[herculese1]

Was it each of the original 4, or repeated in the same position(s)? That is, was it always the front of car? Always right side of car? etc.

Each of the original 4 have been replaced and 1 of the replacement tires.

 

[bonaire]

The battery is 3-parts. If one of them is punctured, it is about a $1000 part, not the total of $3000 for all three battery parts. Definitely file it through auto insurance as a claim against comprehensive. For me, it would be bad as I have $1000 deductible on comprehensive and I should re-think that and lower it.

http://insurance.about.com/od/Privvehicle/a/The-Six-Components-Of-Auto-Insurance.htm

 

[herculese1]

The battery is 3-parts. If one of them is punctured, it is about a $1000 part, not the total of $3000 for all three battery parts. Definitely file it through auto insurance as a claim against comprehensive. For me, it would be bad as I have $1000 deductible on comprehensive and I should re-think that and lower it.

http://insurance.about.com/od/Privvehicle/a/The-Six-Components-Of-Auto-Insurance.htm

My deductible is $500 so worst case that should be it but now i risk my insurance going up for filing a claim which is the worst part.

 

[emartin00]

My deductible is $500 so worst case that should be it but now i risk my insurance going up for filing a claim which is the worst part.

No accident forgiveness? I don't think your insurance would go up very dramatically for a small claim.

 

[Joekc]

My deductible is $500 so worst case that should be it but now i risk my insurance going up for filing a claim which is the worst part.

Your rate shouldn't go up for a comprehensive claim. If they find you collided with something, that will be a different matter.

 

[Prohidium]

If you broke a mount and punctured the battery while driving it, certainly you would have heard a bang and felt something.

The only thing that could cause the damage could be something like a steel rod on the ground that got lifted as you drive over it and it speared the underside of the car. A pothole wouldn't do it in my opinion.

 

[rocket]

My 2011 has been through all four of the original tires. I think the 2011 tired were defective. Two of the tires shredded for no reason and two got impacted road damage (such as nails). The interesting thing is it was four separate incidents and only the 2011 tire version failed. Knock on wood the newer tired have been great! As far as other issues I'm very happy with the car. I have 31K on it now and couldn't be happier.

 

[herculese1]

My 2011 has been through all four of the original tires. I think the 2011 tired were defective. Two of the tires shredded for no reason and two got impacted road damage (such as nails). The interesting thing is it was four separate incidents and only the 2011 tire version failed. Knock on wood the newer tired have been great! As far as other issues I'm very happy with the car. I have 31K on it now and couldn't be happier.

Mine also were on separate incidents. I'm not sure if the replacement tire that had to be replaced was a 2011 tire or not.

 

[sparks]

If the tire damage is on the sidewall, I would be suspicious of a possible Volt-hater in the area, puncturing the tires. Tires are easily punctured above the tread, on the sidewall -- this is why it is the classic place for a$$holes to puncture a tire (it can be done with a knife blade, screwdriver, etc.). I've had this done to me in the past, although to a different car (not my Volt).

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

If the tire damage is on the sidewall, I would be suspicious of a possible Volt-hater in the area, puncturing the tires. Tires are easily punctured above the tread, on the sidewall -- this is why it is the classic place for a$$holes to puncture a tire (it can be done with a knife blade, screwdriver, etc.). I've had this done to me in the past, although to a different car (not my Volt).

I have to also be thinking somebody may be showing their distain for you or the car.

 

[Zod]

I have to also be thinking somebody may be showing their distain for you or the car.

Or for the owner! Tire slashing has been around long before the Volt or politicization of vehicles.

It'd be interesting to know if the holes were more like punctures, or cracks like those seen on the linked post about some bad-batch 2011 tires.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

So sorry for your bad experience. I have had relatively good experience with Volt ownership, as have had many, many others.

AFAIK, the additional shielding around the battery is in the tunnel area and does not provide additional shielding on the bottom of the battery. There are pictures of the installation of the reinforcements and they appear to be only in the tunnel area. The pictures can be seen at

http://www.mychevroletvolt.com/chevy-volt-battery-upgrade-enhancement-job

Starting at picture 13, you can see the "before" condition. Pictures 14 and subsequent show the reinforcement.

Therefore, not having had the upgrade has done nothing to jeopardize your position. I agree that it seems unlikely that you could puncture the battery as there is a steel plate protecting it on the bottom of the car. I'm not sure that anyone else has posted about a busted transmission mount. You might search for such postings.

Without pictures of your damaged car, it is impossible to collectively surmise how this damage could have occurred. Would you post some so that we may see?

Good luck.

 

[BILLY101]

Is Chevy replacing the tires for free? If not (I would assume not) you can put anything you want on your car. Like Police duty tires for example.

