[Scooter1011]

I was on a 5 hour road trip home, and about an hour into the trip, my car died. 2017 Volt Premier, built August 2016, Purchased March 2017

I received "Reduced Propulsion" plus the Check Engine light. As I made my way to find the nearest dealership, I received an "Engine Unavailable" notice - likely due to the temperature reaching just above 240 degrees F. I then limped to the dealership on the little electric charge I had, with it running out in their parking lot. The car still charges and still can be propelled by the electric motors. Engine still starts after it cooled off. Fuse # 3 blew, explaining many of the codes. Dealership indicated that they "confirmed" an oxygen sensor must be replaced - as the error still comes up after the Fuse # 3 was replaced. They have not yet determined why the fuse blew. Oxygen sensor is not covered under warranty (attached PDF shows they found an exhaust leak at oxygen sensor?!). I'm still under powertrain and emissions warranty. Approximately 56,200 miles.

Dealership - 4 hours away from my home - is unable to determine why the fuse blew and has been unable to reproduce the failure with in-city driving. They have not yet tried highway cruising - as I suggested they try more than once. I was using cruise control going between 60 and 75 miles per hour when the failure occurred.

Help?!
I've seen multiple other threads with the same thing - blown Fuse 3, and bad O2 sensor. But, I've yet to find any TSB's which may help the dealer repair. (I've never had a dealer service department actively research TSB's ... I've always had to provide any to them in order to get the repair). Is there a TSB which covers this fuse blowing? Or that covers the EGR blowing the fuse? The dealer is spending a lot of "Diagnosis" time on my car at an hourly rate - my fear is they will conclude it's not covered under warranty and that I need to pay out of pocket for many hours of diagnosis and test drives. My point in posting here is to gather collective knowledge and TSB's or other official GM information regarding this issue.

Attached are the trip record. We stopped at an Oasis / Rest Area, then continued on ... around Gary Indiana the car failed, and I was able to limp it to the dealership in Burns Harbor, Indiana. Long story short, they couldn't repair it due to lack of Volt Tech & it was towed to a different dealer (dealer in Burns Harbor is not working on the car now).


P0054 – HO2S Heater Resistance Sensor 2
P0AC4 – Hybrid Powertrain Control Module Requested MIL illumination
P0132 – O2S Circuit High Voltage Sensor 1
P0443 –– Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Purge Solenoid Valve Control Circuit
P0458 – Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Purge Solenoid Valve Control Circuit Low Voltage
P0597 – Engine Coolant Thermostat Heater Control Circuit
P0598 – Engine Coolant Thermostat Heater Control Circuit Low Voltage
P0030 – HO2S Heater Control Circuit Sensor 1
P0031 – HO2S Heater Control Circuit Low Voltage Sensor 1
P0403 – Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Control Circuit
P0405 – Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Position Sensor Circuit Low Voltage
P0489 – Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Motor Control Circuit
P06DA – Engine Oil Pressure Control – Solenoid Valve Control Circuit
P06DB – Engine Oil Pressure Control – Solenoid Valve Control Circuit Low Voltage
P0138 – HO2S Circuit High Voltage Sensor 2
P0135 – HO2S Heater Performance Sensor 1


I had to take a $100 uber ride (cheaper than taxi), and a $300 one-way car rental to get from the dealership back home, so I could get to work the next day. We were supposed to be home by 9pm, and didn't get home until 3:30am. I was advised this is likely covered under the GM Trip Interruption coverage, as I was more than 100 miles from home.

Please help - I need my car back, and must immediately drive it 4 hours home when I pick it up from the dealership - after driving 4 hours to get back to the dealership (8 hours of driving). I can't have it break down on my drive home with the same issue because they can't reproduce it - and won't repair it without reproducing it.

Current Odometer reading, since the dealer has been driving it:
Electric: 34,818
Total: 56,248
(Gas Miles: 21,240)

 

[Scooter1011]

Also, I only found 2 complaints on NHTSA... can those of you that also had this issue please file a NHTSA complaint? That's the only way this can become a recall or have a TSB issued.

2017 CHEVROLET VOLT 5 HB FWD | NHTSA

www.nhtsa.gov

2017 CHEVROLET VOLT 5 HB FWD | NHTSA

www.nhtsa.gov

 

[Andy00778]

Sure sounds similar to my issue a few weeks ago. Seems to be a known issue with the EGR valve having an internal short which blows F3. Lots of postings on the forum on this subject. About a year ago you couldn’t get a replacement EGR part. Suspect the faulty part was being redesigned. Mine was covered under the emission warranty.

