general problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt

Component/system failed: the engine of my 2016 Chevrolet Volt experienced a sudden internal crack, leading to complete engine failure. The engine is available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: the engine failure rendered the vehicle completely inoperable, posing potential risk if it had occurred while driving. Sudden loss of engine power could have caused a crash or left me stranded in traffic, endangering myself and others. Problem reproduction / confirmation: the failure was confirmed by a gm dealership, which performed a full inspection and documented the engine crack. The dealership verified that the crack was sudden and not caused by negligence or improper maintenance. Inspections by others: the vehicle has been inspected by the dealership, and all reports are available. I have also submitted the issue to gm corporate for warranty review. No police or insurance representatives have reviewed this, as this was a mechanical failure with no collision. Warning lamps or symptoms: no warning lights, messages, or unusual symptoms appeared prior to the failure. The engine appeared to operate normally until the sudden failure. Upon failure, low oil and low propulsion error message appeared on dash. Current no dash lights are on in the vehicle. Assessment of cause: based on dealership inspection and documentation, the failure appears sudden and possibly related to a defect in emissions-related engine components. No external damage or user error contributed to the failure.

While driving the car displayed “reduced propulsion power” on the dash and then I lost all drive power and could not switch the plug in hybrid from electric to gas engine mode. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealer who stated that the battery electronics control module and perhaps the battery needed to be replaced. The check engine light came on slightly before the incident.

Becm failure leaving car stranded in traffic with no ability to move under its own power.

On [xxx] the check engine light turned on in my 2016 chevy Volt (VIN: [xxx] miles 145,xxx). I was 2 hours from home in the freezing cold snow but thankfully the vehicle allowed me to drive home without any issues (no reduced propulsion power). When I returned to the vehicle to have a diagnostic check the error light disappeared and I was unable to check for error codes. Still no issues driving under ev/gasoline. Later that day, the car stopped going completely, no shifting out of park either. Ev range was reporting 0 miles despite having full charge. I plugged in the charger but it would not work (first time this happened), " not able to charge" message displayed. After cycling power the ev range was full range and I was able to shift into drive again. These issues were intermittent over 3 weeks, frequently standing me temporarily. After cycling power, opening and closing the door, cycling power again, the car would function normally and I could drive under battery or gasoline power. I managed to capture these error codes while the mil light was u2603, u2604, u2605, u2606, u2617, u2618, u2619, u2620, u2621, u2622, u2623, u2624 [xxx] my vehicle no longer drives or shifts out of park, "not able to charge" message displayed, cel light on. A class action lawsuit revealed a technical service bulletin 18-na-261 released in 2018 (see attached) accusing gm of continuing support of the known faulty module. The result of the case was special coverage bulletin n232432680 which acknowledges and addresses the above mentioned issues by replacing a faulty becm common to all chevy Volt models years 2016-2018. My VIN is excluded from coverage due to being a carb compliant vehicle despite exhibiting the same behaviors, error codes, and sharing the same faulty becm. Of the 60,000 Volts sold in 2016-2018, only 19,000 (~33%) qualify under the special coverage terms. 100% of the vehicles that qualify for coverage are non-carb compliant. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552.

Becm failure car suddenly stopped driving and or starting had to have it towed home.

Shift to park message & audible alarm. Display while in motion pulling into home driveway. Vehicle stalled midway while in motion. Halfway in the street & half driveway. Displaying propulsion power reduced & engine not available service soon. After 30 minutes of starting & restarting was able to move out of the street. However vehicle will not move. Transmission will shift, however will not move. Shift to park keeps popping up.

The vehicle loses power when trying to accelerate when driving in electric mode, and the gas engine kicks on after a second at which point acceleration returns. It occurs when the battery power is high or low. Sometimes a warning pops up on the dash saying speed is limited to a specific mph.

The car has experienced a ‘becm’ failure, which is very common on the chevy Volt. When it fails the car becomes undrivable and will slow down into reduced propulsion mode. It will not start and required us to have it towed to the dealer. The 2016-2019 chevy Volt becm issue has been investigated by the NHTSA and gm. It is a common enough issue that gm has voluntarily issued ‘special coverage n232432680’. This covers the becm failure on 2016-2019 Volts for free for up to 150k miles 10 years. We have a 2016 Volt with 144k miles so we assumed it would be covered. The dealer said it wasn’t covered based on my VIN but they didn’t know why our VIN was left out of the coverage. Obviously if they thought our car didn’t have a suspect becm, they were wrong because it failed during the special coverage time. The repair is $2600 and gm will not assist us with this repair. I have attached a copy of gm special coverage and the bill. This seems to be a clerical error that our VIN and maybe others were missed despite the fact our car falls right in the special coverage criteria. I believe this should be a full recall or 2016-2019 Volts, especially if the becm has failed.

Faulty micro-switch from factory, causes power surge. Flawed microswitch in transaxle shift cable. Incomplete connection of microswitch resulting higher Voltage to pcm. (power control module) this irregularity, shows a dtc code reducing power propulsion during movement. The car will loose power & ability to shift. During driving movement. Quite a safety concern. A "shift to park" error displays on driver display screen. An obd2 scanner will clear code & after a few attempts remain operational. However intermittent & unpredictable when to expect the loss of traction power.

