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Congrats to Erick Belmer from Ohio! Just cracked 400,000 miles in Sparkie, his 2012 Chevy Volt. On the way to 500K.
https://www.voltstats.net/Stats/Details/1579
![Text Font Auto part Electric blue Vehicle]()
https://www.voltstats.net/Stats/Details/1579
400,000 mile Volt
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So neat!
Does anyone have a list of mechanical parts that have failed on Erick's 2012 and at what mileage? How many front/rear wheel bearings replaced, etc.? Number of sets of tires? How do the brake pads look (have they been replaced)? Inquiring minds want to know!!! 8^)
Does anyone have a list of mechanical parts that have failed on Erick's 2012 and at what mileage? How many front/rear wheel bearings replaced, etc.? Number of sets of tires? How do the brake pads look (have they been replaced)? Inquiring minds want to know!!! 8^)
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GM has oodles and oodles of miles on test vehicles sent out on the roads before the 11's came out. I doubt that they would want additional data from Erick's car - they got it all from OnStar and knowledge of the repairs he had to make as they supplied the parts gratis. Now, if they wanted to use him for advertising, that I could understand and I do wish they would!
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I'm guessing by the time he can put 500,000 on it 
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"Hi , My name is Eric and I drive...a LOT!"
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1,740 Posts
Eric himself listed what all was replaced on the Chevy volt Facebook page,
He was in 2 relatively major accidents so it is sort of a grain of salt thing.
What is "normal" are the fwd bearings on the halfshafts (all GM fwd get these) and he had the WOT sensor issue
Rest of his issues were accident related.
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3,454 Posts
remember 45 years ago a major economy car maker tried the "2 pennies a mile" advertising campaign, and it really didn't help business at all. it turns out that most car buyers are not rational about reliability comparisons or life cycle costs. Car buyers have brand perceptions that are nearly impossible to overcome... and most new car buyers are more impressed with cell phone connectivity and cupholders than with driveability or lifecycle costs. ...
Still "sparkie's" accomplishment of 400,000 miles is very impressive, and for those of us who like to "keep our cars until they rust away under us" it is a beacon to head towards....
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1,381 Posts
I think he recently had to replace a motor bearing too, which was not from any accident damage.
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5,431 Posts
Bearing failures is not "normal" and not all GM FWD get "these". I have a 2009 Chevy Equinox and it never had any wheel issues. Before the Equinox, I had a 1984 Olds Cutlass Ciera and a 1995 Buick Regal, both were FWD and NONE had "these", either. You are getting and giving wrong information.
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4,500 Posts
Did your Equinox have 400k miles on it?
My guess is most vehicles have a design life of 150 to 250k miles, although electric might increase that dramatically which might cause an obsolescence issue for them. They will have to sell some other content.
Anything after 200k miles that fails is unsurprising, I would suspect bearings and suspension failures etc after that range. Most of the Hondas in my family would run incredibly reliably until about 200k miles and then start needing an increasing amount of repairs. Usually worth doing, but seemed like they were reaching the end of their designed life span.
I imagine Erick's Volt is the same way, probably benefiting from the miles being put on over a short time span, avoid age related failures. Glad to see it at 400k relatively trouble free miles, that is great!
Anything after 200k miles that fails is unsurprising, I would suspect bearings and suspension failures etc after that range. Most of the Hondas in my family would run incredibly reliably until about 200k miles and then start needing an increasing amount of repairs. Usually worth doing, but seemed like they were reaching the end of their designed life span.
I imagine Erick's Volt is the same way, probably benefiting from the miles being put on over a short time span, avoid age related failures. Glad to see it at 400k relatively trouble free miles, that is great!
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2,359 Posts
Well, my Cherokee is now at 260k and the list of items I've had to repair/replace on it is WAAAAAAY longer than Erics even if you count for the fact that I do use it offroad or the fact that the simple physical age is a lot greater.
I think that somewhere around 80% of the repairs I've done over the years are directly attributable to the engine bay heat, vibration and ICE related grime. Under hood the Volt stays cool to cold and amazingly clean the vast majority of the time.
The non-engine repairs have mostly been front wheel bearings (roughly every 50-60k) which I attribute to weight and truly being used off road as a 4x4 and various door/window seals (age/dry rot) to keep the interior dry.
I think that somewhere around 80% of the repairs I've done over the years are directly attributable to the engine bay heat, vibration and ICE related grime. Under hood the Volt stays cool to cold and amazingly clean the vast majority of the time.
The non-engine repairs have mostly been front wheel bearings (roughly every 50-60k) which I attribute to weight and truly being used off road as a 4x4 and various door/window seals (age/dry rot) to keep the interior dry.
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1,740 Posts
My Buick had them done at 140,000 miles,
My friends Impalas had them at 190,000 & 210,000 miles respectively
My fathers Cavalier had them at 120,000 miles
My Uncles Lesabre had them at 125,000 miles and again at 220,000 miles
I think I am safe in saying they are a wear item
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250 Posts
In the last year, I've replaced 6 of them in two cars. They are absolutely a wear item. To suggest otherwise is silly.
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250 Posts
What kind of motor?
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3,831 Posts
Please clarify: motor, as in electric motor?
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1,381 Posts
Yes, it's a mode well known here (though I've thankfully never had it so I forget the details)... electric motor bearing fails and causes bad noises, especially during regen. Many people here have had it, some more than once because (IIRC) the new one needs to be installed very carefully (special tool?) or it will happen again.
Edit: Found this FAQ put together by a mod. Note, I'm not 100% sure that's what Sparkie had, but I think that it is. IIRC, it was within the last year.
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