Bill

 

[cybervolt]

i agree you need pictures posted. but in short and im sorry but, you wrecked your car. you would have heard and felt the damage your describing. i havent seen that you took responsability yet. but i did see that you have blamed the car.

 

[Sterling Silver]

AFAIK, the additional shielding around the battery is in the tunnel area and does not provide additional shielding on the bottom of the battery. There are pictures of the installation of the reinforcements and they appear to be only in the tunnel area. The pictures can be seen at

http://www.mychevroletvolt.com/chevy-volt-battery-upgrade-enhancement-job

Thanks so much for posting these photos... Very interesting how this process is done.

I might need to investigate my 2012 Volt. I always assumed that since it was delivered to the dealership in May 2012, that the enhancement was done prior to leaving the factory, or that the mod was incorporated into the mid-model year 2012 Volts.

Also, @ Billy, forget the Police TIRES... stay with the low resistance tires. I've had problems with always having to inflate the Goodyear tires on my Volt and I found a plastic bar code label on the Goodyear tires (in of all places) glued onto the tire where it mates with the wheel. It was pretty obvious to me, that the bar code MIGHT be the culprit for my leaking Goodyears. I had them all removed and am having not problems since then... On a side note, I bought a used Volt aluminum wheel on Ebay for $100 and then headed down to the local tire store and instead of buying a Goodyear, I bought a Michelin... I now have a "real" spare to keep in one of the barns at my place, in case I get another flat... and I have had flats from sidewall punctures because of cactus needles.

I'm very suspect that the OP has someone living in his neighborhood related to Rush Limbaugh, and who for spite, is poking holes in the sidewalls of his Volt... It might even be Rush himself, or Glenn Beck, who pecks at Volts.

 

[Upper5Percent]

If the tire damage is on the sidewall, I would be suspicious of a possible Volt-hater in the area, puncturing the tires. Tires are easily punctured above the tread, on the sidewall -- this is why it is the classic place for a$$holes to puncture a tire (it can be done with a knife blade, screwdriver, etc.). I've had this done to me in the past, although to a different car (not my Volt).

Ditto that...it seems the OP may be a victim of vandalism...I wonder if he has had a confrontation with anyone in his neighborhood?

 

[stilcrazee]

IF you do remember hitting that pot hole, run and do not pass go or try to collect $200 to that place and photograph the place with witnesses of it's existence and location, mile marker whatever. Then cal your state DOT district in charge of that area and file a claim. Odds are you won't get reimbursed but try anyway.

I've seen blown ties, bent rims and ball joints blown out by nasty pot holes.

One of the reasons I always try to maintain at least a car length between myself and the vehicle ahead so I can see them and try to swerve out of the way.

 

[tboult]

Hard to see how one could puncture the battery.

I wonder if the statement from the dealer was incorrect.. As I recall there was volt with a puncture to the cooling loop that cause the battery to fail. So a puncture to the battery cooling system could cause battery failure.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?30617-Battery-cooling-pump-radiator

So if the OP has had his car in and it does not have upgraded Battery system, and a puncture to the coolant and subsequent leak allowed the battery to be harmed, it means their dealer is an idiot and I would think they have a case that it should be covered by the dealer.

 

[VoltageDrop]

Okay....reading the OP's replies and rethinking my earlier post...I may have been a bit harsh and judgemental.....my bad......but really....you cannot get that kind of damage without you knowing of a particular instance with a follow-up...what the hell was that!!! I remember back in college...I was driving my Honda Accord behind a car with a pickup truck in front of it.....next thing I know I see a small boulder (you know...one of those landscaping sized 1/2 foot boulders) come bouncing out from under the car in front of me (must have fell off the pickup truck)....I had no where to go without causing an accident.....next thing I hear........clank clank clank pound pound pound ........car drove fine after that and I didn't think anything major happened.....pulled over at a gas station down the road and what do I see.....transmission fluid pouring out from under the car......turns out the damn thing cracked the transmission case.....a $3K ordeal when all was said and done....I ended up paying my deductible and the insurance covered the rest under road hazard.......

You sure you didn't run over anything??? Insurance should cover road hazard......If not...I would be worried about vandalism/sabotage......yikes!!!

 

[herculese1]

So my insurance is going to pay for the repairs. If anyone is interested to know, the cost of the battery to be replaced is $3327.08 plus 5 hours of labor at $90 an hour which comes to $3777.08 installed. They also charge 2 more hours for discharge and reset of the battery so you can add$180 to that price to get the total to have it replaced.. I figured it would be alot more than that to be honest.

As far as everything else goes i'm just telling you what i experienced with this car so far. There's no debating the tires they were faulty. Are the one on my car now fixed??... Well i guess time will tell.