As the owner of a new Chev Volt, I am still studying the manual and getting to know this amazing vehicle. I have a question concerning the operation on engine power. When running on the battery, the propulsion is extremely smooth. Once the battery is depleted and the vehicle is running totally on engine power, the propulsion is not nearly as smooth. One would expect the vehicle to run on engine power as well as any modern automobile propelled by a gasoline engine. The engine in my Volt feels like it is missing slightly. This is very slight, but definitely noticeable. Is this normal or could there be something wrong with my particular vehicle?
2017 Engine appears to be missing slightly
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Might be this: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?235282-17-Not-Smooth-on-Gas&highlight=chuggle ???
(A Gen 2 owner who has experienced "chuggle" might be able to weigh in more authoritatively.)
(A Gen 2 owner who has experienced "chuggle" might be able to weigh in more authoritatively.)
There where some service bulletins out to address the problem. Your dealer should have applied them before delivery. I would call them and make sure they have all been done.
In my own 2017, the "chuggle" was still slightly noticeable, even after the updates. However, I, and others on this forum have noticed it goes away after some gas miles are accumulated on the engine. I can say that after 2400 gas miles on my 2017 (out of 9800 total), the surging/chuggle on gas is all but gone.
There is one thing you will notice however when driving in gas mode that won't go away.. While in gas mode, the transmission does change or shift between about 5 different driving modes during the normal course of driving. You will sometimes feel this when accelerating or slowing down/braking. It feels similar to any car with a auto transmission shifting gears.
In electric only mode there are only 2 driving modes, which it can switch between seamlessly.
In my own 2017, the "chuggle" was still slightly noticeable, even after the updates. However, I, and others on this forum have noticed it goes away after some gas miles are accumulated on the engine. I can say that after 2400 gas miles on my 2017 (out of 9800 total), the surging/chuggle on gas is all but gone.
There is one thing you will notice however when driving in gas mode that won't go away.. While in gas mode, the transmission does change or shift between about 5 different driving modes during the normal course of driving. You will sometimes feel this when accelerating or slowing down/braking. It feels similar to any car with a auto transmission shifting gears.
In electric only mode there are only 2 driving modes, which it can switch between seamlessly.
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I've also noticed a lack of smoothness with my ICE. It seems worse when the ICE is not fully warmed up. I took a 1000 mile trip a few weeks ago. If it was rough the whole time, I would have been upset.
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That's funny right there...When I first took delivery of my 2016 Volt, I thought the engine was missing too. Turns out it is just very small (1.5L) so it's hard to see under the hood. So in reality the engine is there, you just have to look for it.
In my gen1, 2015 Volt and the 2014 ELR I have now, the engine cutover and power were seamless. It ran just as if it were on battery but sometimes you would hear the engine rpm's increase. Not feel it at all. My 2015 drove on the engine a LOT especially when the battery was dying. Drove the same except it burnt gas and you could hear the engine at highway speeds.
The ELR is just about silent as it has noise cancellation and better soundproofing. I can hear the engine in mountain mode, going up a mountain. There's been times I didn't even realize I'd run out of juice and was on gas until I got home and turned the car off and the report popped up showing I used a few gas miles.
The ELR is just about silent as it has noise cancellation and better soundproofing. I can hear the engine in mountain mode, going up a mountain. There's been times I didn't even realize I'd run out of juice and was on gas until I got home and turned the car off and the report popped up showing I used a few gas miles.
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Chuggle should only affect 2016s, not 2017s. With a volt, you will also find situations where you want to punch it and it takes a split second for all the clutches and electric motors to do their thing to switch from generator to propulsion. So we need a better description from the OP on what they mean by "missing"
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I found mine - buried under all the electronics. For OP, my 2017 LT is smooth as glass and unless you're paying attention the switchover between EV and ICE in both directions is completely seamless. The ICE engine does sound like a stomach rumbling for food.When I first took delivery of my 2016 Volt, I thought the engine was missing too. Turns out it is just very small (1.5L) so it's hard to see under the hood. So in reality the engine is there, you just have to look for it.
I have a 2017 and have the same issue when running on the gas engine. It has improved after 7500 total miles but I still notice it some especially when the gas engine first starts up. The dealer has looked at the car and was not able or willing to fix the issue. Slightly disappointed with the car because of this but thankfully I only spend ~20% of the time in gas mode.
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I've noticed on our 2016, that sometimes (not always) when the ICE turns on when cold, it will experience a rough idle. Would that be the same thing as this chuggle? The ICE will smooth out once it warms up.
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That's typical for small ICE engines.
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That delay has been corrected in gen 2. I found that delay on my 2014 a little scary when I needed power right away.
For the missing problem, I can't say if it is missing or not because on the highway at 65 mph, I can't hear the ICE over my music. I'm usually using cruise control and when I engage Hold mode, I do feel the car kind of lurching/jerking a bit. As others have said, it smooths out when the ICE warms up.
i've noticed the same thing. once it switches over to gas i get a rough idle almost like its going to die. guess its just a thing with these small gas engines.
It shouldn't do that. And you SHOULD be able to reproduce the symptoms if it's really just "rough when cold", by turning car on and popping the hood. Then you can do it for the service advisor/tech at the dealership when you tell them that the idle is rough when cold.
only problem with that is i would have to time it right and be at the dealer with maybe 3-5 miles on battery and take them for a ride. can't go fully charged or they for sure can't replicate it. can't go on gas only cause it will already be warm by the time i get there.
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Can't you just switch to hold mode when you demonstrate this to the dealer? i don't see why you have to deplete the battery.
Another question, when this rough idle issue happens are you typically driving on the highway when it switches to ice or are you driving in city traffic? Does the rough idle change at different traveling speeds. I've had times when driving fast, the ICE is off, then it abruptly turns on at a high RPM. It feels harsh only because I've been lulled into a sense of smoothness from being battery-only. So I'm trying to discern if this is a human perception problem or whether there really is a problem with the car (kind of hard to tell over the Internet without a test drive).
not sure of the hold mode you speak of. guess i'll have to break out the manual!
i've only noticed it happening when i happen to run out of juice and then come to a stop within a minute or two at say a traffic light. when i've run out of juice going while actually moving i got no issues.
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if you press the drive mode button, it switches from Normal to Sport to Mountain Mode to Hold Mode. Sport remaps the accelerator to pretend that the car is more responsive. Mountain Mode maintains a certain level of charge in the battery so you have enough juice to climb the highest mountain roads. Hold mode turns on the ICE so you can preserve your battery for later in the trip - useful if you are driving beyond your battery range, and want to burn fuel on the highway to leave the battery draining for city traffic.
When you stop at a stoplight after running hard, the engine will idle very high, then abruptly stop. Again, this is all normal behavior of the volt. The car will not start and stop the engine instantly. If it has started, it will stay running for a little while until it warms up properly before shutting off - otherwise lots of stop and go traffic would add unnecessary wear and tear on the engine.
So I'm now changing my answer. Instead of taking your car to the dealership and demonstrating this using Hold mode, I think you should just test out hold mode and convince yourself this is normal behavior. Post a video somewhere and other g2 owners can confirm
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