[FirstFlight]

23,000 miles and two issues so far. Car play and a key fob problem. Took a 250 mile camping trip this weekend. Arrived on Friday with no problem. Charged the car overnight and in the morning, as I was backing out in electric mode, the check engine light came on and got a message of "Reduced propulsion power." Drove on electric all day on Saturday and there wasn't any noticeable difference in propulsion power.

Left this morning using hold and it seemed okay. About an hour after being on the highway, the engine shut down and a message of "engine not available" popped up. Cycled to my coolant temp and it was 248 degrees. Drove for a while in electric mode and the engine cooled down so I stopped. Power cycled the car and the engine started. The remaining drive home I watched the coolant temp and it cycled between 230-244 degrees when in hold.

I've read the recall but didn't see anything about the engine stopping and not being available. Has this happened to anyone else? I'll take it in this week for the update and see if the stealership found any other problems.

 

[bentbiker]

Did you also check the coolant level?

 

[quirkySquirt]

What bentbiker said. If it's low, you might want to refer to this TSB/recall sticky: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?244066-Punctured-Coolant-Hose-Service-Bulletin-16-NA-114

 

[FirstFlight]

It's between low and high but closer towards the low side. The engine temperature indicator never lit and there was never a message of an over temperature either. Also, It took an hour for the engine to stop but I drove two more hours without it stopping again.

A more logical reason for the overheating is the excessive RPM's and the engine staying on longer than needed. That's pointed out in the recall. With higher speeds the engine ran cooler (~230) and lower speeds is when it creeped up a lot (~240) but I was unable to reproduce the "engine not available" message.

That recalll was issued in May of 2016. My car has a build date of 9/2016. That should have been corrected already, no?

 

[alfon]

What bentbiker said. If it's low, you might want to refer to this TSB/recall sticky: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?244066-Punctured-Coolant-Hose-Service-Bulletin-16-NA-114

We have a 2016 Volt, how does one check to see if their Volt falls under that Service Bulletin and needs to be be addressed?

 

[quirkySquirt]

If you have the MyChevrolet app, you can look in there for any recalls for you car under "Vehicle Information". You can also look on my.chevrolet.com for any recalls after you sign up.

Best bet, however, is perhaps call a dealership and give them your VIN. They'll have the most up-to-date info.

 

[obermd]

It's between low and high but closer towards the low side. The engine temperature indicator never lit and there was never a message of an over temperature either. Also, It took an hour for the engine to stop but I drove two more hours without it stopping again.

A more logical reason for the overheating is the excessive RPM's and the engine staying on longer than needed. That's pointed out in the recall. With higher speeds the engine ran cooler (~230) and lower speeds is when it creeped up a lot (~240) but I was unable to reproduce the "engine not available" message.

That recalll was issued in May of 2016. My car has a build date of 9/2016. That should have been corrected already, no?

How low? At the bottom of the coolant tank is a large hose used to move the coolant from the tank to the engine. If the coolant level isn't covering this hose fully and with at least an inch to an inch and a half above this hose then you have a high risk of sucking air into the cooling system, leading to air bubble hot spots in the engine. When one of these goes past the thermostat you'll get the reduced engine power message as the first warning. The real danger is when one of these bubbles gets into the engine block itself, resulting in damage to the ICE engine proper.

Excessive RPMs, especially under low loading conditions, will cause the ICE engine to get hotter. Low speeds will reduce the amount of forced air passing through the radiator. In addition to these physical constraints, GM allows ICE temperatures to climb when the ICE engine is running but not under as much load. More load results in the ECU lowering the ICE temperatures to protect the engine. This temperature management is designed to balance fuel efficiency (higher temperatures) vs. engine protection (lower temperatures under load). I notice the ICE in my 2017 Volt runs from about 190F under load to 205F at idle.

With a proper cooling fill and working water pump and radiator fan you won't see a problem. I suspect you didn't have enough coolant to maintain engine temperature.

 

[FirstFlight]

How low?

It's between low and high but closer towards the low side.

Unless I'm missing something, if it's above the low mark (arrow pointing down with horizontal line), it's not low.

 

[alfon]

We have a 2016 Volt, how does one check to see if their Volt falls under that Service Bulletin and needs to be be addressed?

I have an appointment at our local Chevy dealer, for our 2016 Volt's 24,000 mile free service. I asked them about this service bulletin and our car does fall under that service bulletin. The tech manager told me that they will check the hose and if needed they will need to order a new hose. He said the service bulletin was dated June 2017. I had earlier checked the vin under recalls and nothing came up.

So why did this service bulletin not come up when I entered the vin#? Loosing coolant, with a broken hose, could cause serious engine damage, and of course leave you stranded somewhere along the road side.

