[Joiner]

Great news! I finally got my new volt from GM and it drives perfectly! On the other hand..

My new car had to have a depressurizing vent replaced under the hatchback because when you close it, the hatch does not close fully, leaving the hatch light to stay on. Even after the vent was replaced, the problem re-occurred less than 2 days later. Even using force to close the hatchback did no good, only after letting it drop could you then push down to make it fully latch.

I went to the chevy dealer today and was initially told that this was normal. I had to show the tech several other volts on their lot before he agreed that it might not be normal as every single other car closed with zero assistance other than gravity pulling the hatchback down. After deciding to take the arm bars off another Volt, it seemed to work for a moment.. that was until I put an item into the hatch (that wasn't blocking the hatch in anyway). The moment I put something into the hatch... it continued to do the same exact thing, not closing fully, leaving the hatch light on. The tech verified that nothing was in the way to prevent the hatch from closing, but stated that just something being back there was changing the air pressure inside the car. I explained that that scenario never happened in the previous car, and it had the same things + groceries and always closed on its own, using gravity to do so.

I ultimately left aggravated. Does anyone else have an issue with their hatch, that they have to try and slam or even assist the hatchback to close?

 

[Norton]

The hatch latch needs a simple adjustment and these turkeys don't want to do it.
They falsified a warranty claim on the first attempt and now don't want to do a proper repair.
Call the GM EV Customer Support group, or whatever they are called now.
Threaten to go to a new dealership.
Maybe both.
I'd question the dealership service department you are now using after the line of BS they gave you.

 

[Joiner]

The hatch latch needs a simple adjustment and these turkeys don't want to do it.
They falsified a warranty claim on the first attempt and now don't want to do a proper repair.
Call the GM EV Customer Support group, or whatever they are called now.
Threaten to go to a new dealership.
Maybe both.
I'd question the dealership service department you are now using after the line of BS they gave you.

I was just sitting here thinking that I should take it to another local chevy dealer and see what those techs say. Before I do that though, does anyone else have to push down on their hatchback to get it to latch properly? Or does everyone here just let gravity do its job?

 

[Dutch]

I pull mine down fairly gently and it latches (mine is a gen 1)

In the heat of summer I've had to "assist" it very gently a couple of times, I think because the lifters are stronger in the warmer weather but I've never had to actually "press down".

Seriously sounds like something is mis-alligned in yours.

 

[BAZINGA]

Did you try adjust those little black rubber stops? They screw IN or OUT. And yes I'd find a different dealer. And since you live in St Louis I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND Jack Schmitt Chevy in O Fallon IL right off of 64. I bought all three of my Volt's from them. They have a great Volt Tech's.

 

[gjm3]

Have you tried closing the hatch with a door open or a window down? The Volt is pretty air tight and the air pressure can make it harder to close. Perhaps the Volts on the dealer's lot that you tested had windows down and thus were easier to close. I'm not aware of any depressurizing vent in the hatch area. My hatch is hard to close - gravity does not get the job done unless I open a window or a door. You can also adjust the rubber bumpers on the hatch by screwing them in further.

 

[Joiner]

Have you tried closing the hatch with a door open or a window down? The Volt is pretty air tight and the air pressure can make it harder to close. Perhaps the Volts on the dealer's lot that you tested had windows down and thus were easier to close. I'm not aware of any depressurizing vent in the hatch area. My hatch is hard to close - gravity does not get the job done unless I open a window or a door. You can also adjust the rubber bumpers on the hatch by screwing them in further.

Yeah, it works everytime if a window is open. When we tested every other volt on their lot, we made sure everything was closed first, and not one had the pressure issue. We even started some up, let them run, turned the car off to create the same exact scenario and the lids always closed thanks to gravity.

As far as the depressurizing vents I was shocked as well when they told me that they had to replace them because they were faulty. I adjusted both rubber bumpers all the way to the top to see if that would help any, and unfortunately, it did not.

When the other hatchbacks closed it sounded just like any other trunk or hatch closing, firm and tight. On mine, it just barely hits the latch and doesn't have that normal sound we heard on each and every other car. The latch seems to be aligned so that isn't the issue.

 

[Joiner]

Did you try adjust those little black rubber stops? They screw IN or OUT. And yes I'd find a different dealer. And since you live in St Louis I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND Jack Schmitt Chevy in O Fallon IL right off of 64. I bought all three of my Volt's from them. They have a great Volt Tech's.

That's good to hear, I'll try and set up an appointment with them tomorrow. I was originally gonna go to Bommarito because that dealership is 1 exit up from my house.

 

[freshcut]

I adjusted both rubber bumpers all the way to the top to see if that would help any, and unfortunately, it did not.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the bumpers be adjusted lower so the hatch doesn't contact them before getting to the latch requiring the bumper to be compressed to fully close? I'm not sure where the bumpers are located as I have a gen 1 and never even bothered to look at mine, but if they're hatch mounted, please disregard this post.

 

[Arcanox]

I've never had an air pressure issue...I don't know that my Volt is that airtight to begin with. It doesn't stay warm very long in the winter unless I have the heat going fairly decently. I don't see how putting an item in the car would change the air pressure though; that makes no sense. The pressure is going to be 1 atm/22.92 inHg both inside the car and outside.

