[JasonSpangler]

Anyone else experienced anything like the following or have any advice?

I love the Volt, but... my 2012 Volt has a large number of cabin, steering, and hatch noises the dealer can't fix, and I am out of patience and tired of wasting time after taking it in for 5-6 services over the last year (where one noise gets improved, a new noise is created, and they can't duplicate the other noises). I've wasted too many hours of my time driving back and forth to the dealer, waiting for my car, and weeks driving loaner cars with gasoline.

After a long trip on I-10 and listening to most of these noises for much of the trip, I've had enough - a $45,000 car should not have these problems. By comparison, my parent's old Cobalt has no noises like these, my two Hondas took 10 years to develop noises, and two other Volts I've driven have none of these noises.

I contacted my Volt advisor and I'm asking them for a replacement new Volt (telling them I'm willing to pay for the mileage on my current Volt). He is going to put me in touch with the new car sales manager at the dealership and see what they will do - I'm worried they'll just offer me a normal trade-in. We were considering a second Volt, but I'm not so sure now.

The problems (which occur at different temperatures and road conditions, sometimes all at once):

1) Steering groan - at low speeds the steering groans. Volume varies upon temperature and conditions. Dealer replaced the struts one time and adjusted steering a second time, but the noise persists and is getting worse/louder.
2) Both driver and passenger air bags rattle. Dealer fixed air bag service issue, but noise is now worse. Dealer tried to fix noise but it is worse now.
3) Center stack rattles on the right side. Took several trips for the dealer to even find an issue to try and fix. Dealer found one issue and fixed it, but it just changed the nature of the rattle.
4) Driver side pillar rattle, right next to the driver's ear. Usually active. Dealer can't find it after multiple attempts.
5) Driver side door rattle which is very intermittent. Dealer can't find it after multiple attempts.
6) Air vents started making periodic zzzzzt-zzzzt-chunk sounds several months ago after the last time the dealer tried to fix noise issues. Dealer can't find it.
7) Rear hatch rattles in cold weather. Dealer can't find it.
8) Parking brake makes loud "CHUNK!" sound when engaged that scares passengers and nearby people. Dealer applied fix from service bulletin that I told them about, which reduced the frequency but did not eliminate the problem.

Any advice?

 

[Noel Park]

None of the above. I'm at almost 2 years and 39K and my Volt's as solid as a rock. The only time it's been to the dealer was for the battery box upgrade.

 

[jegund]

That's alot of noises. Try a different dealer. Have they fixed any problems yet?

 

[Excalibur]

I have the "B" pillar noise you describe. My dealer seems to have initially fixed it, but it has come back.

My suggestion to you, is exactly what I plan to do. Contact my Volt adviser and get them involved.

 

[solar_dave]

Both of ours are quiet except for the typical relay clunk near the fuel door once in a while. I hear more from the tire/suspension road noise than anything else.

 

[vdiv]

It's a clunker. No, literally!

You have no guarantees that the replacement new Volt would be any better.

Mine has a lot of noises too and the two dealerships I have visited have been unable to fix the noises or denied their existence. The last time I even brought the list of noise service bulletins that WoT has in the forum with the applicable bulletins circled and the dealership refused to acknowledge any of them were a problem on my Volt.

My Volt has the following:

-- Rear hatch buzzing/rattling
-- Strut/shock rattling
-- HVAC damper buzzing
-- Parking brake release loud clank
-- B-pillar buzzing
-- Steering wheel rubbing
-- Brake pedal pulsating

I was looking for some sympathy sharing my noise-induced anxiety with a friend who basically responded by saying:

"What did you expect? You bought a Chevy!"

 

[ClarksonCote]

I have the "B" pillar noise you describe. My dealer seems to have initially fixed it, but it has come back.

My suggestion to you, is exactly what I plan to do. Contact my Volt adviser and get them involved.

I have that pillar noise on occasion too. Never attempted to have it fixed, though I have narrowed down the spot on the pillar I can press on to make it stop. I will add though, I had a similar issue on a Honda I owned that would not go away.

What you should do is buy one of those old-fangled cars that don't drive on electricity. Many of these noises would likely be masked by the engine.

 

[Excalibur]

My Volt has the following:

-- Rear hatch buzzing/rattling
-- Strut/shock rattling
-- HVAC damper buzzing
-- Parking brake release loud clank
-- B-pillar buzzing
-- Steering wheel rubbing
-- Brake pedal pulsating

I was looking for some sympathy sharing my noise-induced anxiety with a friend who basically responded by saying:

"What did you expect? You bought a Chevy!"

The brake pedal behaves very different on the Volt than what I am use to, but I would think this is normal. I don't know what I'd call it, but it does not have the feel or exact behavior of that of my ICE cars.

The rest, besides the "B" pillar I hadn't hear of, but again, contact your Volt adviser. It'll get taken car of.

 

[sparks]

Oh yes! My 2012 has buzzes and rattles too. The worst are in the headliner ("ceiling"), which was fine until the cold weather hit. Now it has more buzzes and rattles than a snare drum. In fact, I was thinking of just putting a snare drum in the back section to mask it all (just kidding, that would drive me crazy)!

