If it were parts working poorly, then the heater indicator would show that the heater was at least ON. And it isn't. Since it's not ON, we've got no idea if the parts work or not. First step is to find out whether the indicator is wrong or whether the heater never gets turned on. Which will certainly mimic the symptoms of "not working".
No heat in 2013 on EV
So I took my 13 to the dealer for the axle click noise and no heat most of the time I'm on electric.
They said my caliper slides need to be lubricated to fix the axle click noise. They want $70 an axle and want to do both axles. And they want to reprogram the HVAC module for $218 plus a $109 diagnosis fee. I told them I'll pass on everything.
After the car sits at night I have heat. If I stop somewhere and shut the car off then back on again within a few hours I won't have heat the 2nd time. If the car sits 5-6 hours the second time, I'll have heat.
They are reprogramming the charger module under voltec warranty as there was a code for it.
The SW actually told me the engine NEEDS to run to produce heat as the car needs to be in open loop to make heat. So basically he doesn't have a clue. And this is the dealership with the volt specialist in the area.
kWh jumps up as if the heater is drawing power but no heat.
They said my caliper slides need to be lubricated to fix the axle click noise. They want $70 an axle and want to do both axles. And they want to reprogram the HVAC module for $218 plus a $109 diagnosis fee. I told them I'll pass on everything.
After the car sits at night I have heat. If I stop somewhere and shut the car off then back on again within a few hours I won't have heat the 2nd time. If the car sits 5-6 hours the second time, I'll have heat.
They are reprogramming the charger module under voltec warranty as there was a code for it.
The SW actually told me the engine NEEDS to run to produce heat as the car needs to be in open loop to make heat. So basically he doesn't have a clue. And this is the dealership with the volt specialist in the area.
kWh jumps up as if the heater is drawing power but no heat.
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And before anyone asks "How do we determine that", I'm sure it's a five minute task for the service department.If it were parts working poorly, then the heater indicator would show that the heater was at least ON. And it isn't. Since it's not ON, we've got no idea if the parts work or not. First step is to find out whether the indicator is wrong or whether the heater never gets turned on. Which will certainly mimic the symptoms of "not working".
Another piece to the puzzle my gf just reminded me about. I did a pre condition a week or so ago and when we came out my gf asked me if the ICE was running because it was super loud. It was not the ICE without a doubt. Could this be a sign the coolant pump bearings went? Would there be any stored codes if that's the case?
Would any of this be covered by the voltec warranty? It would seem so as these systems need to work for battery conditioning. Do you know the location of these valves and how I can check them? Are they blend doors like inside a dash for the HVAC?As for the heater, it seems there can be one or multiple of a relatively small number of faults here;-
a) the electric coolant pump is not working properly. This IS covered under the Voltec drive warranty.
b) if power is drawn when heater shows 'on', then the blending valve between the HVAC circuit and the engine circuit is sticking open, either completely or jamming open a little.
It would seem in the OPs case that once the system cools down the valve does return to the fully closed condition but seems to remain open for a while after the system has warmed up.
And today while we where sitting in the car, heat set to high and ERDTT set to the cold setting but ICE not running there was a very odd, very loud noise that sounded like a thrown belt on a normal ICE car that came from behind the gauge cluster. I want to guess that it was coolant flowing but I've never heard it before and it was incredibly loud for that. Lasted about 5 seconds. It happened about 20-30 seconds after ICE shut off.
Anybody have any insight to offer? I have absolutely no heat unless the ICE is running. I'm going to try and command the water pump on with my scan tool this coming week if I get time.
Check all the coolant reservoirs and make sure they are properly filled with the proper coolant. My 2013 heater problem was fixed after a leak was repaired and reservoir refilled. I think there are three coolant reservoirs, not sure which is for what system.
Should be simple. If the power draw increases when you call for heat, and there is no heat, it's likely the pump. If there is no increased power demand, blame the heater.
Took it to a dealer tonight. Tech didn't know anything about volts but followed the procedures in the tech manual. Thinks it's the heater control module and needs to look at the date on it. They aren't sure if it's covered or not but will call GM for a good faith repair. He stopped because he didn't wanna go to far and get a bill racked up when he wasn't sure what to do and didn't want me to pay for him to learn so I think I owe him a beer.
It's amazing how far a box of donuts will go in a service bay...Took it to a dealer tonight. Tech didn't know anything about volts but followed the procedures in the tech manual. Thinks it's the heater control module and needs to look at the date on it. They aren't sure if it's covered or not but will call GM for a good faith repair. He stopped because he didn't wanna go to far and get a bill racked up when he wasn't sure what to do and didn't want me to pay for him to learn so I think I owe him a beer.
I recently had a tech looking at problems with my heater. He said that he checked with GM about it being covered under the Voltec warranty. Their answer was no, because it is part of the "cooling system," which I guess is specifically excluded. I don't know if that is right or wrong, but that is as far as I was able to get on the issue. They offered to replace my heater control module as an attempt to fix (not guaranteed to fix). That was over $700 more, so I declined it.
However, I think the actual heating element, if it is defective, may be covered.
However, I think the actual heating element, if it is defective, may be covered.
That's what they suspect in mine. The tech said he needs to see a date on it and if the date falls in a certain timeframe GM says to replace it free of charge and if it's not in those dates to follow the trail in their problem tree.I recently had a tech looking at problems with my heater. He said that he checked with GM about it being covered under the Voltec warranty. Their answer was no, because it is part of the "cooling system," which I guess is specifically excluded. I don't know if that is right or wrong, but that is as far as I was able to get on the issue. They offered to replace my heater control module as an attempt to fix (not guaranteed to fix). That was over $700 more, so I declined it.
