[BeachBumm]

Since the beginning, my 2018 Volt has creaked from the front end (at times,not all the time) when turning in parking lots, or going up hill and turning. I took it to the shop numerous times and naturally they never found anything wrong with it. It is now out of warranty and does it more than ever!!

I asked the shop if they can get GM involved in helping pay for this fix, whatever it is. The guy said I'd have to pay the $150 diagnostic fee, then "I'd" have to ask GM for assistance. WTH? Does this seem right to you? I once had a SAAB that had an issue from the beginning and the dealer called i SAAB, I didn't pay a fee, and SAAB agreed, that even though the car was past warranty, it should never have happened so quickly and paid for the entire fix.

What to do folks?

 

[marcusm]

Well, my creaking in my Gen 2 turned out to be an issue with the axle that had to be replaced. My creaking occurred usually either slowing down to a stop or accelerating from a dead stop. Mine was covered under the b2b warranty at about 20k miles.

There is a service bulletin on the issue of the stress of the torque being applied to the axle that causes either wear on the axle or loosening of the axle nuts that have to be tightened.

I think this is endemic to the Volt because of the regeneration stresses placed on the axles and associated parts.

If you do a search in the forum for the service bulletin relating to the axle or axle nuts you should be able to find it; maybe that will help.


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[Off Oil]

I had developed a creaking noise when making left turns. The sway bar link had gone bad and needed to be replaced (out of warranty). Creaking when turning is usually from a bad/damaged bushing resulting in metal-on-metal contact. You don't want to let it go forever, as the eventual failure is a safety issue.

 

[BeachBumm]

Well, my creaking in my Gen 2 turned out to be an issue with the axle that had to be replaced. My creaking occurred usually either slowing down to a stop or accelerating from a dead stop. Mine was covered under the b2b warranty at about 20k miles.

There is a service bulletin on the issue of the stress of the torque being applied to the axle that causes either wear on the axle or loosening of the axle nuts that have to be tightened.

I think this is endemic to the Volt because of the regeneration stresses placed on the axles and associated parts.

If you do a search in the forum for the service bulletin relating to the axle or axle nuts you should be able to find it; maybe that will help.


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For the life of me I cannot find that bulletin.

Where would I locate that bulletin?

 

[marcusm]

For the life of me I cannot find that bulletin.

Where would I locate that bulletin?

I just did a search in the forum and I couldn’t find it. I know the tech told me he looked at the bulletin and used it to fix one of our 16s. I’m sorry I can’t find it maybe somebody else on here can. When I had the axle replaced on one of them they said the bulletin was for Gen ones but it’s clear that it’s also an issue for the gen twos.

Try the threads linked in this one. You’ll get a lot of information, even if you can’t find a bulletin number.

Thoughts? A $600 Quote for Tighten Left Axle Shaft Nut-Sop nut and washer?
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...om/forum/showthread.php?t=330413&share_type=t

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[TIME4SUMMER]

I purchased my 2016 Premier this past April. I have been experiencing the exact thing you described for a bout a month. Groaning at the end of braking and beginning of acceleration every time. Did you ever get a diagnosis? Thanks!

Summer

 

[BeachBumm]

I never did. When I turn hard & drive up a slope in reverse it makes the noise, same going slow in forward (like in a parking lot) going forward and I turn hard it makes the sound.

 

[Bandana_Assault]

So was this ever solved because my creaking is super bad and audible. It is like the whole front end creaks as the gas is pressed and when you brake. Then when you go again you can hear it. But then goes away until you brake or put your foot on the accelerator. I have searched the forums and I am seeing clicking sounds but it's not even clicking. It's definitely a creeeeeeaaak. Almost like a creaking door sound lol I have seen a post where one person took it to a dealership and was told "no big deal."

