[Hughes]

Car has just over 2K miles on it. I've been driving it about a week. I went to a meeting, and it ran fine. Then came out to the parking lot and it's not going anywhere. "Shift to park" was displayed. Called OnStar, and was towed...

I figured I'd post up so that other people would be aware. It's currently at the Dealer. I have no idea what happened at this point.

 

[Hughes]

I was told over the phone today that a new "Battery Contactor assembly" was needed, and it should be about a week for the part to come in.

Edited to add: They have given me a 4 wheel drive Silverado with a club cab for a loaner... Talk about gas usage....

 

[quirkySquirt]

Holy cow. They should've given you a Volt or comparable vehicle, otherwise, you're out a lot of gas money. I'd ask for gas reimbursement from either GM or the dealer.

 

[ChiVolt]

They have given me a 4 wheel drive Silverado with a club cab for a loaner... Talk about gas usage....

And this from the Chevy Silverado message board: "They have given me an 18-wheel Peterbilt with sleeper cab for a loaner... Talk about gas usage...." Just kidding, of course. I hope they get your Volt back to you soon. Hang in there despite the behemoth on four wheels.

 

[Hughes]

Holy cow. They should've given you a Volt or comparable vehicle, otherwise, you're out a lot of gas money. I'd ask for gas reimbursement from either GM or the dealer.

I was happy to get a vehicle, but you're right I would have appreciated a more efficient one... ;-)

And this from the Chevy Silverado message board: "They have given me an 18-wheel Peterbilt with sleeper cab for a loaner... Talk about gas usage...." Just kidding, of course. I hope they get your Volt back to you soon. Hang in there despite the behemoth on four wheels.

I've really not driven this big of vehicle before. I feel like I take up the whole road!

 

[Bacardi]

Geez, no one replies until five days later? Guess we're becoming desensitized to "Shift to Park"...

 

[accelerus]

Both times my 2017 died (4000 and 8000 miles) I wasn't given a volt... they even tried to offer me a "shuttle ride" home on the 2nd major incident... don't think that shuttle ride would have done me any good the next day when I have to drive 70 miles for work.

For a brand new car mine has spend probably 3 weeks total in the shop.... driving a gas sucking rental each time. GM (corporate) had no interest in doing a re-imbursement for me for the $150+ worth of gas I had to buy (that I wouldn't have needed had the car you know.... worked)

GM will probably never read this, but its the little things like this that make me ache for the Model3. Buy a $40k car that takes a dump... and GM's answer is "not our problem you had to spend extra money because our product doesn't work"

Icing on the cake was me losing out on the $1000 private offer code because direct from the GM corporate line their rep said the code wasn't any good, calls me back 45 minutes after I sign the paperwork telling me the code is actually good and I can use it to save $1k... did GM care? Nope. I'm already out $1150 because of their extreme incompetence.

Hope your dealer is good and gets you fixed quickly, because corporate damn sure won't go to bat for you.

 

[fishhawk]

...They have given me a 4 wheel drive Silverado with a club cab for a loaner... Talk about gas usage....

Might take advantage of the situation to haul any big stuff you've been thinking about. I did that a couple of years ago when my Volt was in the shop; they gave me a Traverse as a loaner, which I promptly used to haul a bags of mulch.

 

[Hughes]

Geez, no one replies until five days later? Guess we're becoming desensitized to "Shift to Park"...

I've read about the problem since I've first signed up on this forum last summer. But having it happen to me was a shock... helpless feeling. No info... just "Shift to park..."

 

[Hughes]

Both times my 2017 died (4000 and 8000 miles) I wasn't given a volt... they even tried to offer me a "shuttle ride" home on the 2nd major incident... don't think that shuttle ride would have done me any good the next day when I have to drive 70 miles for work.

For a brand new car mine has spend probably 3 weeks total in the shop.... driving a gas sucking rental each time. GM (corporate) had no interest in doing a re-imbursement for me for the $150+ worth of gas I had to buy (that I wouldn't have needed had the car you know.... worked)

GM will probably never read this, but its the little things like this that make me ache for the Model3. Buy a $40k car that takes a dump... and GM's answer is "not our problem you had to spend extra money because our product doesn't work"

Icing on the cake was me losing out on the $1000 private offer code because direct from the GM corporate line their rep said the code wasn't any good, calls me back 45 minutes after I sign the paperwork telling me the code is actually good and I can use it to save $1k... did GM care? Nope. I'm already out $1150 because of their extreme incompetence.

Hope your dealer is good and gets you fixed quickly, because corporate damn sure won't go to bat for you.

I'm hoping too. Getting a loaner car at all was one of the "tests" shall we say. If they didn't give me a loaner I was going to say this would have been the last time at that dealership. But, they did give me a loaner... so far so good.

