The latest episode with my 2017 Chevy Volt is a culmination of years of issues with the low clearance on the vehicle causing continual damage and unsafe driving conditions that require expensive repairs due to the design flaw (note - I had a 2014 Chevy Volt that had NONE of these problems). My son was driving the car a week ago and the Engine Control Module (GM part # 12700116) fell OUT of the car. This led to the car to stop driving instantly - if he had been anywhere other than a quiet residential street it could have been catastrophic. Upon having towed the vehicle to the dealership, I was informed that the wiring harness failed which led to the ECM falling onto the street. I drive this car strictly in city limits and on major highways, and despite this the bottom undercarriage is constantly damaged because it is simply to low to the ground. In addition to the repair bill of $3K+ (my 4th repair required due to this defect), the harness isn't even available and GM cannot provide an ETA for when it will be. I experienced a similar issue 6 months ago when a part was backordered for 3+ months and this is compounded by the fact that their dealerships no longer have loan car inventory. Note that there was no warning before this happened. I have tried escalating to GM but their response is essentially that I am SOL. Again - this is a design flaw of the vehicle that should have been addressed but never was. Note that this doesn't include the other continual issues (well documented) that continue to plague the car after other recall service (loss of propulsion, shifter issues that frequently make it impossible to actually turn the car off, etc.)
2017 Chevrolet Volt engine complaints
Page 5 of 7: complaints 101 to 130 of 189, newest first, as owners wrote them.
EGR failure can cause the car to become immediately inoperable w/ no propulsion due to fuse pop. EGR required to pass emissions regulations but none are available.
While driving to work, the vehicle shook a bit and entered into "reduced propulsion mode". The vehicle had a significant reduction in engine power on the road (the propulsion became very jerky), which became dangerous on the highway. There were no previous indicators of any type of issue. After brining the vehicle to the dealership, I was told it would be okay to drive until my appointment (which was scheduled for the subsequent week). Two days later, the vehicle would not start. When attempting to start the car, the "Shift to Park" message displayed. I had to get the vehicle towed to the dealership at that point. The dealership mentioned it is likely an issue with the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM). However, I'm still waiting for a resolution.
Around the tenth of November my car, a 2017 Premier Volt bought used, began to display an information message that the propulsion power is reduces. It displayed 0 mi EV range, even though I knew I had some left. When I started to drive the engine seemed louder than usual and the check engine light was on. I pulled into a parking lot, and checked under the hood just to make sure nothing was obviously smoking or sparking. I turned the car on and off, and drove around the parking lot a few times until it resumed normal functionality, however the check engine light remained. This was after dark, when I got off work, and I drive home on Highway 49. I did not want to drive it home on the highway in the dark until the issue seemed resolved. Since the manual claimed that if I see both reduced propulsion and check engine light I should immediately take the car to my dealer, I made an appointment with them for the sixteenth of November. For the next couple days I continued to have the same issues, propulsion reduced, incorrectly displaying 0 EV miles, and the check engine light coming on. Starting and stopping the car, or driving around the parking lot a couple times seemed to temporarily solve the issues. At the dealer, I was told there is no ETA on the part, and that it is back ordered or wait listed. The issue is with the BCEM or battery energy control module. They provided me with a rental car for the time being. A few weeks have passed, so I called them today, the 11th of December, but there is still no eta. They are still waiting for the BCEM, which is back ordered.
On 2 separate time periods, "propulsion power reduced" message appears on dash: - 1st incident in November 2022, car would not move after powering off the vehicle. After sitting idle for a week, decided to retry, and car seemed to work normally. Took it in to Chevy service, they replaced the BECM. Car worked fine after this - 2nd incident in November 2023, again 'propulsion power reduced' message appeared. This time, however, car would suddenly cut off gas engine (even at highway speed), switching to 100% battery mode, and displaying 'Engine not available' on dashboard. Fuel level indicator would immediately display 'LOW' (even though gas tank was full). Reduced acceleration on battery mode. Car is now in same service center awaiting fix for the past month. Was quite an unsafe situation, especially at highway speeds, and especially given the fact that the battery also may have been at a low state of charge, risking complete vehicle breakdown. Coupled with both of these incidents, the cruise control intermittently shuts off, displaying 'Cruise control unavailable'. Car is lightly utilized, with just over 30k miles on the odometer to date. Additionally, the car is kept in a mild climate (coastal southern california) and parked in a covered spot shielded from sun and temperature extremes.
