Chevrolet Volt won't start problems

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Fuel system · GA

BECM failed reducing propulsion. Known issue with several volts. Yes. Propulsion reduced. No start. Stuck in middle of street. Yes. Confirmed by dealership service department that becm is bad. Check engine, propulsion reduced, shift to park. Started appearing intermittently around 84000 miles.

Filed Oct 9, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · NC

My 2017 Chevrolet Volt, with 97,758 miles, experienced a failure that rendered the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle would not start or operate normally. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Chevrolet dealership for diagnosis. After several days, the dealership confirmed that the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) had failed. The dealership quoted approximately $2,500 for replacement, including parts and labor. This failure presents a serious potential safety concern because BECM malfunctions can result in loss of propulsion, reduced power, or an inability to restart the vehicle, potentially leaving drivers stranded in unsafe locations. General Motors has previously recognized BECM failures in certain Chevrolet Volt vehicles and established a special coverage adjustment for affected vehicles. However, despite my vehicle experiencing the same diagnosed component failure, GM informed me that my VIN was excluded from the coverage program. I contacted General Motors directly and opened a case. GM confirmed that my repair would be considered an out-of-pocket expense and advised me to report the failure to the federal safety agency. I believe this failure warrants investigation because vehicles experiencing the same defect should be evaluated regardless of whether their VINs are currently included in GM’s existing special coverage program. The failed BECM has been diagnosed by an authorized Chevrolet dealership. The vehicle’s current repair status and availability for further inspection can be confirmed with the servicing dealership.

Filed Jul 24, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · FL

The Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) failed. Before repair, the check-engine light appeared intermittently, the vehicle sometimes had difficulty starting, and the indicated electric range could suddenly drop from about 30 miles to zero despite a charged high-voltage battery. When this occurred, the gasoline engine started unexpectedly. The air conditioning also intermittently blew warm air until the vehicle was restarted. These symptoms created a safety concern because propulsion mode and indicated range could change without warning, and the vehicle could fail to start in traffic or another unsafe location. An authorized Chevrolet dealer confirmed the problem. The dealer retrieved DTCs U2624 and U2629, performed circuit testing, and diagnosed an internal short in the BECM causing loss of communication with high-voltage battery modules. The dealer stated this failure caused the warning light, starting issue, sudden loss of indicated battery range, and air-conditioning symptoms. The BECM was replaced and programmed after removal of the high-voltage battery assembly. The warning light first appeared about one month before repair, with the other symptoms becoming more apparent in early July 2026. The vehicle had approximately 80,918 miles when inspected. The failed component was retained by the dealership as a core and is not available to me for inspection. To my knowledge, the vehicle was not separately inspected by police, insurance, or GM engineering personnel. My vehicle was excluded from GM Special Coverage N232432680 even though it is a 2018 Chevrolet Volt with the same confirmed BECM failure addressed by that program and the federal safety agency investigation PE23022. I paid $3,970.56 for the repair. I am filing this complaint because this defect can cause no-start, loss of indicated battery range, warning lights, unexpected propulsion changes, and potentially reduced propulsion, while some affected 2016–2018 vehicles appear excluded from the special coverage.

Filed Jul 21, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · WA

In March 2026, our 2017 Chevrolet Volt (89,300 miles) would not charge nor start, and had to be towed to an authorized Chevrolet dealership in Portland, Oregon. The dealership diagnosed an internal fault in the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) producing U26XX diagnostic trouble codes, per GM bulletin #18-NA-261, and replaced the BECM under GM Special Coverage N232432680 — GM's field remedy for a known BECM defect affecting 2016–2019 Volts that causes reduced power, no-start, or no-charge conditions (the subject of the federal safety agency investigation PE23022).The remedy failed immediately. On the day the vehicle was returned to us (March 26, 2026), the check engine light illuminated while driving home on public roads, and the vehicle failed to charge that same night — the identical condition it had before. It was towed back to the dealership. The dealership's second work order confirms in writing that the vehicle "will not start after previous repairs and is having the same issues," and attributes the failure to the high-voltage battery contactor. The dealership informed us the part is no longer produced and cannot be obtained, advising that the vehicle be scrapped. Safety concerns: (1) after the repair, the dealership returned the vehicle to us as fixed, and we drove it approximately 26 miles home on public highways in traffic, unaware the defect was still present — the check engine light illuminated during that drive. This defect is the subject of the federal safety agency investigation PE23022 into sudden loss of propulsion, we unknowingly operated a defective vehicle in conditions where that failure could have occurred at highway speed; (2) GM's official field remedy for this known defect (Special Coverage N232432680) failed within hours of being performed; and (3) the parts required to complete the remedy are reportedly discontinued, leaving a known safety defect permanently unrepairable. Supporting documents uploaded: dealer repair orders, and the GM warranty history of the N232432680 repair

Filed Jun 30, 2026 · Fuel system · TX

The Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) on my 2016 Chevrolet Volt has failed. The vehicle and the component are currently located at my home address and are available for inspection upon request. As of writing this now. This failure caused the vehicle to enter a "reduced power mode" and subsequently resulted in a no-start and no-charge condition. The sudden loss of propulsion power presents a severe safety and crash risk, as the vehicle can lose motive power and stall unexpectedly while in transit. Prior to the complete failure, the vehicle displayed a Check Engine Light and a "Reduced Propulsion Power" message on the dashboard. The local Chevrolet dealership has inspected the vehicle, pulled the associated diagnostic trouble codes, and officially confirmed that the BECM has failed. General Motors has already acknowledged this specific safety defect through Special Coverage Bulletin N232432680, which extends BECM warranty coverage to 15 years or 150,000 miles to prevent sudden loss of propulsion. However, GM corporate and the dealership are refusing to honor this bulletin. They are denying coverage due to an administrative database flaw because my vehicle's under-hood VECI label designates it as an original California (CARB/PZEV) vehicle, GM's system excluded my VIN from the Special Coverage bulletin automation. Furthermore, because the vehicle is currently registered in a non-CARB state (Texas), the original CARB warranty is considered void. GM is using this internal database loophole to deny repairing a documented safety defect.

