[VoltOwnerinLA]

We have purchased 3 Chevrolet Volts so far. Two of them have been great. But the one we got in February (a 2017 Premier) from Hooman Chevrolet in Culver City, CA appears to be a lemon.

A few weeks after we got it, my wife was driving our daughter on the freeway when, without any warning, the car completely lost power. As you can imagine, this was an unpleasant experience for them. Luckily, no one was hurt.

We immediately brought the car back to the dealer (Hooman). After a few weeks of largely keeping us in the dark, they eventually told us that the car had been repaired and assured us that it wouldn't happen again.

But only a few days after we got it back, the same thing happened again. Luckily, no one got hurt this time either, but it was another very unpleasant experience. We called OnStar and after a couple hours of sitting by the side of the road, GM Roadside Assistance eventually came and towed the car back to Hooman again (where it has been sitting for the past week).

So far at least, the response from both Hooman & GM (including the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center in Detroit and their California Engagement Center) has been underwhelming. If they do get their act together and make things right, I'll be sure to update this post. But in the meantime, I'd have to say that if you value things like safety & reliability (not to mention your time & convenience), you might want to think again before buying a 2017 Volt.

 

[bjrosen]

This is not typical behavior for a 2017. Have you talked to their Volt tech about the problem? Talking to their tech will give you an idea about the likelihood that they can fix the problem, if they have no clue about whats going on you should look into invoking the lemon law and make them take the car back.

 

[eDreamin']

First off, let me say that I feel for you and your family. That kind of experience has to be frightening, and would shake anyone’s confidence in their vehicle, especially since it had supposedly been “fixed”.

But, aside from some sympathy, what would you have the posters and lurkers here do? It’s unlikely that you’ll convince any of us who own a Gen 2 Volt to get rid of it (mine has been flawless since I purchased it almost a year ago), and it’s almost as unlikely that your single posting will dissuade someone from purchasing one (unless that one is your Volt!).

I’m sure that there are any number of regulars here who would jump at the chance to suggest what has caused your Volt to malfunction, if you would only give them some clues as to exactly what happened.

What were the circumstances before, during, and after each episode? Was it a long freeway drive? A hot day? Did your wife just turn on the air conditioning? Did the dashboard displays go blank or indicate that the car had been turned off? Did the car produce diagnostic codes? What were they? Did the car return to normal after powering down and re-starting? I don’t know if any of these questions are relevant, but just saying “the car completely lost power” leaves too much to the imagination and too little to troubleshoot.

I’m sure that we all here hope that GM does right by you, and we’d love to hear what caused your issue, so please post back if that happens. In the meantime, if you’d like to give us some useful details, we’d love that, too.

 

[jupitermoon]

We have purchased 3 Chevrolet Volts so far. Two of them have been great. But the one we got in February (a 2017 Premier) from Hooman Chevrolet in Culver City, CA appears to be a lemon.

A few weeks after we got it, my wife was driving our daughter on the freeway when, without any warning, the car completely lost power. As you can imagine, this was an unpleasant experience for them. Luckily, no one was hurt.

We immediately brought the car back to the dealer (Hooman). After a few weeks of largely keeping us in the dark, they eventually told us that the car had been repaired and assured us that it wouldn't happen again.

But only a few days after we got it back, the same thing happened again. Luckily, no one got hurt this time either, but it was another very unpleasant experience. We called OnStar and after a couple hours of sitting by the side of the road, GM Roadside Assistance eventually came and towed the car back to Hooman again (where it has been sitting for the past week).

So far at least, the response from both Hooman & GM (including the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center in Detroit and their California Engagement Center) has been underwhelming. If they do get their act together and make things right, I'll be sure to update this post. But in the meantime, I'd have to say that if you value things like safety & reliability (not to mention your time & convenience), you might want to think again before buying a 2017 Volt.

That is a rather serious issue as power may be needed on demand to get out of a situation.

Thus far, my Volt has been issue free. However, I did experience an odd thing while giving it the full beans once. In normal mode and full throttle, the car accelerated quickly initially but then it felt as though power dropped noticeably enough to where it was an almost instantaneous reduction in acceleration. Very odd. I'm not sure what the torque curve is like on this car but I'm assuming there isn't a "notch" anywhere in the power/torque curve.

 

[Neromanceres]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Did OnStar run a remote diagnostic and if so what where the codes?

I've had my 2017 Volt for 13 months and now have 18,000 miles on it with zero problems.

 

[Raymondjram]

There is no "perfect car" made by anyone in history. As long as there are parts that can fail or wear down, any car can stop. Read any forum for other brands and you will find many cases. Even the expensive Model X has its cases of failures (ask Mark Z).

I had four failures in my Chevy Equinox, but none stopped it from running in eight years of ownership. All four cases (three speed sensors and a spark plug) were fixed under GM's factory warranty at no cost other than the time waiting at the dealer.

My biggest expense were two new tires.

 

[sduck]

Is this the same person who's posted an almost identical story several times in the facebook group? It's always on the freeway, with the wife and daughter in the car. I'm truly sorry to the OP if it's a true story, and hope the situation gets sorted out; but at the same time I'm getting skeptical about hearing the same story over and over.

 

[BAZINGA]

Would be nice to know when your car was built. As other's in the same date range could either be impacted or shed some more light on the issue. MY 2017 built in June 2016 has been flawless.