 

[kentlucas]

You don't need the dealer to adjust the hatch stops. You can quickly and easily do it yourself. This is the only "problem" I have ever had on my 2016, easily fixed in 2 minutes. I still have to keep my hand on the hatch when closing, unless a window is down, because the car is so airtight.

 

[Joiner]

You don't need the dealer to adjust the hatch stops. You can quickly and easily do it yourself. This is the only "problem" I have ever had on my 2016, easily fixed in 2 minutes. I still have to keep my hand on the hatch when closing, unless a window is down, because the car is so airtight.

Yeah, I have adjusted the hatch stops both ways, no difference. You might want to have the hatchback checked out at the dealership because they hooked mine up to a machine the first time and found out that one of my decompressing vents wasn't working. Every other Volt on their lot, they had about 6, all closed with zero issues except mine.

 

[BAZINGA]

Yeah, I have adjusted the hatch stops both ways, no difference. You might want to have the hatchback checked out at the dealership because they hooked mine up to a machine the first time and found out that one of my decompressing vents wasn't working. Every other Volt on their lot, they had about 6, all closed with zero issues except mine.

Your welcome to drop by my house so we can compare how our cars operate. I own a 2017. I live in Swansea near Belleville/O Fallon.

 

[timoshev]

With all windows up I start the hatch downward using the handheld, then before it closes I move my hand to the top edge of the hatch and with a gentle push down it closes every time. With any window open, a nudge at the handhold does the job.

 

[timoshev]

Using only the handhold in the hatch, there is insufficient leverage to close the hatch fully if all windows are up. I start the hatch down using the handhold, then complete the closing with a push from above. (not necessary with any window open some)

 

[Norton]

...As far as the depressurizing vents I was shocked as well when they told me that they had to replace them because they were faulty. ....

These 'Vents' are just flappy pieces of rubber to let cabin air (fresh) OUT and not let smelly air (fumes) IN.
For instance when a window is down the cabin can have less pressure than the vent area, so the vents don't allow any air flow to come in the cabin from back there.
When you slam a door or hatch they blow open.
They are always in a low pressure spot on the rear of all modern-ish vehicles.
They would have to be glued shut with some junk to do what the 'techs' claim. They are in a plastic grid-like frame and just loosely flap...

Does GM just accept any goofy warranty claim by rookie 'techs' ?

Screwing the rubber bump stops down makes for less pressure on the hatch latch, but they also should limit seal squash and hatch rattle.
Let the warranty work for you, if you can find decent auto techs.

Good Luck !

 

[Kraven]

I'm running out the door right now so don't have time to find the other threads on this, but I can tell you my experience was that I had problems the first month or so with this same issue. The icon in the DIC would show the red line that the hatch wasn't closed. I gave it some time based on other posts and it resolved itself, just needed to break in. Haven't had a problem since that first month. You may just need to give it time if you haven't already.

 

[quirkySquirt]

Yeah, it works everytime if a window is open. When we tested every other volt on their lot, we made sure everything was closed first, and not one had the pressure issue. We even started some up, let them run, turned the car off to create the same exact scenario and the lids always closed thanks to gravity.

As far as the depressurizing vents I was shocked as well when they told me that they had to replace them because they were faulty. I adjusted both rubber bumpers all the way to the top to see if that would help any, and unfortunately, it did not.

When the other hatchbacks closed it sounded just like any other trunk or hatch closing, firm and tight. On mine, it just barely hits the latch and doesn't have that normal sound we heard on each and every other car. The latch seems to be aligned so that isn't the issue.

One would think with other Volts not having this issue on their own lot they'd be more cooperative to help you since you're clearly experiencing a problem. I'd go and try BAZINGA's recommended dealer.

 

[Aus1]

One would think with other Volts not having this issue on their own lot they'd be more cooperative to help you since you're clearly experiencing a problem. I'd go and try BAZINGA's recommended dealer.

Funny My 2013 Gen 1 always requires a hatch slam down unless a window is down or a door open, no amount of latch adjustment, stop adjustment, rubber stops everywhere replaced made a difference. Maybe just not enough air is flowing through the air vents or not enough of them. Surprised others can close theirs easily (Like on a Japanese car).

PS Use some teflon grease or vasiline to leave imprints to see how much to adjust.
Too loose and one or both sides will bounce leading to rattle.

 

[maczr1]

Does the volt have this.
An industry-first feature pioneered by the C7 Corvette is a cabin pressure relief valve that helps with opening and closing the rear hatch. This bugger is made from shape-memory polymers and alloys. It's the red-painted thingy in the fourth picture featured in the adjacent gallery, the rectangular element located just below the hatch door. When you open the hatch, current is sent to a nickel-titanium alloy wire that causes the cabin pressure relief valve to contract and open its vents. When you close the Chevrolet Corvette's hatch door, the current is removed, and Venetian blind-like louvers close more silently than a puny electric motor doing the same thing. It's intelligent engineering that's hideously underrated.