[[email protected]]

2nd Gen Volt here, been on this forum for about +3 years. Every time I'm on the forum I laugh "uncontrollably" at all the car problems / issues/ updates req. / repairs / getting stranded in the middle of the road and general gripes (many people) in general are having with their 2nd Gen Volts. Now before all the diehards Volt supporters come out and say (honey is wonderful.. what are you talking about?, its a good car, mine is great, mine is awesome, no issues here).... let me just tell you its all BS, you all are or will have the same issues with the car at one point or another in a similar fashion. There are no special <cars> here people, its the same car. Mine has been in the shop more than my 19 year old truck. Its just fact. The reason I'm laughing is because I also experienced the same issues: lets go over all the items... (recent issue) park switch problems "shift to park", rear end cradle replacement, front drive-axle replacement, USB out 3 times, jerkiness off the line in gas mode, pulsating (front creep) at stoplights in elec mode, bad tire pressure sensors, the chuggle including highway "softness and bad transitions and in-between gas and elec motor fill in"..... its all there guys. Lets face it people 1st gen is way better (not as fast off the line, or better looking on the inside and less overall elec range) but overall more reliable and if out of warranty hell of a lot cheaper to operate. Having said that 1st gen is superior, I based my purchase for 2nd Gen on teh fact that 1st Ge was generally good. Perhaps Chevy dropped the ball on 2nd gen, or don't care, or perhaps they tried too hard to improve the car from gen 1 to 2. Regardless of the reason, I'm out of warranty and they want quite a bit of money to fix my latest issue (shift to park). YOU guys (me included) got taken. Just live with it its a bad design (the intention was great and forthcoming and I appreciate that) but its not reliable... just too many issues... don't kid yourselves, its a mediocre car.. and you cant fight with GM. So you are saving money and the planet by going electric but you are paying thousands to repair and maintain your Volt... If spending thousands of dollars to maintain your precious <car> worth it for you great, if not just laugh it out and change cars. I for one wanted a new Tahoe for my family. However I'm not buying Chevy anymore (as a result of lack of support and increase of maintenance / problems with my current Volt car). Because of these reasons it is making it difficult for me if not impossible to buy another Chevy. The moral of the story is.... Accept it and move on. It is what it is. Come on diehards, come tell me how you are the special <Volt owners>..... and how much you love your Volts.

 

[Barry]

I'm sure you know the repair history of your vehicle, but how do you know everyone else's?

 

[obermd]

Wall-o-text - TLDR!

 

[oldmalegeek]

Do you have a 2016? I never buy the first year of a new design as they are prone to more issues than normal. The exception to this would be the Gen 1 Volt that was very well designed. How many miles on your Volt? Just wondering when some of these issues might crop up.

I would agree the Gen 1 Volt was more reliable and GM should have spent more time and money on Gen 2, however only time will tell if all Gen 2 Volts are as bad as you say.

 

[jcanoe]

I guess there are also some lemons out there but I am a satisfied 2017 Gen 2 Volt owner. I have had several check engine, battery light conditions that required my Volt to spend 3 or 4 days at the dealer while various TSBs were applied. I received a loaner Volt each time my Volt needed to remain with the service department while awaiting parts. My Volt has never once locked me out of the vehicle, refused to start, or needed to be towed. No leaks, no brake system issues, no steering issues and no suspension issues. The electric heating unit (not certain which one) was replaced under warranty. I have, at times, experienced a slight chuggle when using gas. I have never bothered to have this investigated by my dealer since it goes away as the engine warms up. I sort of feel bad for my dealer, they have always been very helpful when I have had to have my Volt serviced. It has been more than 2 years since I purchased my Volt, except for 1 oil change and 2 tire rotations there has been nothing for the dealer to do for my Volt.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

Ah yes, the old "sample size = 1" argument. Sorry you've had so much trouble with your car but just like no one can convince you that you have a great car, no one will convince those of us who have had no (or minimal) problems that they are junk either.