I was driving on the freeway and the engine turned off. I was able to continue driving as the hybrid system still had some charge to continue powering the car. I had to get the EGR valve replaced. No warning lights prior to this occuring but had check engine light after. Car would not shift into drive nor would it accept a charge for the main drive battery. Had to be towed to a shop and resulted in getting the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) replaced.
1. 2 BECM failures: The original BECM failed and the replacement BECM failed as well. 2. Sudden loss of electric propulsion on the freeway while my wife (pregnant at the time), my son (1 year and a half) and I were driving. The car was still driving but was unstable when steering and with weak braking. The dealership identified the issue as BECM failure and the part was changed. 3. A couple of months later the car would not start at all leaving me stranded at work. The car was towed to the repair shop. The dealership diagnosed BECM failure again. 4. There was no warning indication or message prior to these issues. 5. The vehicle was only inspected by the dealership to the best of my knowledge.
My Volt will suddenly lose propulsion. The air conditioner will stop working and the car will not properly accelerate. There has also been multiple occasion where the car will not power on. Additionally, there has been multiple occasions where the car won’t charge. The failed component is most likely the battery engine control module. My safety and that of others is at risk because of the sudden loss of power and inability to maintain highway speeds. The issue was confirmed at the dealer. The check engine light goes on even after erasing codes, and there are 13 permanent codes related to this issue with no direct resolution. This is a recurring problem.
Sometimes when the vehicle powers on, it will not engage to drive in gas or electric mode when fully charged or with a full gas tank. Also sometimes while driving, it will say "gas mode not available propulsion limited". It frequently says "charging not available" as well. This is an on going, intermittent, problem.
Car intermittantly lost propultion while driving. this started happening more and more frequently. One time driving on the freeway propulsion cut out and I barely made it to the side of the road. Put the car in park and it would start again. Drive for a few hundred feet then it would cut out again. Finally took it into the dealer when I was driving down the highway and propulsion cut out and I was stuck in the middle of traffic. As I was driving the instrument cluster power remained on but the engine just cut out. I was using the electric motor at the time but this is happened on the ice as well. As I rolled to a stop in the middle of traffic I put it in park so that I could restart the car as I had been able to previously but it would not start. It would not let me shift the car out of park into neutral so I could push it to the side of the road. After several attempts of disconnecting the battery and the high voltage battery I was able to get the car out of park into neutral. Even when I shifted the car into drive the propulsion system would not work, a officer stopped traffic to allow me to push the car to the side of the road. After getting to the dealer they were able to determine that a ground strap to the engine chassis was at fault. It interrupted the communication on the can bus which wouldn't allow the ECU to communicate with the drivetrain Which just shut down the propulsion system. This was extremely scary I have attached a snapshot of fault codes and snapshots of a video I took showing that the screen would just show that the car was initializing the entire time
Any time the car switches from battery to gasoline the 12v battery comes on, I get the message to shift into park, and the car shuts off. This happens multiple times a day, making it difficult to drive long distance. It also makes it difficult to work more than a couple of hours at a time as an Uber driver. It has happened on the highway, very dangerous.
Was driving on the highway at approximately 70mph for a couple of hours, when I suddenly received a check engine light and "Reduced Propulsion Power" message. Engine temperatures were much higher than normal (220F-240F). Was able to get the car to a Chevrolet dealership eventually where they diagnosed the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve as faulty. There are no parts available for months. Any time that I drive on gas power at highway speeds, engine temperatures are high and cruise control has disengaged. This is a safety issue as I am not always able to maintain speed during extended highway driving when using the gas engine.
BECM issues causing vehicle to lose power, not go in to park, will not remote start, battery failure, and not turning on or not turning off when prompted.
During a drive the car began warning of loss of propulsion. The vehicle is at a dealer waiting for repair since Oct 16, 2023. There is no ETA on back ordered EGR valve that the technician anticipates a fix.
Egr valve failed causing walk home fuse to blow causing vehicle to shut down while driving. Check engine light did come on. The problem was reproducible as car would not start, egr valve needed replacement. I would like to add that the video on youtube on cleaning the egr valve for this car has 27000 views, with is more than 1/3 of the number of Chevy Volts of this generation that have been sold. This is a serious and consistent issue.