 

[snic]

So was this ever solved because my creaking is super bad and audible. It is like the whole front end creaks as the gas is pressed and when you brake. Then when you go again you can hear it. But then goes away until you brake or put your foot on the accelerator. I have searched the forums and I am seeing clicking sounds but it's not even clicking. It's definitely a creeeeeeaaak. Almost like a creaking door sound lol I have seen a post where one person took it to a dealership and was told "no big deal."

I had a clicking/clunking/creaking noise that occurred only when accelerating and decelerating. See this thread:

2016 Now there's a clunk.

On my '16 (61k miles), I had the axle creaking noise that others have reported. I bought new aftermarket front axles and had my mechanic install then. The creaking noise is gone, but now sometimes there is a single click (or perhaps a light clunk, or pop - it's quite faint but noticeable if you...

www.gm-volt.com

Replacing the front wheel hubs fixed the problem. There is a way to test whether you have the same problem: find a fairly steep hill and drive down it. Step on the brake OR use the regen paddle while rolling down the hill in "D". You should hear the creaking. Now try it again, but this time put the car in neutral before you step on the brake. You should hear nothing. If you get those results, get the hubs replaced. If your car has less than 60,000 miles it should be covered under the powertrain warranty. If you have more than 60k miles, any competent mechanic could replace the hubs for a couple hundred bucks. And stop using the regen paddle - I'm convinced that extensive use of the paddle is what damaged my wheel hubs.
[/QUOTE]

 

[snic]

duplicate, sorry

 

[Noremacnova]

I also had a problem with a creaking (or crunching) sound that happened only upon acceleration from a stop, or sometime when braking to a stop. In my case, the sound seemed to only come from the left side. The dealer solved it by replacing the left axle nut (part 013208079) and washer (part 011611964). The parts are inexpensive, but it took 2.0 hrs labor. Ouch and $400 later. Also, the dealer said the right side was exhibiting the same problem and would need eventual replacement.

One post above mentioned this might be covered under the powertrain warranty. Really? Please explain. I'm only at 30k miles, but just over 5 years.

 

[phattyduck]

One post above mentioned this might be covered under the powertrain warranty. Really? Please explain. I'm only at 30k miles, but just over 5 years.

Likely only covered under bumper to bumper. The axle nut is not an internal engine or transmission component that would be covered under powertrain.

-Charlie

 

[snic]

Likely only covered under bumper to bumper. The axle nut is not an internal engine or transmission component that would be covered under powertrain.

-Charlie

The drive axles are part of the powertrain, so it would make sense that the nuts and hubs would be as well. The Chevy warranty booklet spells out what's covered and led me to believe that axle nuts would be covered, but I don't have it in front of me and it's impossible to find it online. I could be misremembering or misinterpreting what it said.

In any case, my mechanic had to replace the hubs, not just the axle nuts. I hope replacing the axle nut works for Noremacnova - my mechanic tried a couple of times to tighten the nut and it silenced the creaking for a few days and then it came back.

I don't think the gen 2 has an axle washer - the part number listed in the post above doesn't apply to Volts, according to chevroletonlineparts.com. The gen 1 does have an axle washer and it has a common problem of the axle nut and washer wearing out and causing this sort of creaking, but the creaking problem is much less common on the gen 2.

 

[phattyduck]

The drive axles are part of the powertrain, so it would make sense that the nuts and hubs would be as well.

Powertrain coverage is for INTERNAL components of the powertrain. Since they exclude wheel bearings (of which the axle nut is a key component), I bet that's what they would hide behind for coverage.

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/chevrolet/na/us/english/index/owners/warranty/02-pdfs/2018-chevrolet-limited-warranty-and-owner-assistance-information.pdf

I do think it is stupid that this made it through Chevy engineering/production... though having 'reverse' torque due to regular regen braking does put extra stress on the axle nut beyond a normal drivetrain.