I've had my 2017 for 13 months now and I had several days in close succession that it had trouble recognizing the fob. I realized the problem occurred right after I activated NFC on my phone and started to use my phone to pay at stores. I switched the fob to my other front pocket (farther from my phone) and it has not had the problem again now for the past 3 months. Only problem I've had. Other than that, it's been flawless. In 8000 miles, I've burned less than one tank of gas.

Mike

 

[gkelway]

I'm really sorry you are having a lot of problems with your volt. If I was in your situation, I would be really frustrated too. When I got my volt in April, there was someone who was also having a lot of issues (reported on this forum). So I was a bit nervous about it but went ahead anyways. I hope you are able to move on as quickly as possible and put this behind you!

 

[flyingsherpa]

For every model of car ever released, you'll find someone with tons of problems and someone with none.

Process variation is a thing.

Anecdotes aren't data.

<deleted>

 

[kk07]

2nd Gen Volt here, been on this forum for about +3 years. Every time I'm on the forum I laugh "uncontrollably" at all the car problems / issues/ updates req. / repairs / getting stranded in the middle of the road and general gripes (many people) in general are having with their 2nd Gen Volts. Now before all the diehards Volt supporters come out and say (honey is wonderful.. what are you talking about?, its a good car, mine is great, mine is awesome, no issues here).... let me just tell you its all BS, you all are or will have the same issues with the car at one point or another in a similar fashion. There are no special snowflakes here people, its the same car. Mine has been in the shop more than my 19 year old truck. Its just fact. The reason I'm laughing is because I also experienced the same issues: lets go over all the items... (recent issue) park switch problems "shift to park", rear end cradle replacement, front drive-axle replacement, USB out 3 times, jerkiness off the line in gas mode, pulsating (front creep) at stoplights in elec mode, bad tire pressure sensors, the chuggle including highway "softness and bad transitions and in-between gas and elec motor fill in"..... its all there guys. Lets face it people 1st gen is way better (not as fast off the line, or better looking on the inside and less overall elec range) but overall more reliable and if out of warranty hell of a lot cheaper to operate. Having said that 1st gen is superior, I based my purchase for 2nd Gen on teh fact that 1st Ge was generally good. Perhaps Chevy dropped the ball on 2nd gen, or don't care, or perhaps they tried too hard to improve the car from gen 1 to 2. Regardless of the reason, I'm out of warranty and they want quite a bit of money to fix my latest issue (shift to park). YOU guys (me included) got taken. Just live with it its a bad design (the intention was great and forthcoming and I appreciate that) but its not reliable... just too many issues... don't kid yourselves, its a mediocre car.. and you cant fight with GM. So you are saving money and the planet by going electric but you are paying thousands to repair and maintain your Volt... If spending thousands of dollars to maintain your precious snowflake worth it for you great, if not just laugh it out and change cars. I for one wanted a new Tahoe for my family. However I'm not buying Chevy anymore (as a result of lack of support and increase of maintenance / problems with my current Volt car). Because of these reasons it is making it difficult for me if not impossible to buy another Chevy. The moral of the story is.... Accept it and move on. It is what it is. Come on diehards, come tell me how you are the special snowflakes..... and how much you love your Volts.

Now your post is making me laugh.

 

[Loboc]

The Good and the Bad.

2013 Volt: Recalled for emissions. Recalled for steering center 'bump'. Heater issue. And many other trips to the dealer.

Not issues for me since I loved the car. Then I bought an ELR...

2014 ELR: Center Infotainment screen replaced. Chrome trim replaced after it started falling off. Shift to park issue - shifter assembly replaced. Heater issue - pump replaced. Radio head replaced. Window glass out of alignment - glass hit the trim. And many other trips to the dealer: some fixed some not.

Not issues for me since I loved the car. Then I bought an CT6 PHEV...