Filed Mar 2, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · WA

Three separate high-voltage battery section failures within one year, each causing complete loss of propulsion. Two occurred at freeway speeds on [XXX]. FAILURE 1 ([XXX]): Vehicle lost propulsion. Dealer diagnosed DTC P0AFA (low voltage), failed cell in Battery Section 3. Section 3 replaced under GM Special Coverage N232432680 (BECM, 15yr/150k). Vehicle out of service approximately six months awaiting GM authorization and parts. FAILURE 2 ([XXX]): Vehicle lost propulsion on [XXX] at night at freeway speeds. Required towing. Dealer diagnosed DTC P0AFA, Cell 85 at 1.85V in Battery Section 1 (different section). Section 1 replaced under same Special Coverage. Vehicle returned Jan 28, 2026. FAILURE 3 ([XXX], ~300 miles after Failure 2 repair): Vehicle again lost propulsion on the freeway with check engine light, then progressed to no-start condition. Towed to dealer. Diagnosed Feb 20, 2026: DTC P0AFA, Cell 57 at 1.5V in Battery Section 2 (GM minimum spec 2.5V). Third distinct section failure. Vehicle remains at dealer awaiting GM repair authorization as of filing date. SAFETY CONCERN: Loss of propulsion at freeway speeds is an immediate safety hazard. During the Nov 2025 event, the vehicle lost power on [XXX] at night in active traffic. The progressive failure pattern (three different sections failing sequentially in the same pack, identical DTC) suggests a systemic defect rather than isolated component failures. Prior section replacements have not resolved the underlying problem. Vehicle has been usable approximately 20 total days in the past 12 months. All repairs performed or pending under GM Special Coverage N232432680. GM Case [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 14, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · IL

Battery Energy Control Module Malfunction. It is a known issue with this system failing on the chevy volt. There is a service bulletin on this problem. 18-NA-261 is the service bulletin. The car will not start and when it does start it has loss of power while driving. Chevy is only fixing certain VIN numbers even thou it pulls up the same codes in their bulletin. Chevy only gave extended warranties to certain VIN numbers also. Extra warranty bulletin N232432680. This is a major component for the high voltage battery which drives the vehicle. The dealership wants $5000.00 to repair this.

Filed Jan 14, 2026 · Electrical, Transmission · MN

While I driving in the past week, a warning that "propulsion power reduced" appeared on my dashboard several times. The last time that I had driven the car, the heater would not turn off, and the smell of burnt rubber filled the car and then dissipated soon after. The car would only run in it's gas engine mode, and not switch over to electric mode, as it usually would. The next morning, the car would not start. The dash board would light up as if the car started, but when I shifted into drive, a warning appeared on the dash, "Shift to park", as it would when the car is not running. I could not start the vehicle. After plugging the vehicle in, a warning appeared on the console stating that "Charging is not available". The car was towed to the dealership. Their diagnosis showed that the Battery Energy Control Module had failed and must be replaced. They later confirmed that an electric cable needed to be replaced that was "corroded", but they could not confirm the cause of the corrosion because the cable was disposed of already. After researching online, I found that GM issued a Special Coverage bulletin: N232432680, citing a common malfunction of the Battery Energy Control module in 2016 to 2018 Chevy Volts that "causes a reduced power mode, a no start condition, or a no charge condition." The Special Coverage was to extend the warranty to 15 years or 150,000 miles. After inquiring the dealer about the Special Coverage, they claimed that our car is not covered under the warranty. After calling customer service, they claimed the coverage comes from the federal safety agency, and GM only issues orders by VIN, and therefore cannot cover the issue. After calling the federal safety agency, I was told the special coverage is not a national recall, and is internal to GM. The GM dealership still claims that the control module on our car is not covered under the warranty, and have denied the request for a manager inspection or investigation.

Filed Dec 30, 2025 · Electrical, Fuel system · OH

On 10/14, I was driving the car to my job, when the car suddenly switched from its electric battery power to its internal combustion engine. The vehicle's information screen only showed that the battery was unavailable. I was able to operate the car on only the internal combustion engine to arrive at work. However, when I went to leave several hours later, the car would not start. The car was towed to a dealership and apparently repaired after about a week. However, the repair, a software reset, did not fixt the underlying issues, and on 10/27, after having the car for five days, the car again failed on my way to work, displaying a "Shift to Park" message and not starting. I towed the car to the same dealership, and they had it until 11/04. I recovered my car and drove it again to work that same day, but the car failed again due to the dealership not correctly diagnosing the issue, which appears to be the BECM, a failure related to bulletin N232432680. Due to this issue, I was left stranded on a busy highway for several hours on multiple occasions, and have not have a working vehicle since 10/14, meaning I have had to call off of work on multiple days, losing non-trivial amounts of income and undue economic hardship, due to this issue. Neither the dealership nor General Motors have offered any kind of help or support, and have generally attempted to avoid responding to my repeated phonecalls. Prior to this issue, there were no warnings or symptoms that I observed.

Filed Nov 26, 2025 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt D2. The contact stated that while attempting to turn the vehicle on the vehicle did not start. The contact stated that vehicle restarted after an hour. The contact stated the during the second occasion the vehicle did not restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the Battery energy control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.