2012 Chevrolet Volt problems

What is wrong

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Volt vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, to June 26, 2013. If the driver exits the vehicle without turning off the electrical system, the battery may drain low enough that the gasoline engine will automatically start itself to recharge the electric battery.

Risk

If the engine runs for an extended period of time in an enclosed space, there may be a build up of carbon monoxide, increasing the risk of personal injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the engine management software to limit the time that the stationary vehicle can be left in the ON position, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020. GM's number for this recall is 14617.

Recall number 15V145000 · Recall details

What is wrong

General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2012 Chevrolet Volt vehicles manufactured March 1, 2012, through April 17, 2012. Due to a brake pressure modulator valve problem, the vehicles do not relieve brake pressure from the front brakes during an anti-lock brake system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), or traction control event. One or both front brakes may lock up and not release. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems"' and No. 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."

Risk

If the brakes lock up it could cause a loss of steering control and/or a lengthened distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will install a new brake pressure modulator valve free of charge. The recall is expected to begin July 12, 2013. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1‑866‑694‑6546. GM's recall number is 13184.

Recall number 13V271000 · Recall details

the federal safety agency received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, the federal safety agency opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified the federal safety agency he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by the federal safety agency regarding the subject matter of the petition.

DP22005

In September 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-013 to assess the potential safety related effects of a malfunction of the Passenger Sensing System (PSS) in 2012-2013 Model Year (MY) Chevrolet Volt vehicles. Consumers reported that due to a malfunction of the PSS, the air bag system malfunction indicator light (MIL) was activated. Many of the complaints noted the malfunction occurred after the warranty period expired and mentioned high repair costs as a major deterrent to the repair of the vehicle.The PSS sensor mat is embedded in the front passenger seat cushion and is intended to detect child seats and small statured occupants who could be harmed by deployment of the frontal passenger air bag. The PSS may develop a malfunction due to bunching of the sensor mat in the seat trench. The bunching of the sensor mat could cause the mat to repeatedly fold in the same location. Over time, the repeated folding can cause an increased resistance in the sensor mat. An increased resistance in the PSS sensor mat is detected as a fault in the air bag system diagnostic. If this fault is detected, a diagnostic trouble code will be stored in the air bag control unit and the air bag MIL will illuminate.Further, if the fault is detected, the passenger frontal and knee air bags will be suppressed in a crash of sufficient severity to warrant a commanded deployment regardless of the nature of size of the occupant of the front passenger seat.The report counts shown above include only those reports that specifically address the issue covered by this investigation, failure of the PSS sensor mat. Reports alleging only that the air bag light is on with no cause stated, or where a different cause was otherwise identified, were excluded as the air bag light could be illuminated for system faults other than a PSS malfunction.The subject vehicles have been in service for approximately ten (10) years. An analysis of General Motors (GM) warranty data for the subject vehicles, including a comparison with other agency and manufacturer data pertaining to similar occupant detection system failure investigations, indicates the subject vehicles experience a comparatively low complaint rate for this issue given the number of years the vehicles have been in service.GM has instituted a cost reduction program for the repair/replacement of the PSS in the subject vehicles. Based on this cost reduction program as well as:1) a comparatively low warranty rate; 2) no reported injuries, deaths or asymmetric deployments; and 3) the age of the vehicles; ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety related defect does not exist. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at under the following ODI identification numbers in a separate attachment.

PE19013

The subject vehicles, which employ emerging technology, are range-extended electric vehicles that utilize a high voltage (HV) battery to provide energy for propulsion. The HV battery is lithium-ion based technology that has a nominal full charge of 390 VDC, a 16 kWh capacity, and a control system that incorporates liquid (antifreeze) cooling and various electronic devices (control modules, sensors, wiring, etc) to monitor and manage the HV battery. The HV battery, portions of the cooling system, and the control system are contained within a common enclosure.During an NCAP oblique side pole impact test conducted by the federal safety agency in May 2011, the pole struck and deformed the sill plate under the driver's door at a location where there is a structural member. The lateral member displaced inward, pierced the HV battery enclosure and battery, and caused a battery coolant leak. Thereafter, the Agency conducted a rollover test (the rollover test consists of four 90-degree rotate-and-hold movements about the vehicle's longitudinal axis). In that test, the HV battery and electronics were exposed to coolant that leaked as a result of the crash. The vehicle fire that occurred three weeks later and the additional testing the federal safety agency conducted are discussed in a report titled 2011 Chevrolet Volt Battery Fire Incident Report a copy of which is available in the public file. The report indicates that intrusion induced coolant leakage, and subsequent rollover that saturates electronic components, were the only test conditions which resulted in a subject vehicle HV battery fire.GM announced its intention to conduct a free-of-charge customer satisfaction campaign (CSP) on the subject vehicles on January 5, 2012. The action affects 14,735 vehicles produced prior to December 21, 2011. The CSP addresses three areas related to the issue under investigation. The first involves a modification/strengthening of the structure of the vehicle in the area where battery intrusion occurred in the May 2011 test. The second involves adding a sensor that detects excessive HV battery coolant loss, and control system software that then alerts the driver and prevents recharging of the HV battery. When the battery cannot be recharged, it will be depleted to a lower energy state as the vehicle continues to operate on the internal combustion engine. Lastly, a tamper-proofing device will be added to the system to prevent consumers from adding coolant. GM discusses these revisions in its response to an Information Request (IR) issued by the federal safety agency, noting that vehicles produced in calendar year 2012 and later will be manufactured to this condition.In December 2011, and at the same test facility, the federal safety agency repeated the May 2011 side impact test using a model year 2012 Volt modified to the structural condition described in the CSP. The test did not produce intrusion of the HV battery, a coolant leakage, or a fire (see test 7611, available at . In its IR response, GM describes four (4) additional side impact tests of modified subject vehicles it recently conducted using various build configurations and impact speeds (including higher speeds). GM reports that none produced HV battery intrusion, coolant leakage, or a fire.As noted in the complaint counts above, ODI has not identified a crash occurring in consumer's use of the vehicle that has resulted in a vehicle fire, or produced coolant leakage. ODI notes that side impact crashes with pole-like structures, such as would strike the sill plate, occur fairly infrequently, and such crashes with rollovers are even less frequent. A defect trend has not been identified at this time, and further investi

PE11037