Chevy Volt's Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system valve and cooler The EGR system on these cars are faulty. I have had to take this car in multiple times related to the EGR. In Septemer 2023 car suddenly stopped on middle of highway putting my life in danger. At dealership Pohanka Chevy in Northern Virginia, I was told it was the EGR valve, I had the EGR cooler replaced by the same dealership in 2023 so I took the car to Koons Chevy in Northern Virginia for a second opinion. The dealership indicated that this is very common problem with Chevy Volts and they said the parts are not available for it. Apparently the last customer waited 3 months. Currently the car will not run on the gas engine but only on the electric which is about 40 to 50 miles which makes it non useable for me. In addition, the car will not part emissions test rendering it against the law for me to use even if the engine was running. I reported this to Chevy corporate (case number XXX) and now it has been multiple months and nothing has happened except Chevy sending me a email every ten days indicating they do not have a part. They will not also give me a rental (I have to pay out of pocket and they will reimburse me which is something I cannot afford). Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, I took it to two chevy dealerships in Northern Virginia and one in Georgetown Delaware. They cannot correct the issue since there are no EGR valves. The car will not pass emissions test. The Chevy dealer I am using is Koons Chevy at Tysons Corner, Phone 703‑448‑7221 (POC was Johnathon) Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Check engine light I purchased this car brand new of the lot ($37K) and now saddled with something that is of no use INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI
Intermittent starting Had car towed to auto shop Auto shop stated that the B.E.C.M Board is going out Battery Energy Control Module G.M Has a class action lawsuit over this matter
As reported by the dealer the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) has failed. Car initially did not start but then did start with a check engine light and a "Propulsion Power is Reduced" warning. Vehicle has approximately 56,500 miles. Car could have abruptly stopped or slowed considerably while driving. Chevrolet dealer is blaming the current UAW strike for complete lack of replacement parts. They also state there is no way to forecast a delivery date of the part. I am out a vehicle for an unknown amount of time with no promise that GM will reimburse me for out of pocket expenses for a rental vehicle.
Random no starts, engine turns on at random, won’t charge, car jerks, hesitation while driving, hard to climb mountain roads, Battery Energy Control Module Lost Communication With Hybrid/EV Battery Interface Control Module 1-12
When the EV charge runs out and car turns on gas engine. Gas engine will run for a few minutes and then turn off with an error message on dashboard. Car will only drive safely for as long as you have EV power, which is a problem since the gas engine is used when the EV power runs out. Mine failed on an interstate, but I made it to a safe place to stop only because I had a tiny bit of EV charge left due to my practice of using hold mode to save some battery power on long interstate drives. Service reported back that it is a faulty EGR valve and I am waiting to find out if they can even get the part in stock. GM is not adequately stocking these EGR valves. The failure rate from known manufacturing/design defects is higher than the rate that they restock them. These cars are not street legal when the EGR valve fails due to their inability to pass emissions testing since the EGR failure causes the service engine soon light to be on. An owner cannot renew the registration to legally drive the vehicle once the EGR valve fails, the whole car is undriveable without the part being available.
When I first purchased the car (used around 30,000 miles), I began to have electrical and propulsion issues where the engine would turn off. After Chevy refused to warranty or lemon the car, eventually the electrical/hybrid issue repeated and caused cooling issues with the car and then water pump went bad. while chevy still refused to fix the hybrid and battery issues, that continued issue and then the water pump failing from it then caused overheating that then broke the head gasket
After the battery runs out, the engine loses propulsion and fails to run on gas. The car completely stalls in the middle of traffic. The speed drops from 70+ mph to 0. Extremely dangerous to myself and others. The issue suddenly appeared at the end of December 2022 during a long drive. The engine check light remains on and a warning re: reduced propulsion power is displayed every time the car is turned on. Dealer is unable to fix the issue because they already have multiple cars with the same issue waiting for weeks to be repaired. Recently filed class action law suit suggests that this problem is caused by defective BCEM unit.
I have owned my 2017 Volt since November of 2016. I drive about 200 miles a week and currently my mileage is at 109,000 (9,000 miles PAST the warranty period). My car did not start one morning and had to have it towed to my local GM dealership. They diagnosed it with a bad BECM and a repair bill of $1,400. They have no estimated time on when the part will be shipped. It is unacceptable to not have an ETA for a critical part or the vehicle. I have read on many forums that the BECM is a known failure for the 2017 Volt.