 

[Hughes]

Might take advantage of the situation to haul any big stuff you've been thinking about. I did that a couple of years ago when my Volt was in the shop; they gave me a Traverse as a loaner, which I promptly used to haul a bags of mulch.

I agree! I already have done that. Hauled some cabinets... it's cold here in Utah at this time so not a whole lot of hauling right now...

 

[Hughes]

Got my car back today. Here is what they did:

Codes: P1E00
P0D26
P0C78

I really am curious what happened to the coolant heater, which it says they replaced? And how does a smoke test reveal a problem with a with what I assume is a liquid coolant heater? Anyone have any idea?

 

[ChiVolt]

I'm glad you got your car back. It sounds like the Volt tech(s) at your dealership did a good job of diagnosing and repairing.

I really am curious what happened to the coolant heater, which it says they replaced? And how does a smoke test reveal a problem with a with what I assume is a liquid coolant heater? Anyone have any idea?

I never heard of the procedure either. So I had to Google the smoke-test procedure. As it turns out, it's a standard procedure, even on Volt gen1: http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=3191

Why test for airtight electrical fittings? I'd wager a guess it has to do with electrical safety. Combustion requires only three components: 1) spark, 2) fuel, and 3) air. By ensuring high-voltage connectors are airtight, combustion criterion number 3 is removed. No air=no combustion=no unintentional fire in response to spark across the high-voltage contacts.

 

[Arcanox]

Got my car back today. Here is what they did:

Codes: P1E00
P0D26
P0C78

I really am curious what happened to the coolant heater, which it says they replaced? And how does a smoke test reveal a problem with a with what I assume is a liquid coolant heater? Anyone have any idea?

I believe "smoke test" is a generic term, although I suppose they could have drained the coolant, sent smoke through the system, and checked for leaks. Seems a bit strange that the coolant heater would have anything to do with the precharge contactor, though...

 

[quirkySquirt]

Ignorant comment, not a car person whatsoever, but could the contactor stay open due to a malfunctioning heating/cooling system? That is, somehow a check on the heating/cooling system triggered another fail safe in the HV Precharge Contactor to avoid possible charging without sufficient cooling?

A leak in the cooling system would fit with testing with "smoke" to find leaks.

 

[Hughes]

I'm glad you got your car back. It sounds like the Volt tech(s) at your dealership did a good job of diagnosing and repairing.

I never heard of the procedure either. So I had to Google the smoke-test procedure. As it turns out, it's a standard procedure, even on Volt gen1: http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=3191

Why test for airtight electrical fittings? I'd wager a guess it has to do with electrical safety. Combustion requires only three components: 1) spark, 2) fuel, and 3) air. By ensuring high-voltage connectors are airtight, combustion criterion number 3 is removed. No air=no combustion=no unintentional fire in response to spark across the high-voltage contacts.

Wow, that is right. I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head. That makes sense, thanks! According to the link, a crack or air leak will allow moisture to enter which can cause corrosion. Now I'm curious how the whole heater replacement has anything to do with this?

 

[Arcanox]

Ignorant comment, not a car person whatsoever, but could the contactor stay open due to a malfunctioning heating/cooling system? That is, somehow a check on the heating/cooling system triggered another fail safe in the HV Precharge Contactor to avoid possible charging without sufficient cooling?

A leak in the cooling system would fit with testing with "smoke" to find leaks.

I suppose that's possible, although it seems strange to phrase the problem as "precharge contactor stuck open" instead of "fail condition preventing HV precharge". I believe the precharge contactor is the contactor that closes first, before any others, and is connected through a resistor, which allows the voltage in the HV system to slowly build to operating voltage (still a matter of milliseconds) before the main contactors are connected, preventing a spark. I remember reading about a similar mechanism in my old Highlander Hybrid.

 

[Hughes]

I suppose that's possible, although it seems strange to phrase the problem as "precharge contactor stuck open" instead of "fail condition preventing HV precharge". I believe the precharge contactor is the contactor that closes first, before any others, and is connected through a resistor, which allows the voltage in the HV system to slowly build to operating voltage (still a matter of milliseconds) before the main contactors are connected, preventing a spark. I remember reading about a similar mechanism in my old Highlander Hybrid.

If that's the case then why disable the car with "Shift to park" and leave me stranded? Why not just warn me that it won't charge... with a warning of "Service HV system" or something?

 

[Arcanox]

If that's the case then why disable the car with "Shift to park" and leave me stranded? Why not just warn me that it won't charge... with a warning of "Service HV system" or something?

If my hypothesis is correct, the "precharge contactor" doesn't really have anything to do with charging the battery, but rather charging the high-voltage electronics with the battery. It brings them up to voltage gradually so there's no spark when connecting the main contactor. If that's stuck open (or can't close due to some thermal-related reason, like a heater malfunction...), it can't safely enable the rest of the HV system.

Of course, like I said, that's all my theory. I have no clue if any of that is correct; I'm just going based on what I read about a different hybrid system.