GM recalls 2013 Chevrolet Volts for battery software

11021 Views 51 Replies 23 Participants Last post by vogonpoetry, Aug 10, 2018

Tacoma

Discussion Starter · Jun 23, 2018

In the news:

"GM said Friday that it will recall 3,233 2013 model year Chevrolet Volts to remedy a problem with battery cell balancing that could cause the car to shut down in traffic."

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1117379_gm-recalls-2013-chevrolet-volts-for-battery-software-updated

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scottf200

· #5 · Jun 23, 2018

Tacoma said:
Yes looks like this update caused the issue,

In its latest recall notice, GM notes that an update to the hybrid powertrain control module in 2013 Volts may have disabled the cell balancing function.

Disabled?!?!?

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scottf200

· #9 · Jun 23, 2018

Qinsp said:
If BMS balancing is disabled, welcome to world of electric propulsion. [which varies a lot by manufactuer]
...
Be very, very worried. This can start a fire if there is a weak module. It will charge to the proper peak voltage, but they are in series. If one or more is lower voltage, the others will get overcharged past 4.2x and heat up rapidly.

Wonder if this software bug will ruin some Volt batteries or change their lifespan.
Too bad they couldn't fix this potentially dangerous situation with an OTA update.

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scottf200

· #11 · Jun 23, 2018

Qinsp said:
I have a couple dozen loose 2012 Volt LG cells, and the entire spread after 6 years is under 0.010 volts.

Doesn't sound like you think GM needs a BMS at all then and they don't even need this recall

If you are worried about Tesla fires then cancel your reservation.

Note the above is from a GM related presentation.

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scottf200

· #14 · Jun 23, 2018 (Edited)

Qinsp said:
To get the longest life possible balancing is always a good idea. Is it dangerous not to have it? It depends.

Does Tesla have balancing? How many cells are balanced per wire? GM is 2-3 cells per wire.

Many discussion on Tesla balancing over the years. More on Model 3 recently.

I have two apps that I can use to watch my Tesla 'live' charging / balancing.

Highlevel overview numbers (vs breakdown of each group) from my Tesla X a short while ago. I'd say it's balancing works with 0.007 difference of min and max

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scottf200

· #20 · Jun 26, 2018

Odd no one brought up that GM did not test this software properly (beta, release candidate, etc levels) before sending out to customers.

twright said:
Has anybody found PIDs that shows Cell Max Voltage and Cell Min Voltage?

I want to see if my 2013 Volt cells are balanced.

Maybe try: http://mygreenvolt.net

My use of it: (thread seems lost in the conversion ARG) but it is cached)

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...C-13-9-27-8-!/page2+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

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scottf200

· #29 · Jun 29, 2018 (Edited)

Keith Myers said:
So wny has one dealer tried to charge me for a service visit absolutely involving a power train function that is supposedly covered by the 10 year warranty by claiming it was not covered under warranty. They are all crooks.

We are seeing more and more frustrated Volt customers on this site dealing with dealers who are not clear (or in some cases reviewing the details) of the Volt warranties. When they get shown them and asked for explanations they sometime change their mind. If not then it needs to be pushed to upper management at the dealer.

I'm guessing the dealers make more buy doing non warranty work than doing warranty work and getting reimbursed from GM. I've not seen proof but that would stand to reason.

Also there are some customer Volt advisors here/at_GM that can interface with the dealers on some of these issues. I suspect that brings a certain amount of pressure. (Volt Advisors are now "Chevy Electric Customer Support Team" )

What is odd to me is that if a dealer is not fair to the customer then is that customer going to buy other vehicles from them or get other service from them. Perhaps there is a location monopoly in some areas (ie. not many dealers around).

I guess I'm lucky because my dealer has really treated me well with my Volts.

If you have any further questions feel free to contact the
Chevrolet Customer Care Team:
(800) 222-1020
Chevrolet Customer Care Hours:
Monday - Friday 9AM to 9PM EST.
Closed on Saturday and Sunday.
[email protected]
https://twitter.com/ChevyElectric
http://https://www.facebook.com/chevroletelectric

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