Vehicle started to lose power. Showed error messages "reduced power" after a series of "shift to park" messages when first starting. Had no propulsion power until several attempts to start vehicle. Once started engine would run but all electric propulsion was inoperable. Vehicle has become totally unreliable at approx 22,000 miles, sometimes starting and sometimes not. Power loss occurs while driving which is definitely a safety hazard if on the Interstate and minimum speed can't be maintained. Have taken vehicle to dealer where it was diagnosed as a defective "BECM" (I believe a master control module attached to the main propulsion battery). The dealer has ordered a replacement module but it's been four months with no sign of a replacement. Essentially I now have an unreliable and potentially unsafe vehicle with no sign of the manufacturer trying to facilitate repairs.
Emergency warning messages appeared on 24 Aug 2022 and a day later vehicle was taken to Chevrolet dealer who first replaced a "section of the battery" and eventually verified a problem with the BECM (Battery Energy Control Module). Now (end Nov 2022) 3 months later no repair part has become available. Because we immediately took the vehicle to a dealer, we had no safety issues.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that an unknown module needed to be replaced. The parts were on back order and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.
Dear Madam or Sir, regarding the recall of Chevrolet Volt 2017. The vehicle made in USA, VIN No [XXX] has been bought an officially from IAAI auction (after an accident, but repairable) and delivered to Lithuania (Europe), repaired successful. The information regarding the recall has been found in an official GMC site (the details please see in att.) Starting from March 2022 I have been tried to contact to GMC US (Chevrolet authorized dealership is not exist in Lithuania, just for Cadillac), but any help did not received yet. At this moment the vehicle is not safety to drive, because already several times it's has been stopped in a road - the defected Energy control module, which has been mentioned in recall. So, be so kind and help to pass this problem. Waiting the comments Thanks for the kind replay. Sincerely Doctor[XXX] P.S. the conversation please make by email INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Driving and check engine appeared. Vehicle hybrid power train acted erratically, switching into and out of limp mode. Potential loss of control without any previous warning signs. Diagnosed with a failure of Battery Energy Control Module 24296900. Multiple complaints of the same issue from other owners. 5 other same model cars at dealership waiting for the same part. Estimated arrival is 8-12 weeks. This has been a well documented problem since 2018, and Chevrolet has released a TSB acknowledging the issue, and potentially loss of control and stranding.
Vehicle Make and Model 2017 Chevrolet Volt LT •Miles Currently 28,000 •(Car is recalled) Energy Hybrid • The vehicle will not turn off, Motor Light Constantly on • I never received a recall letter, email not mail notification •The whole car smells like smoke and gasoline when AAA gives me jumps • I’ve had two not at fault accidents since I’ve had the vehicle • CarMax sold me the vehicle in February of 2021 • I spoke with GM yesterday who stated and confirmed that my vehicle is defective and recalled • The recall states that any 2017 & other Models can’t be sold due to a multitude of reasons • The recall was put in place before it was sold to me • At this point, I want another vehicle (Brand New, That is recalled and damaged) I’m having panic attacks when trying and attempting to drive this car • I was badly injured and I still am
Traveling from Mexico ,we just got into yuma Arizona heading towards the 8 freeway when my volt displayed reduced propulsion and the engine light came on and the car lost power while driving on the road we had to let the car drift into a parking lot. We let the cat sit for a several minutes and the engine started up but was running hard. After that it ran a little so we decided to rent a uhaul and car hauler to get the car home. Before this happened We were about to head back to California and we were stranded there until we got an Uber to the uhaul place and rented a truck and car hauler, the car would stay on long enough for us to drive it up on the ramp so we had to push the car to get it up there. We finally did and 24 hours later we made it home hauling the cars a 3 hour ride home was turned into a nightmare. Apparently this is serious problem if the car would have stopped a while we were driving through Joshua Tree we would have been stranded on the side of the narrow road in the dark, Or on a major free way, This problem is a safety hazard to all Volt owners and it has been known and reported to happen countless of times so why is there no recall of these vehicles for this problem, people's lives are in danger, this could have turned out way worst, thank God He saved us from what could have happened. My dealer says that they are not sure what caused it and that we may have to pay for repairs. This is unacceptable because there is an obvious problem with this vehicle
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