However, I think the actual heating element, if it is defective, may be covered.
They told me $800+ for the part alone. Does your A/C run all the time when you try and get heat? Mine does.
My problem does not have the same symptoms as yours (mine does provide some heat in EV mode), so comparing details will probably not be too helpful for you. They are just in the same system, so I shared my warranty experience. My A/C does not run constantly, but it does come on briefly and intermittently, probably to control humidity. I would prefer that it stay off, but there is no way to directly control it.Does your A/C run all the time when you try and get heat? Mine does.
Does yours work normally sometimes and not work at all at other times or do you get a little heat all the time? Mine worked intermittently for a while until it failed completely so I was seeing if we had the same symptoms, yours where just behind mine. Thank you for the information either way.
Dealer just called back and said GM will not be offering any assistance and basically too bad, we got the money for the car and that's all we wanted.
Odd. I have, on 2 previous cars, requested assistance from GM on out of warranty repairs. Both times the dealer told me that the assistance was something that ONLY the customer could request, the dealer COULD NOT do it for me.Dealer just called back and said GM will not be offering any assistance and basically too bad, we got the money for the car and that's all we wanted.
On the first request, GM offered to replace my transmission and transfer box in my 2006 Pontiac Montana AWD van at no charge to me. On the second car, a 2011 Malibu, GM split the cost 60/40% with me, I paid 40% for a transmission replacement. Both were just barely out of warranty.
I'm 10,000 miles out and 7 months out of B2B but when it was expiring I didn't know it had heater issues and I've been chasing them since it started getting cold.Odd. I have, on 2 previous cars, requested assistance from GM on out of warranty repairs. Both times the dealer told me that the assistance was something that ONLY the customer could request, the dealer COULD NOT do it for me.
On the first request, GM offered to replace my transmission and transfer box in my 2006 Pontiac Montana AWD van at no charge to me. On the second car, a 2011 Malibu, GM split the cost 60/40% with me, I paid 40% for a transmission replacement. Both were just barely out of warranty.
Yea, she told me that since the vehicle is no longer under the bumper to bumper warranty(after 10 minutes of research) that GM is neither obligated or good will to help. She called the dealer that already told me they won't do anything until I pay for the part and asked them to help when they have no reason to do anything as I bought the car from a different dealer.Odd. I have, on 2 previous cars, requested assistance from GM on out of warranty repairs. Both times the dealer told me that the assistance was something that ONLY the customer could request, the dealer COULD NOT do it for me.
On the first request, GM offered to replace my transmission and transfer box in my 2006 Pontiac Montana AWD van at no charge to me. On the second car, a 2011 Malibu, GM split the cost 60/40% with me, I paid 40% for a transmission replacement. Both were just barely out of warranty.
I'm going to be junkyard hunting for the module and I'll install it myself and then find someone to program it if it needs to be VIN matched.
Had the no heat in 2013 volt with 50000 miles for too long i finally took it in the second time and got the heat control module and water pump replaced. It's so nice to have everything working again this problem has been going on since it bought it new back in 13.GM did not charge me one penny and picked up my gas on the rental as well.I can't say enough great things about Kelly dealership in Fort Wayne they take car of their customers.The only place to buy cars for me.
I'm having similar problems with my recently purchased 2014. My first step in troubleshooting it was to check the fuses and relays. The owner's manual said there should be a relay in spot #13 of the Engine Compartment Fuse Block for the Cabin Heater Pump and Valve. However, mine is completely missing the relay in spot #13, and since I'm new to this Volt, I'm not sure what was done to it before I got it. I've tried to get the relay from two dealerships in my area, but they've both told me that Volts aren't supposed to have a relay there, even though the owner's manual says otherwise. On a related note, the owner's manual said the relay in spot #3 was unused, but when I removed it I got a check engine light talking about the emissions system (went away after a couple of charge cycles with it back in place).
Can anyone willing to help check if you actually have a relay in spot #13 of the engine fuse block? If so, would you mind telling me the part number and/or specs listed on the relay? The parts people at both those dealerships both said they couldn't look up what relay should be there without reading the numbers off an existing one.
On another related note, can any Seattle-area Volt owners recommend a dealership service department? The one I bought mine from (Good Chev in Renton) and the one with the seemingly best reviews I found on Yelp (Bill Pierre in Lake City, Seattle) both didn't inspire confidence in their competency, when talking to them.
Lastly, excuse my ignorance. What's a Volt Advisor? Is there someone I can talk to at GM directly assigned to helping Volt owners?
Can anyone willing to help check if you actually have a relay in spot #13 of the engine fuse block? If so, would you mind telling me the part number and/or specs listed on the relay? The parts people at both those dealerships both said they couldn't look up what relay should be there without reading the numbers off an existing one.
On another related note, can any Seattle-area Volt owners recommend a dealership service department? The one I bought mine from (Good Chev in Renton) and the one with the seemingly best reviews I found on Yelp (Bill Pierre in Lake City, Seattle) both didn't inspire confidence in their competency, when talking to them.
Lastly, excuse my ignorance. What's a Volt Advisor? Is there someone I can talk to at GM directly assigned to helping Volt owners?
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