I have a 2013 Volt with 108,000 miles. Zero problems. Took it in one time to the dealer for a software update. Still get 40 miles on battery only. Amazing car. GM should have never discontinued production.
Very much, you shows what to know on the life of a volt. Owner since 2012, and your list covers all. Just missed the like turbine winding sound. If you noted, that repair needs to be fixed under warranty ( it’s the broken electric bearing wheel that engages the motor. GM install a plastic bearing and they replaced for a stainless steel one. Under 100k its cover by voltec warranty.
I have had many issues with my 2013 Volt. When I made the decision to purchase the Volt, I compared the cost of gas to the cost of electricity and my driving habits and determined that the extra cost of the Volt would easily be offset by the savings in fuel over its lifetime. Unfortunately, it has not worked out this way. I have had several expensive repairs that negated the savings. The first issue I had was the electric heater. It failed. It was not part of the 8 year Voltec warranty and it was $2,000 (Canadian) to fix it. The second issue I had was the rear brakes. I had been getting brake service done every two years ( removing and lubricating the pins/calipers ) but the rear brake pins seized up thus causing uneven wear on the pads and rotors. I had to pay to replace the pads and rotors. This was several hundreds of dollars to fix. A year and a bit later, the same thing happened. It turns out that the seizing pins were not corrected and the effect again was uneven wear on the pads and rotors. I was out of the 1 year dealer warranty period for the repair so I decided to fix this myself. I couldn't get the pins out without torching the calipers enough to melt the rubber sleeves that exist on the pins. It took a lot of muscle to eventually get the pins out. The seizing was purely caused by the rubber swelling as well as some rust. I now questioned the dealer's brake service and I no longer use that dealer. I removed the rubber sleeves permanently and I now clean and lube my own brakes annually. Problem solved. FYI, the brakes are only really used for hard emergency stopping and normal stopping at the 5 to 8 mph point due to the regenerative braking. I had to replace the front stabilizers as they wore out. Another few hundred bucks. I then had another issue with no heat. It was the heater core coolant pump. Another $1,000 to fix that issue. I had to also replace a failed Oxygen Sensor, another couple of hundred. Next, the On Board Charging Module ( OBCM ) failed. It would be $3,000 Canadian to fix that. The car at the time was 11 years old with 55k (miles) on it and it was starting to rust on the 4 fenders (northern climate with salted roads) so I did not want to sink a lot of money to fix the failed module. I used the same math as I did in the beginning to figure out that $3,000 would pay for about 5 years of gas so I decided to run the car in Mountain Mode for the rest of its life. Mountain mode works great except I am only getting about 25mpg due to all city driving and short runs. Essentially, the cost of repairs and now running purely on gas has negated any benefit of driving a PHEV. The car was a great car overall, the main lithium battery is still well within specs and shows no issues and it still only has 60k miles on it at 12 years old. It was properly maintained including the 5 year coolant flush, annual oil changes, the bi-annual brake service and all of this plus the repairs done at the selling dealer. I am still driving it and it drives very well, however, gas cost is at an all time high and I am now running on gas only so the car let me down in the end. Will I buy another PHEV or and EV? I am undecided but I am shopping for a vehicle right now and EV's are off the table for me as I can't live with the limited range and PHEV's are very expensive and impossible to get. I am leaning now towards a standard hybrid or reverting to an ICE vehicle with decent gas mileage. My dealership experience and the failures of the parts on the Volt along with the failures I have had on my Buick have made me take pause with the idea of purchasing from GM. My family has had long term GM employees in the mix and I still qualify for GM family pricing but it may not be enough to keep me loyal at this point.
FYI - Shift to Park is covered under the hybrid warranty. Don't let a dealer tell you otherwise if you're covered by it still. Just Google for the TSB for your year.
some problems out of this list is really. I own 2014 volt and share my experience 1. brake calipers has terrible sounds 2. cv axle noise only while braking and turning 3 emergency stop button turns hard
Most people do is replace their infotainment screen like any other car unless you want to open it up to see whats wrong with. Have it checked out, maybe its something simple
By experience, I would had on gen 1 that the mirror arms rot super bad bc it’s aluminum and not sealed properly Same problem for engine support, it rots then breaks and brings with it some stuff😢 and for some reason, GM decided to put the one bolt that holds it in place in reverse, so you need to stretch the rack of the steering wheel just enough to slide the support bc you don’t have access to the bolt itself for that reason. After that, you have and should change its side while putting the new piece but man is it frustrating
I know I'm probably asking for trouble, but I have a 10 year old volt and have never replaced the 12 volt battery. I heard they last about 9 years typically, though they are somewhat expensive to replace.
