has been in the shop two months tomorrow waiting for an EGR and a fuse. So far, I surmise that GM has spent $2,000 on a piece of crap Hyundai that I am embarrassingly driving around so that I don't have to drive my premium-sucking 15 mile per gallon SUV or any of my aging classics. I have left two messages with the service lane manager in the last two weeks and he has stopped returning my calls. So I just called GM and created a case, which she said she would immediately escalate and someone from GM would call me within 48 hours. At this point, I'm going to be asking for a buyback if they can't find a part. It cannot possibly be good for my car to sit on the Backlot getting God knows how many door dings and baking in the sun while the battery degrades and the cooler is not able to run because it's not plugged in. So at some point GM will probably have to spend $8,000 on a new battery all because they couldn't get me $150 EGR in time. I just found it impossible to believe that there is not an EGR anywhere in the country. A GM executive could have hopped a plane to China and picked up a few egr's to put on his carry-on luggage and gotten them back for less money and in less time than this has taken. This is is my first GM car that I bought new and it will probably be my last. It's just like my 89 Allante. Which I have babied in its old age, another well-engineered car that got destroyed by the bean counters because nobody wanted to build enough parts or service them after they killed them because they weren't making GM enough money. Shame Shame.

It's no wonder GM is perpetually screwed financially and has to get rid of entire divisions because they poo poo on people like me. I make good money and I always have wanted a new Cadillac when I hit 50. But Cadillac has stopped making cars that I'm interested in. The Genesis g90 is the Cadillac Fleetwood that they should be making. So their poor parts and warranty practices and customer satisfaction practices and lack of building the right vehicles but killing the ones that they should have kept could easily cost them ongoing customers and six figures worth of escalating purchases in higher end brands. I really fail to see how any of this is a strategy for a successful business

 

[Bob K]

Take it back, unplug the EGR and replace the F3 fuse and drive it until the part is in.

 

[microVOLT]

I'm wondering if this is a regional issue? I got my parts within a week in Ohio.

 

[Gray17LT]

Update I forgot to post last week.

I submitted a GM case that was escalated at day 64 of the waiting game, after being told "none in any dealer inventory in US" at least 3x, midday on day 65 the dealer calls and says "well what do you know, we found a part at another dealer and your car is done!"

Let the conspiracy theories begin. File a case on your own.

My conspiracy theory is EGRs sitting under the parts managers desks, removed from the inventory tracking system, reserved for 1) squeaky wheels and 2) out-of-warranty paying customers.

Everyone else to the back of the line.

What would you do if you dropped billions on flaming Bolts and wanted to forget the Volt you canceled 3 years ago due to no profits?

There is just no way there is not a SINGLE EGR ANYWHERE IN THE US for 30, 60, 90+ days. Much more likely they are getting a weekly trickle of deliveries that are being tucked away to manage all the Volts that are having theirs fail all at the same time, in much larger numbers than the weekly trickle can officially cover.

Everyone keeps saying "supply chain issues." It's an easy scapegoat to get the heat off. Much more likely is 1) failure to produce enough parts after 2019 to handle needs, in a managerial calculation to try to reduce FURTHER Volt losses, 2) pandemic shutdowns, 3) supply chain failure as the last of the 3 dominos that are likely causing this.

Or maybe it's just all chance and coincidence in my case.

 

[SCHighwayGuy]

Would it be reasonable to assume that a Volt that runs on ICE a good amount, and has plenty of time to reach operating temp multiple times daily may not have this issue as common as other owners? The EGR valve will function almost as a normal ICE only vehicle in my driving situation.

 

[Gray17LT]

Would it be reasonable to assume that a Volt that runs on ICE a good amount, and has plenty of time to reach operating temp multiple times daily may not have this issue as common as other owners? The EGR valve will function almost as a normal ICE only vehicle in my driving situation.

I have 30k on my Volt. At least 15k is on ICE. It's a defective design.

 

[SCHighwayGuy]

Mine has almost 85k, Ive had it since it was on 32k last year, I drive nearly 175 miles a day sometimes more, 6 days a week, Only 40-60 of that is on Battery

 

[Off Oil]

Would it be reasonable to assume that a Volt that runs on ICE a good amount, and has plenty of time to reach operating temp multiple times daily may not have this issue as common as other owners? The EGR valve will function almost as a normal ICE only vehicle in my driving situation.

That is hopefully the case, but we don't really know. I put on ~180 sustained highway miles on the engine every weekend, and so far (hopefully) no issues. Engine Stop/Start city driving can't be good for it overall, and may be factor with the EGR.

 

[SCHighwayGuy]

From what I've read, and from what I know about how these things operate, a majority of the problem may come down them not getting hot enough to burn out the buildup, when the car runs on battery most of its life and only hits on the ICE every now and then, its going to gum up rather quickly, Mercedes has a similar issue with the W210 Chassis cars, but on theirs its the tube leading to the EGR that gums up, the cars that Idle more and don't get "blown out" regularly seem to have more instances of failure. I know its apples to oranges, but an interesting observation to me. I know that I am kinda mirroring what a lot of others have said here, but it's my .02

 

[Gray17LT]

It has been stated multiple times on this forum that the EGR is a defective design and has been replaced by a new design. This has NOTHING to do with improperly burning off. If you get up to operating temperature it's going to burn off. I use my gas motor way more than probably most Volt owners and if I had a problem in 15,000 miles not due to burning off. I only run my gas motor when I'm on the interstate for at least 10 or 15 miles. PS this is not the point of this thread, the point of this whole thread is extended repair times. Please look in other threads for information on the EGR itself