[amg2000]

Background

So two months ago I purchased a used Volt with 94,000 miles (90,000 gas miles 4,000 electric miles. Got this info from Onstar) for $9,500. Used to drive a $100k car, hated it and wanted a normal car so got this from the used car dealer that took my old car. Love the Volt. I immediately had its oil changed and the mechanic (a chevy dealer) (a) said the car has "seepage" that's probably not a big deal (absolutely no oil leaks on the floor and I generally don't smell anything funny) and (b) the mechanic also accidentally spilled some oil on the catalytic convertor which caused an awful smell (because the engine is so compact that it's hard to avoid such spills) for a while until it went away .

Question

I drove it 120 miles this weekend on the gas engine. At about 70 miles, I had to do a really hard left to do a u-turn on a highway crossover after missing an exit. For some reason, this hard left caused that awful burning oil smell to come back for a minute or two before it went away again.

Why would a hard left turn do that?

 

[LANMAN]

If the earlier spilled oil pooled somewhere that wasn't hot, an aggressive change in direction could cause it to spill out onto something hot and create the burning oil smell again.

 

[Loboc]

Some oil was probably pooled on a cooler part and slung over to the hot part.

 

[Raymondjram]

That mechanic should had the engine bay power washed completely. GM makes their electrical connectors quite water tight and all the HVDC wiring is bolted in so you will never get any shock hazard. Having owned four GM vehicles, including my present 2009 Chevy Equinox, I used my own electric power washer once a year, and just plain home pressure for some cleaning, especially after a wet, muddy drive. I can always restart and run the engine after the washes.

 

[amg2000]

Oh right forgot that the internals have mini lakes where the oil can pool and be flung. Yes that was probably it. Thanks.

You must have a clean engine Raymondjram

 

[Steverino]

A long shot, but make sure the oil cap is not loose.

 

[llninja]

I'm curious about what $100k car the OP used to drive any why you're not rolling in an ELR or a tesla. The last four cars I purchased combined for the last two decades doesn't total to $100k - and these weren't econoboxes either (BMW 5 series, CTS, Suburban, Volt).

 

[amg2000]

I'm curious about what $100k car the OP used to drive any why you're not rolling in an ELR or a tesla. The last four cars I purchased combined for the last two decades doesn't total to $100k - and these weren't econoboxes either (BMW 5 series, CTS, Suburban, Volt).

Fully loaded Jaguar F-Type. It taught me that (a) race cars and their stiff suspension, low MPG, lack of room . . . are terrible every day cars, (b) a "status" car is not worth it because anyone who values you based on the price of the car you drive is not worth having in your life and (c) the more expensive a car the faster it depreciates.

I don't see any reason to get a Tesla instead of a volt (although that new $35,000 Tesla is going to be a good competitor). It's an overpriced car that, as far as I know, doesn't do anything my Volt can't do (except 0-60 times and who cares about that the Volt is plenty fast in power mode).

The volt is an awesome car. I heard GM loses a lot of money on these because the price of its components is very high relative to the price of the car.

 

[amg2000]

p.s. something particularly satisfying about the Volt is that I only paid $9500 for it. Tires, brakes all near-new and it's been well maintained including having its tune-up.

 

[johnnyvolt]

A long shot, but make sure the oil cap is not loose.

Very obvious but to be honest It helped me! Thank you very much!


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