BECM (battery energy control module) issues and inconvenience — class action?

desertwinddust,

The Volt uses brand new technology and scale (Less than 12 years), the Volt's real world failures in the field were never in GM's plans, nor to make excess parts available to support such an eventuality. Especially because of the low number of Volts produced. GM is in a bind now and have to get a vendor to make these parts that are prematurely failing under warranty. This is expensive and time consuming, they can't just tell a parts manufacturer "we will be selling a lot of these cars in the future" to get a rock bottom quote. Gm has to weigh a lot of factors eg law suits vs costs, reputation damage on future sales, etc. It's easy to sit in a chair and criticize, but stand before the board of directors and tell them "I need 10 million dollars to fix this situation", guaranteeing that "this will be the end Chevy's liability" takes a lot of guts for anybody, doubt it's going to happen. It's not like they are buying tires for $2.00 a pop with a million piece order that fits many models, years etc.
I consider the Volt a flirtation with technology before it's time, accepting its flaws and benefits. The market, technology, demand, market saturation, profitability and other factors are mostly unpredictable for every car company, they all will have a lot to do just to stay in existence IMO

Stephen

desertwinddust said:

Recently got parts for 1970 Oldsmobile, 1998 Suburban, 2003 Hyundai Accent. It just seems to be a problem with newer cars.

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Original poster, still without our 2017 Volt Premier over 7 months later. Bought it through the GM Certified website from a GM dealer with 50k miles. Drove it 2,500 miles for 3 months until the BECM failed and was diagnosed immediately on Feb. 18, 2022.

We waited over 2 months for the BECM. The dealer then said they found two other things needing repair: a clip, which was available immediately, and a "cable," which has never showed up. I've never been able to get the dealer or GM to give me a part number for the mysterious cable we're waiting on. At one point months ago, the dealer told my wife the cable was now in quality control. We've not heard an update, and the dealer won't return our calls.

I asked GM for a loaner or a rental at the very beginning. They said no loaners. They said I should get a rental and at the end of everything, when our car was repaired, they would reimburse us at their predetermined rate of $46/day. At that point, the cheapest daily rental in our area was $90/day. They said at the end of everything, they might consider additional reimbursement.

It's been more than 7 months (230 days) since the BECM was diagnosed, so we would now have paid more than $20k for a rental, more than the purchase price of the Volt, if we had gone that route. GM would have reimbursed us half of that.

We bugged and bugged the dealership until after three months, they finally gave us a loaner. We're now on our second loaner, a large inefficient SUV.

At one point GM offered us $2000 off buying a new vehicle as we continue to wait on the Volt. Then they offered 10,000 points worth $100 towards repairs. We really just want our car back or a way out of this awful, neverending mess. It doesn't seem like we have any options.

When GM learned I had talked to a lawyer, they refused to speak to me any further. Having worked in retail and the service sector for many years, I'm amazed at the poor customer service from GM. A little bit would have gone a long way.

There are lawyers working on putting together warranty cases related to the BECM failures. A number of folks have contacted me through this forum. If you think your situation might fit, contact me at [email protected], and I can connect you with the right people.

Has anyone else waited more than 7 months or had similar issues with a mysterious "cable?"

oof. I came here looking for info on the BECM. My check engine light came on a couple of times (we thought it might be b/c of cold weather so cleared it first time to see) - but other than that it seemed to be running fine. The dealer diagnosed the BECM needing replacement and as you all have said - no ETA on the part. he did say it was 2.5 mos. for another person - so I was hoping it would only be that at the most but now I'm getting worried. I'm also wondering if it's really the BECM because as I said - no other issues - but that's what the dealer said. I have a 2017 premier, bought used about 2 yrs ago and I did have something repaired a while back that was still under warrant - have to get my records as I'm blanking what that was at the moment. But other than that it's been a great car and I love it. Luckily we have alternate transportation and I work from home but still.....

begreen said:

I bought our 2018 Volt from the original owner in Calif. and was told the CARB warranty is good in WA. Not so?

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What do WA laws say regarding warranty coverage? It’s often very difficult to obtain this information.

All cars sold in the US must meet Federal emission standards. In 1971, California obtained a waiver to set emission standards that are more protective than the federal standards. The states are allowed to adopt either set of rules, and a number of them have chosen to follow the California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards.

CARB emission standards and CARB warranty requirements are separate issues. State laws aren’t required to meet both. Your state laws may say that California emissions standards must be followed without also requiring that California warranty standards must also apply.

For example, here in Oregon, a CARB state, the rules seem to say YES to the 10-year/150K mile extended warranty for the traction battery for PZEV-class vehicles, but NO to the 15-year/150K mile extended warranty coverage for the emissions controls.

Oregon DEQ Rule 340-257-0120, Warranty Requirements, says the manufacturer of my vehicle must provide a warranty that complies with the California requirements, except that the 15-year or 150,000-mile extended warranty for PZEVs is not included as a requirement of this [Oregon] rule... The provisions of this section do not amend the requirements... that indicate the warranty period for a zero emission energy storage device used for traction power will be 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Regarding the rules in Washington state, Washington State Department of Licensing seems to say that Washington is a CARB state regarding emissions standards, but not regarding CARB warranty requirements:

"Required emission standards"
"Starting with 2009 models, new and used passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles must be certified to California emission standards..."
...
"Warranties for Zero Emissions Vehicles"
"Washington doesn't require automakers to offer additional extended warranties for sales of Zero Emissions Vehicles like California. However, the Department of Ecology encourages automakers to offer and honor those extended warranties voluntarily as a service to their customers."

.

As hellsop points out above, the GM warranty page for your Volt should list all warranties applicable to your Volt for which GM, the manufacturer, is responsible, including the New Car Limited Warranties that may or may not have expired by now, plus any extended warranty coverage for which GM is responsible.

Those PZEV-class Volt owners living in other CARB states should research their own state laws to determine if CARB battery or emission controls warranty coverage is also required in their state. If CARB warranty coverage is not found on their Volt Warranty page, it may be because their state law does not require it.