[Zenov]

Hi all,
So I have a 2012 Volt that I bought back in June. So far it has been fantastic. Unfortunately on Mar 13th it threw a check engine light. After some reading here I came to understand that if everything else was working fine, it was likely an electrical glitch from charging and will go away after a couple of days. Well on Wednesday I was no longer able to charge at work using the included EVSE. The lights would all light up on it but the car dash said unable to charge. So I made an appointment for Friday. I decided to test the EVSE at home and found that when I plugged in there in the evening none of the lights came on. I tried multiple outlets/circuits. So I called the dealer on Thursday to tell them about the EVSE and that they will need to inspect it and likely replace it.

So the car goes in on Friday (had to take half day off work) and I get a phone call that it was throwing a bunch of codes to do with charging system and they also decided my 12volt battery was in need of replacement (not warranty of course). So I get the 12v replaced and they did some re-programming and told me they tested everything including 110v charging and I'm good to go. Indeed I pick the car up and check engine lights are gone and everything seems to be working ok. When I get home I plug into my 220v Chargepoint as usual.

Then today (Monday) I get to work and pull out my 110v EVSE and plug it into the wall and nothing....Son of a!!! Tried on multiple outlets/circuits again. So clearly the dealer didn't test MY 110volt charger. They just used one they had there. So I drove there immediately after work (over an hour of serve dept day left) and explained the situation and that they can simply plug it into the wall, see it doesn't work and give/order a new one. They know the car is ok because they just had it for testing.

I am told that I need to make another appointment (another half day off work) to bring it in and get that looked at. I informed them that's ridiculous and asked why. I was told that 3 people need to sign off on new ones including 2 managers because they are an "expensive" part. Umm what? As far as car parts go they aren't that high. So I simply left.....fuming but I will say I was very pleasant to the service people imo. So what the hell do I do now? This is a joke right? This should be a 20 minute thing tops.

 

[Steverino]

Tell them you want a refund on the battery as that was obviously not the problem and they obviously did NOT test the EVSE. Show them the service paperwork where it says, "120V EVSE not working, does not light up, does not charge car". You do have that, right? But don't hold your breath.

It sounds like they are now going to follow the GM requirements for testing. They need the car and the EVSE to do that. It would seem to be a simple test, but I don't know what all they need to do. Make sure they will replace the EVSE free if it tests bad.

 

[bentbiker]

I decided to test the EVSE at home and found that when I plugged in there in the evening none of the lights came on. I tried multiple outlets/circuits.

Knowing that the EVSE was bad (no lights), I'm confused as to why you would ever allow them to tell you it worked? Putting a new battery in the car might have been a good idea, but it won't affect the lights on the EVSE when it isn't even attached to the car.

Have you talked to a Volt advisor? Perhaps they could intervene with the dealer to get you the replacement. If the lights don't come on when plugged in, it's defective. If they have one ready for you to pick up, they could just require that the person who hands you the new one, first plug in the old one and verify that the lights don't come on -- nothing in the car can make them come on. They don't need a Volt tech to verify the lights don't come on -- a service writer or parts counter person can do that in 15 seconds and have you on your way. Unless you work 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week, I can't see why they couldn't make the exchange without you having to take a 1/2 day off.

 

[Zenov]

Tell them you want a refund on the battery as that was obviously not the problem and they obviously did NOT test the EVSE. Show them the service paperwork where it says, "120V EVSE not working, does not light up, does not charge car". You do have that, right? But don't hold your breath.

It sounds like they are now going to follow the GM requirements for testing. They need the car and the EVSE to do that. It would seem to be a simple test, but I don't know what all they need to do. Make sure they will replace the EVSE free if it tests bad.

I do have paperwork that says I told them it wasn't working. Their paperwork says they checked to make sure 110v charging is working. It also says they tested and reprogrammed the evse. I'm pretty sure this isn't possible though. It is really a bizarre scenario.

 

[Zenov]

Knowing that the EVSE was bad (no lights), I'm confused as to why you would ever allow them to tell you it worked? Putting a new battery in the car might have been a good idea, but it won't affect the lights on the EVSE when it isn't even attached to the car.

Have you talked to a Volt advisor? Perhaps they could intervene with the dealer to get you the replacement. If the lights don't come on when plugged in, it's defective. If they have one ready for you to pick up, they could just require that the person who hands you the new one, first plug in the old one and verify that the lights don't come on -- nothing in the car can make them come on. They don't need a Volt tech to verify the lights don't come on -- a service writer or parts counter person can do that in 15 seconds and have you on your way. Unless you work 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week, I can't see why they couldn't make the exchange without you having to take a 1/2 day off.

The car being 5.5 years old and all I'm not surprised a new battery was in order. Even if it wasn't exactly needed at that time it's not like it was far off anyways. I'm not upset about that really.

Perhaps a Volt adviser is a good way to go. I have no idea how to get a hold of one though. Is that even still a thing?

 

[turboguy327]

There are no more volt advisors. And a parts guy isn't somebody that can sign warranty exchange parts from a customer.

 

[caronjeff]

Which again brings up the obvious question: Is there a repair service somewhere out there for these 110V EVSE's ? With many of the early Volts coming up on 100,000 mile warranty cutoff , replacements free of charge is not going to last long. Who is servicing these units?

 

[El Dobro]

If the 12V battery that was replaced was the original, I'd leave it in. If you have to pay for the EVSE, I'd pick one up off of Ebay or Amazon, that'll probably be cheaper and better.

 

[Zenov]

If the 12V battery that was replaced was the original, I'd leave it in. If you have to pay for the EVSE, I'd pick one up off of Ebay or Amazon, that'll probably be cheaper and better.

The car only has 33,500 miles. The battery was the original so like I said I am not choked about that really. But I still fall well within the Voltec warranty so the charger should be covered. If it wasn't then I totally agree. I would likely grab one of the ones that do 110 or 240 and come with 2-3 plug types.

 

[turboguy327]

The car only has 33,500 miles. The battery was the original so like I said I am not choked about that really. But I still fall well within the Voltec warranty so the charger should be covered. If it wasn't then I totally agree. I would likely grab one of the ones that do 110 or 240 and come with 2-3 plug types.

If you want that get a G2 EVSE. The cheap ones are questionable.