I actually replaced my 12v after 8 years on a preventative measure and I still use the original battery in a small solar project to power some 12v lighting I have in the house. The original AGM battery is still fine at the 12 year mark so that was remarkable. The rest of the car, not so much.
Near the end of the video you mentioned that there is a recall "for this problem" but didn't clarify the "problem". Something involving a software update was all I could hear.
My daughter has a 2016 Volt, and it has been parked in her driveway for 6 months because of a bad EGR valve. The Chevy dealer says the parts are on back order, with no idea when they will ever be available. My daughter had to go ahead and get another car. The Volt may or may not ever get fixed. Chevy seems to have put the Volt on the back burner since it is out of production. VERY disappointing! This makes me want to never buy any Chevy in the future. I'll stick to Honda or Toyota. Or even Mazda.
So, how do you know if it is the battery or BECM module? My ice kicked on after 10 miles on my 2014 Cadillac ELR and has 39Ah according to the dealer, the Voltage app says 82.71% capacity capability of original 100% I guess. I know a software update that they gave people robbed them of range. Im confused.
Agree, my Volt died last year away from home. The weird thing was I could shift the car, with no power, then go into park and the car was still in a neutral state. Got no check engine lights as to a weak battery. I thought there was a major issue so I called Chevy, they stated yes it is a major issue bring in right away. Talking to the tow driver he stated maybe it just needs a jump, so we did and it stated. Going to change my battery ever 4 years from now on.
@@jimthompson7035 I never got a battery warning light either when things get weird. I change mine out at the first indicator of a problem, about every four years.
I got that first issue right now, makes it annoying every time I’m at a light the electric will STRAIGHT to gas I feel like my car is just freaking out
@@portagepete1I think he meant shifting to engine while there is still power in the battery. Mine shifts when I have 6 to 9 miles left on the battery.
Hi folks let me give yo a worst scinario. I have a 2013 volt with only 120 thousand miles. While driving it on the highway it completely shut off when it went from the 35 mile range battery to hybred mode. What does that mean ? Well you are driving at 70 miles per hour and all power shuts off. No steering no power brakes no engine or electric power. Its a rolling tombstone and you pray no one brakes in front of you and that you are close enough to a shoulder to let the car come to a stop. I paid $7300 for the car two months ago. Took it to three mechanics and finally Chevrolet dealer. Diagnosis : two cells bad on main Battery cost to fiz $26000 for battery plus close to additional $3000 to isntall. If I had a Prius or Honda Hybred the battery is less tha, $2000. But the good part of a Honda or Toyota is that cells can go out but the car keeps running. In this case my car is scrap. The only way to get it running agins is fork out $29000. If you are lucky to find a used one they sell for $7000 but no guarantees and if two cells die you are out of a car again. Honda and Toyota rebuilt batteries with a 24 months guarantee is under $2000. But if you cant buy the Honda or Toyota battery anytime soon you can still drive your car untill you have enough monies to get one. Thus you continue to have transportation and NO SHUTTING off on the freeway. Think about it.
Just a thought for you, buy a volt from an auction that sells volts, should be able to find one for under 5k. Try copart. I have bought, driven, and then sold 2 volts, still have my 17 and love it. Take the battery out of the car and replace with the auction one, dont think the batteries are made to last over 100k. I know that on my 17 I can put the car into gas mode at any time, not sure of your 13 but I thought you could. Also with the auction car it might be better repairing that one and using the one you have for parts, then selling any spare parts. usually body parts and 1-2 air bags are all you need. I prefer the second gen ones as the engine and battery pack are better, and can use regular gas. good luck to you
This reaction is fake. No volt shuts down on the highway due to a faulty battery. The ice engine kicks on and you resume your way. Even if your battery is broken, you can then drive on the ice as long as you want and use the car as a regular ice car. Also, battery cells can be easily replaced @ a few hundred dollars . The whole battery can be replaced for maximum of 4/5k. Usually the battery outlives the rest of the car as well. Usually. Sad that people try to scare others like this.
You're missing out. Volt's are good. I have driven many, many brands of cars. Was my profession once. Even brand new cars have worse problems than my second hand Volt.