 

[obermd]

Unless I'm missing something, if it's above the low mark (arrow pointing down with horizontal line), it's not low.

It shouldn't but anytime the coolant is lower than expected the risk of air getting into the system from the tank goes up.

 

[jayoldschool]

I have an appointment at our local Chevy dealer, for our 2016 Volt's 24,000 mile free service. I asked them about this service bulletin and our car does fall under that service bulletin. The tech manager told me that they will check the hose and if needed they will need to order a new hose. He said the service bulletin was dated June 2017. I had earlier checked the vin under recalls and nothing came up.

So why did this service bulletin not come up when I entered the vin#? Loosing coolant, with a broken hose, could cause serious engine damage, and of course leave you stranded somewhere along the road side.

Because TSBs are not recalls. When you do a VIN lookup for recalls, it only shows recalls. TSBs are often just updated parts or service info for dealer techs.

 

[obermd]

Because TSBs are not recalls. When you do a VIN lookup for recalls, it only shows recalls. TSBs are often just updated parts or service info for dealer techs.

In addition, TSBs aren't normally applied unless the owner has a specific complaint addressed by that TSB. I find it interesting the GM seems to be applying TSBs to Volts without owner complaints. I'm hoping this is a change in GM's attitude towards doing preventative maintenance for those TSBs that can eliminate far more costly warranty repairs later.

 

[FirstFlight]

Brought my car into the stealership yesterday. The guy I spoke with on Monday said I could drop it off and get a loaner. The problems were relayed to the guy I was speaking with yesterday (engine running hot, engine shut down, high RPM's, etc). He said these issue may be covered under a recall and GM doesn't provide a loaner for recalls. I understand that but two of the issues (engine shut down/over heating) aren't listed as potential problems in the recall.

I have to go back at a time where I can spend 1-2 hours at the dealership and that won't be until the first week of September because the technicians leave at 5pm. That's cool. Driving home yesterday, my coolant reached 248 degrees. On the low end it's around 230.

I'm glad this is a lease because there's no way I'm keeping this car after my lease is up. Seems silly they wouldn't let me have the loaner (~$20) compared to the cost of repairing/replacing an engine ($?).

 

[obermd]

Brought my car into the stealership yesterday. The guy I spoke with on Monday said I could drop it off and get a loaner. The problems were relayed to the guy I was speaking with yesterday (engine running hot, engine shut down, high RPM's, etc). He said these issue may be covered under a recall and GM doesn't provide a loaner for recalls. I understand that but two of the issues (engine shut down/over heating) aren't listed as potential problems in the recall.

I have to go back at a time where I can spend 1-2 hours at the dealership and that won't be until the first week of September because the technicians leave at 5pm. That's cool. Driving home yesterday, my coolant reached 248 degrees. On the low end it's around 230.

I'm glad this is a lease because there's no way I'm keeping this car after my lease is up. Seems silly they wouldn't let me have the loaner (~$20) compared to the cost of repairing/replacing an engine ($?).

Actually GM will provide loaners for recalls as long as you're in the B2B warranty period. But it requires the vehicle be in the shop overnight, just like a warranty loaner.

 

[FirstFlight]

I can't get to the dealer again until the week of the 18th so I pulled the codes and there's 15 of them

P16E0
U0400
U1B0A
U1A06
B1806
P3804
P0030
P0500
P0597
P0489
P0458
B2AAA
B20AA
U1BAA
P0005

The codes were reset but 8 of them come back and the check engine light comes right back on. Does anyone know if this is due to the recall?

Also, I know some of these codes may not make sense because I still need to send my SGII back for an update but it's all I have for now.

 

[Aseras]

Brought my car into the stealership yesterday. The guy I spoke with on Monday said I could drop it off and get a loaner. The problems were relayed to the guy I was speaking with yesterday (engine running hot, engine shut down, high RPM's, etc). He said these issue may be covered under a recall and GM doesn't provide a loaner for recalls. I understand that but two of the issues (engine shut down/over heating) aren't listed as potential problems in the recall.

I have to go back at a time where I can spend 1-2 hours at the dealership and that won't be until the first week of September because the technicians leave at 5pm. That's cool. Driving home yesterday, my coolant reached 248 degrees. On the low end it's around 230.

I'm glad this is a lease because there's no way I'm keeping this car after my lease is up. Seems silly they wouldn't let me have the loaner (~$20) compared to the cost of repairing/replacing an engine ($?).

You need to find another dealer. That one is a lying POS. Chevy will cover a loaner on a recall outside of b2b. They have special incentives given to dealers to cover it on any car. They may not participate, but that's their fault. Find a better dealer.

 

[FirstFlight]

Finally had a chance to get my car into the dealership. It confirmed my thoughts that the recall wasn't the real problem as they said it was wire chaffing. This time they gave me a loaner.