-Charlie

 

[TYmrLutz]

Snic makes a good case (post #9) with a simple diagnostic procedure. The issue of regen paddles (or L drive mode) causing front bearing issues may have validity. These bearings were never intended to bear much force in the reverse direction, which of course heavy regen can do. I would think newer EV designs have addressed this engineering oversight.

 

[snic]

Powertrain coverage is for INTERNAL components of the powertrain. Since they exclude wheel bearings (of which the axle nut is a key component), I bet that's what they would hide behind for coverage.

You're right. I was thinking of axles - at the time I had the creaking, my theory was that the problem was with the axles, and these are explicitly covered by the powertrain warranty. But bearings (and therefore wheel hubs, which contain the bearings) are excluded, which means the nut that holds the hub onto the axle is most likely also excluded.

Snic makes a good case (post #9) with a simple diagnostic procedure. The issue of regen paddles (or L drive mode) causing front bearing issues may have validity. These bearings were never intended to bear much force in the reverse direction, which of course heavy regen can do. I would think newer EV designs have addressed this engineering oversight.

Ha, except the Generation 2 Volt IS a "newer EV design" as its name implies...

That said, the gen 2 doesn't seem to have the bad axle nut/washer problem anywhere near as much as the gen 1, so I guess there was some improvement.

 

[hellsop]

These bearings were never intended to bear much force in the reverse direction, which of course heavy regen can do. I would think newer EV designs have addressed this engineering oversight.

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I can't figure out how a bearing would be affected by which direction the "force direction" was applied to surfaces that are rotating. Or how "heavy regen" would somehow be more forceful than a heavy foot on the accelerator.

 

[phattyduck]

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I can't figure out how a bearing would be affected by which direction the "force direction" was applied to surfaces that are rotating. Or how "heavy regen" would somehow be more forceful than a heavy foot on the accelerator.

You are definitely right that there would be no extra force on the bearing.

The difference for the axle nut is that there are large forces applied in both directions which may 'wiggle' the nut loose. Normal friction brakes don't apply reverse torque to the axle/hub interface and 99% of modern cars have automatic transmissions that don't apply much reverse torque when coasting or slowing down. The clunk sound is likely the outer splines changing from force on 'front' side of the splines to the 'rear' side of the splines.

-Charlie

 

[snic]

You are definitely right that there would be no extra force on the bearing.

The difference for the axle nut is that there are large forces applied in both directions which may 'wiggle' the nut loose. Normal friction brakes don't apply reverse torque to the axle/hub interface and 99% of modern cars have automatic transmissions that don't apply much reverse torque when coasting or slowing down. The clunk sound is likely the outer splines changing from force on 'front' side of the splines to the 'rear' side of the splines.

-Charlie

I agree with the bolded part. But the splines are on the axle and the hub, not the nut. So it's a mystery to me why replacing the nut fixes the creak/clunk sound.

I guess it's possible that if the nut breaks, it can't press the splines together as forcefully, so the connection is loose and makes noise. Weakened or breaking nuts were a problem with gen 1 Volts, but much less so in gen 2. So that problem may have been largely fixed. But the forces on the splines are still unusual (compared with ICE cars) and that might amplify any issue with the nut.

 

[phattyduck]

I agree with the bolded part. But the splines are on the axle and the hub, not the nut. So it's a mystery to me why replacing the nut fixes the creak/clunk sound.

Correct, but the nut pre-loads the bearing and holds the axle in the hub. If it is loose (even a slight amount), the axle can rotate forward and backward by the backlash of the splined connection.

The axle nut is a 1-time use part, so you cannot just re-torque it. That's why its replaced. If it was a multi-use part, then the procedure would just be loosen and re-torque following the factory procedure.

In a normal ICE car, there is much less 'reverse' torque on that connection so it is less likely to clunk back and forth between the direction to apply torque forward and back. So drive torque would apply force to the hub via the splines and coasting torque would transfer via friction of the axle/hub/nut interface. It could/would just clunk forward once and stay there, basically.

-Charlie