1017 CT6 PHEV: Car was delivered with stale gas. Took me two weeks to burn that off so FMM mode would stop alerting. Car was delivered with 6mi range (not charged). Car was missing the 110v EVSE (which I got back). Car was presented with night vision inoperable. They had to fix that and do the CPO cert before I would buy it. Car is equipped with 360 video recording. However, the dealer couldn't demo it because there was no $17 chip inserted. I bought a chip and tried it on my demo-three-days.

Not issues for me since I love the car. And bought it. 100k-mile warranty included.

The UGLY.

I blew an engine in a 1992 Mercury Grand Marquis at 30k-miles. No help from Ford or Ford credit. Lost $5,000 to get rid of that junk. I don't buy Fords. And i anti-recommend Fords to anybody that asks to this day.

The LUCKY.

My daughter only leases Toyotas for the last couple of vehicles. Mostly, they call her early to get a new car/truck because they need stock in their used car department. Sheesh.

 

[[email protected]]

2017 Volt with 46k miles. I'm not frustrated, I'm a grown adult. This is not the end of the world guys, cars will come & go. I just wanted to make a comment to everyone on the forum that there are numerous issues with the 2nd Gen (per your comments, forget about me). there is no reason for the park switch to go bad guys.... when was the last time any of your cars in the last 30 years that had this happen...... come on..... I'm not the only guys with these issues, no troll here flyingsherpa!

 

[flyingsherpa]

2017 Volt with 46k miles. I'm not frustrated, I'm a grown adult. This is not the end of the world guys, cars will come & go. I just wanted to make a comment to everyone on the forum that there are numerous issues with the 2nd Gen (per your comments, forget about me). there is no reason for the park switch to go bad guys.... when was the last time any of your cars in the last 30 years that had this happen...... come on..... I'm not the only guys with these issues, no troll here flyingsherpa!

Go to any car forum and you'll find people complaining about various issues. All models have issues and it's common for the same issue to show up repeatedly for a given model. THIS IS NOT DATA. You're making claims you can't back up because you think anecdotes are data. It's possible the Volt is worse than average, or it's possible that Volt owners are just more active online (or any number of other things). Without actual data, you cannot prove any of this, so speaking like you "know the truth about this car" or whatever, just makes you look ill-informed.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

It's not like you're not allowed to be frustrated. I'm a grown adult (mostly) and I'd be frustrated if mine was as bad as yours. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'll have future problems. I dunno. But for now, I'm very impressed with my 2017 in all categories. And I agree with you on the park switch: that should be a recall! But all cars have their common problems. We had a 2010 Civic Hybrid that had so many problems it was in the shop constantly and I got rid of it because it was downright dangerous. Swore off Hondas after that. But at the same time, I realize that even though I'm susceptible to the "once burned, never return", plenty of others have great success stories with Hondas.

To each their own. Remember that 'tiz the nature of forums that people come to them with problems so it skews things a bit. Fact is, some will have ALL of the problems you had, some will have one or two, and some will never have any of those problems. Maybe you've made up your mind based on reading some posts, but I think a poll would be interesting if you want to do one. List common problems like the park switch, standed by dead battery, and others so we can get a better idea of percentages. I wouldn't cry if you end up being right! I love cars, not just the Volt. If it turns out the gen2 has a bad track record, I'm OK with that. I don't want to be that "sample of 1" person either since I've recommended the Volt to friends and they've been quite impressed with mine. If I just got lucky and ended up with a good one among many bad ones, I'd want to know that too!

Mike

 

[wws]

2017 Volt with 46k miles. I'm not frustrated, I'm a grown adult. This is not the end of the world guys, cars will come & go. I just wanted to make a comment to everyone on the forum that there are numerous issues with the 2nd Gen (per your comments, forget about me). there is no reason for the park switch to go bad guys.... when was the last time any of your cars in the last 30 years that had this happen...... come on..... I'm not the only guys with these issues, no troll here flyingsherpa!

It is a $56 part (gmpartsdirect price) and probably an hour of tech labor to swap it. NBD. Fortunately mine was replaced under warranty. It is really the only hardware thing that has gone wrong in three years and 38k miles of ownership. Couple of software updates too.

