[keithsvolt]

Has anyone had damage to either the battery tray or Muffler hanger? I went to get a few squeaks checked out. After tightening a few items, they still noticed the squeaks on a test drive and that is when they put it up and noticed the damaged battery tray.

Quote is 14 hours of work, 600 for the battery tray and a bit more than that for the muffler. It was very strongly suggested I don't drive the car any further until the work is done.

I am especially interested if anyone has had to have similar work done. Did you file an insurance claim or pay out of pocket? If you filed an insurance claim, was that the right decision or did you end up paying more in premiums than the repair.

Thanks for any information.

 

[jcanoe]

What model year is your Volt? Are you the original owner? Was the car in an accident or did you drive over a curb or road debris?

 

[Steverino]

What model year is your Volt? Are you the original owner? Was the car in an accident or did you drive over a curb or road debris?

I'll give it a go...

The OP, a Tesla employee. was on the way to work when the phone rang. It was the OP's boss saying don't bother coming in, you are fired. The OP was understandably distracted. Suddenly there was a loud screeching sound, the Volt jumped into the air a bit, and the pizza on the passenger seat flopped onto the carpet!

Regaining control of the 2017 Volt recently purchased on Craig's list, the OP stopped on the side of the road. Oddly, there was a garage sale going on. No longer having a job and shaken by the recent commotion, the OP wandered through the items for sale. Spying an old sewing machine, the idea arose that maybe a new career could be had in making quilted potholders. The machine was soon nested in the cargo are of the Volt. As the OP drove away they heard squeaking. Must be from the sewing machine they thought. A week later the sewing machine was gone from the car but the squeaks were not. The spouse convinced the OP to take the car into the dealer for repair under the B2B warranty.

I'm pretty sure this is what happened...

 

[Chrisby18951]

That story was totally believable until the part about making quilted pot holders to sell. Everyone knows that there's been no market for them ever since the OveGlove came out.....


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[DonC]

I think several years ago one person did claim the tray was damaged. IIRC the poster claimed he never noticed any sudden impact, which was met with a ton of skepticism since damaging the tray like that would take quite an impact. I don't believe he ever reported what the ultimate resolution was.

 

[Mister Dave]

I think several years ago one person did claim the tray was damaged. IIRC the poster claimed he never noticed any sudden impact, which was met with a ton of skepticism since damaging the tray like that would take quite an impact. I don't believe he ever reported what the ultimate resolution was.

He did report back on his way out the door. There was no reason given for the cause of the damage.

 

[Steverino]

He did report back on his way out the door. There was no reason given for the cause of the damage.

Basically, "somehow" his transmission mount was broken and his battery pan punctured. No recollection of ever hitting anything, no pictures posted, no dealer work ticket posted. Make of that as you will, but assuming the damage was as he posted, it did not happen silently while parked, or with no one driving.

 

[Mister Dave]

Basically, "somehow" his transmission mount was broken and his battery pan punctured. No recollection of ever hitting anything, no pictures posted, no dealer work ticket posted. Make of that as you will, but assuming the damage was as he posted, it did not happen silently while parked, or with no one driving.

It never does. The good news is that the battery wasn't damaged, only the tray.

 

[keithsvolt]

Thanks for the replies and entertaining story. Definitely drove over something and had a decent jolt as I did. Sure the low clearance didn't help, but whatever object was in the road was more the problem. I previously read through the post from a few years ago and as a few of you noticed, there was no clear resolution.

In this case, after hitting something in the road, squeaks started either very quickly or immediately afterwards.

the car is a 2017 and I am the original owner.

Thanks for any help/advice.

 

[DonC]

Thanks for the replies and entertaining story. Definitely drove over something and had a decent jolt as I did. Sure the low clearance didn't help, but whatever object was in the road was more the problem.

So here is a piece of information you may find useful. Insurance companies frequently though not always claim that hitting road debris is your fault. If you hit something that has fallen off another vehicle or is moving then it's not. Best case for the insured is when the debris is still moving because this is usually considered a comprehensive claim and comprehensive claims generally don't result in increased rates.

 

[emg77]

That sucks. I'm reminded of this story... The joys of low ground clearance. https://jalopnik.com/heres-how-a-corvette-was-totaled-because-of-one-inch-of-1806727930

 

[JRRF]

So here is a piece of information you may find useful. Insurance companies frequently though not always claim that hitting road debris is your fault. If you hit something that has fallen off another vehicle or is moving then it's not. Best case for the insured is when the debris is still moving because this is usually considered a comprehensive claim and comprehensive claims generally don't result in increased rates.

How do they figure out after the fact if it was still moving or not when you hit it, or whether it came off another vehicle?

 

[mpmoore1979]

I have had to replace one battery tray on a 2017. The customer drove over a parking lot block and damaged the tray, bending the tray up. I recommend removing the battery and inspecting to make sure there is no damage to the cells. The insurance company did pay for this. after removing the battery I also found the battery cover was cracked. Replaced the battery tray and cover, every thing was fine for about 2 months. The car came back with a internal cell failure above where the damage was, this was covered under warranty because there was no was to prove the battery was damaged since it was inspected and all damaged parts were replaced.

 

[caskConditionedAle]

Does the Volt truly have a lower ground clearance than most other cars? True, the flexible front air dam will scrape occasionally. But when you look underneath at mufflers, oil pan, exhaust pipes, it looks normal to me.

 

[Upper5Percent]

Does the Volt truly have a lower ground clearance than most other cars? True, the flexible front air dam will scrape occasionally. But when you look underneath at mufflers, oil pan, exhaust pipes, it looks normal to me.

The lowest point on a GEN1 Chevy Volt is the front air dam and yes, it is 3.5 inches (according to owners with GM citing 3.7" as the official measurent in a "dry" car), same as most Corvettes. The part is flexible and designed to bend out of the way, but it will wear and get damaged overtime. Chevy offered a free replacement air dam that afforded greater clearance to those who wanted them which gave the car around 4.9". By contrast a Prius has around 5" of ground clearance on most models. So, the updated, optional Volt airdam provided clearance similar to a Prius.

 

[floydo]

I had experienced some forest service roads driving slowly that had loose rocks and a few scrapes in my Gen 2 Volt. Checking out the bottom the fiber covering had some dirt, and one area that had a very small tear out. The cover has space behind it, in some areas maybe 1/2" plus and the clearance is about 5.25". Out of curiosity, our 2017 Impreza is exactly the same....
In contrast, our E350 (2WD limited slip diff oversize tires) that we often offroad camp in is 10+"....
So, guess you could say the Volt is in the compact class clearance.
I believe the old XKE Jags were probably lower as they seemed to find replacing their cast aluminum oil pans very expensive...