Are these event recorded in the cars "black box"? I think I would have hired a lawyer if this had happened when my wife and daughter's safety were at risk.

 

[Bacardi]

The direction I'll with this is...Another reason to buy a dashcam! Best $100 you'll ever spend...

 

[Steverino]

Always ask OnStar for any error codes and write them down. It helps diagnosing what the issue might be.
Also post any dashboard messages.

Lacking those all we can do is give links to things that may (or may not) be applicable:

Service bulletin PIC6211: No Start/ No Propulsion DTC P0A0C
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...No-Propulsion-DTC-P0A0C&p=3530802#post3530802

Service Update Campaign # 16017 -Battery Cable Misaligned
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-16017-Cable-misaligned&p=3625409#post3625409

Service bulletin #OIC6275 -Stalling, or Reduced Power Message
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...r-Reduced-Power-Message&p=3969282#post3969282

 

[DonC]

You really need to follow Steverino's advice and ask Onstar for the codes. Assuming there are some, that will help you/us pinpoint at least the general area of the problem. Being able to get the codes is very helpful. I have the impression that some dealers, if the technicians can't find the problem, simply clear the codes and declare victory.

 

[Qinsp]

... I'd have to say that if you value things like safety & reliability (not to mention your time & convenience), you might want to think again before buying a 2017 Volt.

Or any car. There does not exist a single make of car that has proven 100.00% up time. No, not even the Prius.

The 2017 Volt with full electronic options has the highest rating possible by both the IIHS and NHTSA. It is rated higher than the much-touted Tesla Model S or X.

Claims that we bought Volts because safety is of no concern are ridiculous. Few cars are safer today than the 2017 Volt.

So if you are looking for transportation that cannot break down, you need to go barefoot, because even some shoes have problems from the factory. If you are looking for a safe car, the 2017 Volt is a very good choice.

But with only one post then vanishing, it does make one wonder. It wouldn't be the first troll here. Chevrolet haters are never in short supply.

 

[Bacardi]

Based on the OP's post which included "lemon", the dealership by name and location, I'd take a Vegas bet that the OP posted just to slam the dealership for not yet giving them a new vehicle...Therefore they aren't interested in the details surrounding the repair and may have never intended to post followups...

 

[Fourdoor]

My spidey senses go off when someone signs up to a forum, makes one post, and then never returns to the forum to read and reply to questions about the original post. I doubt he even reads this comment or any of the others.

Keith

 

[quirkySquirt]

Suspicious indeed. You'd think if they were really upset, they'd come back to vent some more after follow up with their dealer. Could be just Volt basher.

 

[Bacardi]

The question is if his dealer fixes it, will we hear from him again? I don't know...Yet odds are, if he encounters more dealership trouble or gets what he ultimately wants, a lemon law buyback he would post again...

 

[kevinbmcnamara]

Definite troll....this defective Volt is his third one?? I'm calling BS for this poster. Where has he been on this forum for the other two?? Those must have been flawless, since the forum was unnecessary for him.......

Just my less-than-humble opinion

Kmac

 

[Bacardi]

Definite troll....this defective Volt is his third one?? I'm calling BS for this poster. Where has he been on this forum for the other two?? Those must have been flawless, since the forum was unnecessary for him.......

Just my less-than-humble opinion

Kmac

Meh, his story makes logical sense, sure it's easy to be lazy and dismiss him as a troll...Bought a new car, died on the road, took forever to fix at the dealership and the car died again...I have seen two reports where the car broke down and the dealership was able to swap out vehicles mainly due to timing and were able to intercept the DMV paperwork...We all have our breaking point to when we choose to invoke our lemon law rights, after two breakdowns the OP reached their breaking point...Perhaps he doesn't like either just this forum or any forum in general...

My volt broke down with 48 miles (I posted a thread about it with pictures and my service paperwork), got the shift to park, got it towed to the dealership (tow took forever, arrived after hours) called in the morning and they told me they drove it into the service bay but they'd "check it out"...We have later learned that there have been some instances that the car "resets" once the keyfab was out of range...I was "lucky" (or unlucky depending how you want to look at it) and had the car displayed "shift to park" again, I could have had been in the exact same scenario as the OP and perhaps would start to inquire about the lemon law...

The other problem is that anyone looking to purchase an used Volt in the future may look at the service history and be really turned off by a major repair even if it's been trouble free since the repair...

 

[JRRF]

Likely someone who is just really pissed at the dealer and the car. But it is a little strange that they own more than one.

The 2017 Volt with full electronic options has the highest rating possible by both the IIHS and NHTSA. It is rated higher than the much-touted Tesla Model S or X.

Claims that we bought Volts because safety is of no concern are ridiculous. Few cars are safer today than the 2017 Volt.

Need to be careful with safety claims. The ratings are for cars in the same class, not overall.

 

[Qinsp]

Likely someone who is just really pissed at the dealer and the car. But it is a little strange that they own more than one.



Need to be careful with safety claims. The ratings are for cars in the same class, not overall.

IIRC, they are categorized by class, but the results are based on instrumented crash test dummies. It's why some classes have no winners, such as small trucks.

If you are really interesting, this makes good reading:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/chevrolet/volt-4-door-hatchback?print-view

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/tesla/model-s-4-door-hatchback?print-view