 

[Don M]

So far . . . . our 2017 is about as reliable as our two Mitsubishi EV's - They've needed new wiper blades over the 6+ years we've been driving them and that's about it. There were 3 recalls, which Mitsu accomplished while we sat in the dealers waiting room. All were exchanging parts that they thought might fail at some point, but Mitsu had them changed before we experienced any failure

The way a car is cared for and the way it's driven has lots to do with how reliable it will be - I recall specifically a 1958 Corvette I had when I was a kid. I put 3 engines in it, two transmissions and more rear end center sections than I could count. If I had that same car today, I'm sure I could drive it 150,000 miles without a single one of those failures!

Don

 

[NWGACarGuy]

I'll take what you say at face value, although your experience differs from mine. But, I am curious. Why the taunting and denigrating tone? Clearly you are angry, even though you suggest the rest of us laugh it off (I assume you meant that rather than "out"). Your unhappy experience is unfortunate, but using it as a launching pad for ad hominem attacks against the well meaning members of this forum seems unlikely to produce a constructive result. It certainly doesn't constitute a logical and well-reasoned position. I would say that perhaps your problems run deeper than merely your discontent with your Volt. There is really no call for uncivil discourse about something so mundane as an automobile. Lighten up and you just might enjoy it!

 

[leonar40]

Man this is disheartening to read. I really want to believe in GM, being from near Detroit and loving the Volt and other Voltec platform designs. But I've just had no issues with my Toyota hybrids.

Gen 2 Prius: 150,000 miles. Replaced the cigarette lighter and the switch that opens the back hatch eventually failed. That was it.
Gen 3 Prius: 70,000 miles. Nothing so far.
2011 Lexus CT200h: 90,000 miles. Interior console button was faulty from the start, replaced with a redesign. That's it so far.

I think GM has stepped up a lot from where they were say 10 years ago. Here's hoping they keep improving every day. Really want to buy American!

 

[FI Spyder]

Since we are talking anecdotes:
'54 Chev - no problems
'55 Chev - no problems until ignition wires corroded out, my bad
'62 Hillman station wagon - no problems till charging (alt) wires shorted, easy fix on the road.
'71 Javelin - no problems not created by me.
'80 Dodge Colt - no problems until diode in alternator blew, fixed myself for a few bucks.
'88 Tercel Wagon - No problems other than mechanical fuel pump (twice - $57).
'91 Integra - capacitors in ICU blew (known design problem, too light duty).
'80 Triumph TR7 - no problems other than loose wire to battery clamp connection and one broken 12V wire to dash lights (caused by me).
'2013 Volt - no problems other than lost compass and door unlock from door handle.

Some of the early cars I had only a year or two but the later ones 12 to 27 years. All in all a pretty good record. Most look(ed) as good as new.

We'll see how the Volt lasts as time goes on.

 

[9G-man]

Curious, how much $ does the dealer want to fix it ?

It's $58.00 part online, DIY .

I've had 15 cars over the years and only one i would really rant about. A 1982 Chrysler LaBaron. Total POS given to me by my parents.
I sold it in 2 months.
Otherwise, Jeep (and now a Chevy VOLT) are the only domestics, Toyota minivans, P'up and Prius' (the best), Opel, Audi, VW and Porsche.
None have been any significant problem. The biggest surprise is the 2005 Porsche Boxster, with 108,000 miles, 13 years, outstanding.
I did have to replace the steering rack a few months ago. DIY.

 

[jampers]

I guess I'd better cross my fingers and sing Hallelujah. I've had my 2017 Premier for 16 months and have put 20,000 perfectly trouble-free miles on it without a single glitch. One oil change and one tire rotation is all it's ever had. I love this car. I've given up on my 45 years of Porsches, BMWs, Mini Cooper S, and all those damned DIY oil and filter changes, brake rotor and pad replacements, tuneups, etc. Love my Volt, love my Volt, love my Volt........