Firmware Updates? How do I know if I need one?
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We own two 2013 Volts. My latest acquisition just went over the 100k mark and is now out of warranty. The carfax showed that the previous owner had taken the car into the dealer he purchased from for everything; oil changes, tires, all of it. I assumed that it would have the latest and greatest. Never assume...
Sure wishing I had taken it in prior to the warranty expiring. The car had been flawless until just after the 100k mark. Now I am dealing with the dreaded "Service High Voltage System" and associated CELs. Should be an easy dealer fix, but I'm curious about the details so I'm spending more time on it than I should.
See if you can talk to the local dealer's Volt tech. I'd at least see if he will update to the latest calibrations on HPCM2 and the BECM as layed out in PIC5920D or whatever supercedes it.
Sure wishing I had taken it in prior to the warranty expiring. The car had been flawless until just after the 100k mark. Now I am dealing with the dreaded "Service High Voltage System" and associated CELs. Should be an easy dealer fix, but I'm curious about the details so I'm spending more time on it than I should.
See if you can talk to the local dealer's Volt tech. I'd at least see if he will update to the latest calibrations on HPCM2 and the BECM as layed out in PIC5920D or whatever supercedes it.
When I asked my dealer about this, they said that the warranty would not cover for them to check the version of, or update, any firmware unless the car was displaying some kind of symptom related to that firmware. They don't just update every car, unless it is an update related to a recall program (like the one that turns the car off if left parked too long).
Agreed with Barry. Firmware typically isn't updated regular like that of a computers OS. As long as everything is functioning properly and you don't have issues such as a new bluetooth device causing errors in your radio, etc. Similar to updating your computer BIOS or the firmware in your DVD drive, it's just not done as any sort of preventive maintenance.
If you're having issues with a service high voltage system, you definitely want to have to dealership check into that. The easiest way to look at that is to verify the coolant tank for the HV system is at the proper level. Other than that, you definitely need to have it checked since it requires a higher level of diagnosing than the average consumer is capable of.
If you're having issues with a service high voltage system, you definitely want to have to dealership check into that. The easiest way to look at that is to verify the coolant tank for the HV system is at the proper level. Other than that, you definitely need to have it checked since it requires a higher level of diagnosing than the average consumer is capable of.
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Call the service department and give them the VIN and ask if there are any customer service campaigns or recalls for your car. There should be no charge for this. As freshcut says, some updates are only available based on a specific issue you may be having. Those won't be on the VIN-based list.
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Does your heater heat well in electric mode? If not, you might need a firmware update...
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Unless you have a problem that you know about and complain about, you don't usually get a firmware update unless it is part of a recall or customer service campaign.
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There was a thread a while back on accessing the ?development screen? in mylink. You might want to search for that thread and see if anyone discovered if the firmware version was also displayed in it.
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