I think dealerships lack the time and patience to figure these things out, and in fact, I agree that more often than not they just create a new noise as a side-effect of their efforts. Here's what I'm doing about it: I carry some rags in the back underfloor compartment, and when I get a moment (say, having arrived at work, when the noise is fresh in my mind) I use hand taps in the trouble area to pinpoint the noise, then pry open any access point nearby that I can find, and cut pieces of rag and stuff them in until the hand taps fail to produce the noise. In this specific case, I get access above the headliner by pulling back the rubber door seals, and stuff into the roof area. In fact, I have found that some buzzes that I thought were in the side pillar are in fact above it in the headliner.

For those wondering, I'm not a troll but rather a Volt fanatic. I love this car and am willing to go to this trouble to actually fix the annoyance problem rather than go round-and-round with unproductive dealership trips. Ultimately, I hope the Gen 2 or the Cadillac versions are better in this category, as I intend to drive EREV from here on out regardless.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Anyone else experienced anything like the following or have any advice?

I love the Volt, but... my 2012 Volt has a large number of cabin, steering, and hatch noises the dealer can't fix, and I am out of patience and tired of wasting time after taking it in for 5-6 services over the last year (where one noise gets improved, a new noise is created, and they can't duplicate the other noises). I've wasted too many hours of my time driving back and forth to the dealer, waiting for my car, and weeks driving loaner cars with gasoline.

After a long trip on I-10 and listening to most of these noises for much of the trip, I've had enough - a $45,000 car should not have these problems. By comparison, my parent's old Cobalt has no noises like these, my two Hondas took 10 years to develop noises, and two other Volts I've driven have none of these noises.

I contacted my Volt advisor and I'm asking them for a replacement new Volt (telling them I'm willing to pay for the mileage on my current Volt). He is going to put me in touch with the new car sales manager at the dealership and see what they will do - I'm worried they'll just offer me a normal trade-in. We were considering a second Volt, but I'm not so sure now.

The problems (which occur at different temperatures and road conditions, sometimes all at once):

1) Steering groan - at low speeds the steering groans. Volume varies upon temperature and conditions. Dealer replaced the struts one time and adjusted steering a second time, but the noise persists and is getting worse/louder.
2) Both driver and passenger air bags rattle. Dealer fixed air bag service issue, but noise is now worse. Dealer tried to fix noise but it is worse now.
3) Center stack rattles on the right side. Took several trips for the dealer to even find an issue to try and fix. Dealer found one issue and fixed it, but it just changed the nature of the rattle.
4) Driver side pillar rattle, right next to the driver's ear. Usually active. Dealer can't find it after multiple attempts.
5) Driver side door rattle which is very intermittent. Dealer can't find it after multiple attempts.
6) Air vents started making periodic zzzzzt-zzzzt-chunk sounds several months ago after the last time the dealer tried to fix noise issues. Dealer can't find it.
7) Rear hatch rattles in cold weather. Dealer can't find it.
8) Parking brake makes loud "CHUNK!" sound when engaged that scares passengers and nearby people. Dealer applied fix from service bulletin that I told them about, which reduced the frequency but did not eliminate the problem.

Any advice?

Good Evening Jason,

I apologize to hear that your are experiencing these concerns. We are aware of your case and your Volt Advisor Andrae is awaiting your call to connect you with the Sales Manager.

-Ian Chevrolet Volt Customer Service

 

[sgtpokey]

Here's what I'm doing about it: I carry some rags in the back underfloor compartment, and when I get a moment (say, having arrived at work, when the noise is fresh in my mind) I use hand taps in the trouble area to pinpoint the noise, then pry open any access point nearby that I can find, and cut pieces of rag and stuff them in until the hand taps fail to produce the noise. In this specific case, I get access above the headliner by pulling back the rubber door seals, and stuff into the roof area. In fact, I have found that some buzzes that I thought were in the side pillar are in fact above it in the headliner.

That is interesting! For me the lamp section on the headliner rattles... I can easily pinpoint it since if I just raise my hand and put pressure on the lights/switch area the rattle goes away. Anyone have any advice on addresssing that in a similar do-it-yourself manner? Can any of that section be pried open then snapped back into place?

 

[PowerTrip]

When the interior of my 2013 Volt is warm (from sitting in the sun all day), a squeaking sound the emanates from the passenger side A-pillar (I think). It's either around the tweeter area or just below it. On non-warm days or if car is in garage, this sound is not heard.

 

[sparks]

That is interesting! For me the lamp section on the headliner rattles... I can easily pinpoint it since if I just raise my hand and put pressure on the lights/switch area the rattle goes away. Anyone have any advice on addresssing that in a similar do-it-yourself manner? Can any of that section be pried open then snapped back into place?

I have had the same problem. Currently it seems to have stopped, so I haven't yet explored how to stuff it. BTW, I am a long-time, experienced stuffer, having stuffed an Olds Cutlass Supreme, a BMW M3, a Lincoln LS, an Infiniti M45, and even a Pontiac GTO. I'm sure some of those cars are still out there running, nearly rattle/buzz free I expect, but stuffed to the gills! But I don't know what to do about that lamp section. It is an ancient art that takes patience to master.