[sosmerc]

......an annual Volt service and inspection? (2017 with 18,000 miles and no issues). Have already had my 2 free services and in order to keep my "lifetime" powertrain warranty I am required to service every 6 months.
What do you think?

 

[Barry]

I don't think there is anything like that on the official service schedule. Whatever they are doing is probably almost all unnecessary and wasted maintenance expense. I think you have to ask yourself how much money and time this lifetime warranty is worth to you. And find out what is really covered, at what deductible, and who is underwriting it.

 

[9G-man]

......an annual Volt service and inspection? (2017 with 18,000 miles and no issues). Have already had my 2 free services and in order to keep my "lifetime" powertrain warranty I am required to service every 6 months.
What do you think?

Your 'lifetime' powertrain warranty is nothing more than a dealer scheme to get you back into the dealership every six months, so they can find a way for you to pay them money. If you can even find details as to what this warranty covers and how, read the fine print. It most likely says that outside the Mfr. warranty they will give you salvage parts and charge you to install them.
What does your Volt possibly need every six months? It won't even need a brake pad replacement for over 100,000 miles.

The Mfr. suggested maintenance for a Volt is very little and over long intervals. Everyone should look in their owners manual maintenance schedule and not rely on the dealer to BS you.

If my Volt doesn't need warranty work it will never, ever see the dealer again. The oil changes it will need (every 2 years or so?) can be done by anyone. Filters are stupid easy. That will take me to 100,000 miles and then spark plugs are stupid easy too, I or any mechanic can replace them. A transmission drain and fill would be wise after 75K miles or so if kept long term. Anyone can do that too. Tires? go to a tire shop or Costco or Sam's.

Car dealers rip off so many people, every day, it is truly criminal.

 

[sosmerc]

Thanks for the comments....I am still open for more. My appointment isn't until next Thursday. I don't want to get screwed, but I also respect the importance of preventative maintenance. I also know and respect the cost of major component repair and don't want to get caught holding the bag if something serious were to fail just beyond the normal warranty period.

 

[VoltAP1]

Thanks for the comments....I am still open for more. My appointment isn't until next Thursday. I don't want to get screwed, but I also respect the importance of preventative maintenance. I also know and respect the cost of major component repair and don't want to get caught holding the bag if something serious were to fail just beyond the normal warranty period.

Those dealership sponsored "lifetime powertrain warranties" are a complete scam. You'll end up paying way more in inflated service costs than you'll ever reap from repairs under a program like that. Why else would the dealer offer them "for free?"

The most they're going to do is change the oil and rotate the tires. What's a fair price for that? Maybe $40-50?

 

[9G-man]

Thanks for the comments....I am still open for more. My appointment isn't until next Thursday. I don't want to get screwed, but I also respect the importance of preventative maintenance. I also know and respect the cost of major component repair and don't want to get caught holding the bag if something serious were to fail just beyond the normal warranty period.

Can you give me one example of 'preventive maintenance' the Volt needs that isn't prescribed by the Mfr. maintenance schedule?

Going back to the dealer for no reason is just asking for them to find something that isn't wrong, make something up, or cause a problem down the road, and pay them money to do it!

Tire rotation/balance ? , That too is a bit of a scam that is done too often on ordinary passenger cars. If your tires are wearing evenly and rolling smoothly, vibration free, why mess with them? They DONT need balancing! It just creates an opportunity for the "mechanic" (the guy doing tires is NOT a certified mechanic, BTW) to scratch your alloy wheels, damage your brake calipers, over-torque your lugs nut, warp you wheels, mess up your tire pressure; and create vibrations at 70 MPH you didn't have before.

The only real preventive maintenance a modern car needs is checking the tire pressure, and these day that can often be done right on the instrument display (yes, including the VOLT). BTW, it just got cold outside, so we all need to add some air to our tires.

 

[9G-man]

My sister is one who cannot stay away from the car dealer service dept. It is truly insane the crap she has been told she needs repaired, and she paid for it.
Even coxed into taking out a line of credit to pay for repairs.

 

[sosmerc]

So after reviewing the above comments, as well as looking over the Service and Maintenance chart in the manual, I have decided to postpone my service visit. My oil life is at 71% and the ICE has only about 3500 miles on it since the last "service". I also agree about NOT messing with the tires....they show very even wear and the car tracks straight and there are no vibrations. I monitor the pressure all the time and I like to keep my tires @40. (my current lifetime mileage is 18,280 ...37% electric). I used the app to check for recalls and there are none for my VIN at this time. So I guess I am good to go!

 

[hellsop]

The most frequent service item in the owners manual is *tire rotations*. Most Volt owners get an oil change every two years and a coolant change every five, and possibly change the "transmission fluid" at the five year interval as well. Air filters and wiper blades as needed, and that's about all there is. Brakes never seem to need more than cleaning the moving bits maybe.

I'd abandon that "free lifetime" powertrain warranty and follow the manual instead.

 

[jcanoe]

The Volt's aluminum alloy wheels can, over time, corrode on the inside of the wheel and fuse to the cast iron wheel hub. This is a common issue for vehicles that have alloy wheels, especially in areas where road salt is used in winter. If nothing else regular tire rotation will help prevent this from happening.

 

[FI Spyder]

My alloys are corroded in the area behind the spokes. I am in the process of cleaning this off and painting the "inside" wheel (not the painted chrome part) and painting calipers so they don't rust. Other than oil and filter when oil "life" gets down there and odd trans fluid there really isn't much to do.

 

[lobo411]

Tire rotation is mandatory because the front/drive tires will wear at a different rate than the rear tires.

 

[FI Spyder]

Tire rotation is mandatory because the front/drive tires will wear at a different rate than the rear tires.

Front tires will wear much more (you can tell it on my 1 year old tires already, not that many miles) due to the fact it's front wheel drive (has to steer the car and power it) while the rears are along for the ride. I think the Volt is hard on tires because the car is heavy and with the light steering effort and flat cornering it is easy to put extra load on them without seeming to.

 

[nrvous]

The Volt's aluminum alloy wheels can, over time, corrode on the inside of the wheel and fuse to the cast iron wheel hub. This is a common issue for vehicles that have alloy wheels, especially in areas where road salt is used in winter. If nothing else regular tire rotation will help prevent this from happening.

Good advice. On other cars I've owned I've never had any issue that couldn't be fixed by a little whack on the inside of the tire with a rubber mallet. I've also heard of people using a bit of anti-seize lubricant on surface of the hub where it meets the wheel to prevent issues.