 

[Scooter1011]

Sure sounds similar to my issue a few weeks ago. Seems to be a known issue with the EGR valve having an internal short which blows F3. Lots of postings on the forum on this subject. About a year ago you couldn’t get a replacement EGR part. Suspect the faulty part was being redesigned. Mine was covered under the emission warranty.

Did you report the issue to Transport Canada?

Did they note any Technical service bulletins (TSB)s, or P.IC.s? Or reference anything else?

It does look like the same issue, and a common issue

 

[Danno]

It's almost certainly your EGR valve failing. The crucial clue is the engine overheating. See this thread, for example: 2017 Premier, 25K 'reduced propulsion...

 

[Scooter1011]

It's almost certainly your EGR valve failing. The crucial clue is the engine overheating. See this thread, for example: 2017 Premier, 25K 'reduced propulsion...

Yes, I saw that thread and commented on it. I need a document number or known issue number to give to the dealer so they can replace it, instead of spending hours and hours "diagnosing" the car.

Plus, they've driven about 100 miles to "diagnose " my car so far, without getting the engine to operating temp then taking it on the highway where the problem occurred.

 

[Danno]

Your dealer is an idiot. The EGR valve doesn't even start working until the ICE is up to operating temperature. They need to put the car in HOLD mode and then drive it at least 25 miles on the highway. Dealers often get parts from nearby dealers. Perhaps you could suggest they use your car for such a parts run.
The only other suggestion I would have is to take your cell phone and video yourself taking the car out on the highway and getting the blown fuse. If they refuse to replace the EGR, post the video on YouTube to shame them.

 

[Scooter1011]

Your dealer is an idiot. The EGR valve doesn't even start working until the ICE is up to operating temperature. They need to put the car in HOLD mode and then drive it at least 25 miles on the highway. Dealers often get parts from nearby dealers. Perhaps you could suggest they use your car for such a parts run.
The only other suggestion I would have is to take your cell phone and video yourself taking the car out on the highway and getting the blown fuse. If they refuse to replace the EGR, post the video on YouTube to shame them.

I'd love to drive the car, but it's stranded 4 hours away from home - and I had to get home ASAP to be able to work. I didn't have a choice in dealer - just the closest available volt-tech.

I'll call them again to reinforce driving it on the highway.

 

[jima5150]

Not sure about Canada, but in California the dealership will not charge you for a Diagnosis of the problem, I also believe its the same for any repair shop. The dealership should know more then anyone of use could tell you That being said, I had the same reduction in Propulsion message and for me I lost a coolant line. All the error codes are most likely tired into the same fuse being blown, most likely from a ground shorting out. I would think if you ran over something or hit something and check to see if that area has damage to any electrical wires.
Best of luck, these are nice cars

 

[Scooter1011]

Update:

After a week of the dealership driving over 100 miles to diagnose the car, they finally listened to me and confirmed my diagnosis with GM Engineering. They then also accepted that it was a known issue (not at this dealership, but at GM), and GM agreed to let the dealer charge this to the powertrain warranty. EGR valve was replaced. They would not replace the faulty O2 sensor under any warranty - so I had to pay for that.

The dealer was hesitant to charge anything to warranty without GM approving it first. If you didn't know, if a dealer misdiagnoses or charges something back that is denied - the dealership has to absorb that cost.

Then, because I had a case open with GM, I had to work through my case manager to get my "breakdown expenses" reimbursed - about $475 related to the breakdown being more than 100 miles from home (food, hour-long taxi, and one-way rental car).

I also had to work through the case manager to request a "Reunite" ... which either gets me to the vehicle, or gets the vehicle to me. This is only if 100 miles or more from home, and to me it seemed ONLY if you requested it. No one easily offered this as an option - but as soon as I invoked "Reunite", they got on board quickly. The next week my car was towed to my home 4 hours away from the dealership.

As for the repair - initial startup there was (packaging oil?) Burning/smoking when running the engine, that eventually went away. I haven't driven more than 45 minutes on gas still - 2 months later. I think the repair warranty is good for 6 months to 1 year, and I should have some longer trips in there. But, no issues so far.


Note to self: buy one or two of the fuses for the EGR! Then I won't get stranded next time - which hopefully there is no next time.

 

[Scooter1011]

Not sure about Canada, but in California the dealership will not charge you for a Diagnosis of the problem, I also believe its the same for any repair shop. The dealership should know more then anyone of use could tell you

I don't know about Canada either. However Indiana and Michigan make you pay for diagnosis before determining if it is under warranty. Some make you actually pay first, some just put it on your bill with your agreement until a determination is made.

This is if the vehicle is Out of Warranty for Bumper to Bumper, regardless of powertrain or voltec warranties - they first charge to diagnose, then remove the charge if under those other warranties.

If you are in full B2B warranty, there's no diagnosis charge.