Started vehicle with > 50mi on the ev-range. Pulled out onto road, stopped at red light. Now showed 0mi and refused to move when pressing the gas (did not fail over to gas on series phev) garbage truck coming up behind me had to swerve to avoid rear-ending me as I was frantically trying to start the car. Kept saying 'shift to park' (condition required to start the vehicle) took several minutes and 20+ tries before I got it to start (gas engine) and was able to proceed. Car keeps randomly dropping to 0mi ev range. Has refused ot start on occasion. All symptoms align with the n232432680 bulletin but gm saying my car isn't covered???.

The car states the battery will not charge and cannot move the car. I connected it to a code reader with the following codes showing: p1e00 u2618 u2606 u2605 u2617 u2604.

2016 chevy Volt started to not shut off with the message that car needed to shift to park. Car is just over 100,000 miles (104,000) spent a few weeks jiggling shifter to get car turned off then made an appointment at platinum chevy of santa rosa. While waiting we researched the issue to find that the shift to park is a known issue and the Volt has in fact been named in a class action suit. Am currently at crossroad as I cannot get gm to stand behind their product. It’s taken four calls and an escalation to management to find out that they may offer a percentage to fix the problem but because we’re out of warranty it is a customer problem. So, to cap it off, gm has sold us a vehicle with a known safety issue with no recall and will not fix their problem.

I got the “propulsion power is reduced” warning at ~83. 5k miles on the odometer, while visiting friends 4 hours from home. Pulled over and called 3 local dealerships and all servicing departments are closed on Sunday so knew there was nothing I could do except try to limp back to my friends house safely and reevaluate. On the 20 minute drive back, the engine cut out on the freeway and the car immediately started slowing down. I coasted to the next freeway exit safely with my hazards on. The scary part was that I had no power after the ”engine unavailable” warning popped up since the battery was completely drained already. I was able to get it towed to the closest chevy dealership and leave the keys for them. I am waiting to hear the official diagnosis from the dealership once they take a look. The cause is still unknown but this sounds like a similar series of events for becm failure.

My car will lose all power as I'm driving, switch between gas/ elec and almost stall, it will accelerate when I take my foot off the gas , it will lose power on a turn. . It's random. Form what I understand it's the becm and it happened just after 100k miles. I have 105k.

Driving 72mph down i5 interstate the display notified me with a check engine light with two errors, enigne propulsion reduced and engine overheating. I pulled over to the side of the road and called a tow. This was a very traumatic event. I had my partner and my 2 year old daughter in the car. I just purchased this used vehicle from a Toyota dealer the same day. It has 63k miles on it and still under powertrain warranty. I literally drove the car 45 miles. Total. I have spent more time towing and fixing this car than actually driving it. This is a total lemon. I need a refund from gm and all the pain and suffering that this caused my family.

I have a engine code p0401.

I had becm failure and the car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. They need to make this a safety recall.

I had just left my house about to enter the on-ramp to interstate 95 south when my 2016 Volt abruptly and without warning stopped. I was unable to coast or pull the car to the side of the road. I was in the middle of the lane in a dangerous place to stop a car and a dangerous place to get out of the car due to the steady traffic entering the interstate. My car would not restart and I had it towed to the portsmouth nh chevy dealer. As it was the beginning of the gm strike I had to wait several days for the replacement battery control sensor then I had to wait for another 4 weeks or so for a replacement transmission to be installed. The day after I got my car back, about 2 weeks ago, the transmission fluid was leaking onto the garage floor. The chevy dealer has ordered new transmission hoses but only one has come in and I was told not to drive my car until these were replaced. The sensor pad and transmission were covered under warranty, I was told the hoses to the transmission and labor to install them are not part of the transmission and not covered. The incident has been extremely inconvenient but the way my car just abruptly stopped and wouldn’t restart was very unnerving and could have been very dangerous. I do not have paperwork at the moment but can provide a dealer invoice of the covered work so far. Please contact me with any questions.

On August 15, 2023, this Volt was towed to the dealer because the Volt would not start, would not charge, and the engine light was on. The dealer claimed that the problem was the Chevrolet Volt battery energy control module (becm), gm part # 24296900, which was covered under the gm hybrid Voltec warranty (8 years, 100,000 miles). On January 26, 2024, this Volt (VIN 1g1ra6s58gu134444) was towed to the dealer again because the Volt would not start, would not charge, and the engine light was on. The dealer claimed that the hybrid battery connectors were corroded, the disconnect relay should be replaced, and the becm should be replaced again at a total cost of $5,005. 58. On March 6, 2024, gm issued special coverage warranty n232432680 (15 year, 150,000 miles) to cover becm replacements for a malfunction involving the becm. Plaintiff checked the VIN at the gm recall and warranty center website. The Volt at issue is covered under special coverage warranty n232432680, according to the gm website. Plaintiff asked the dealer and gm again after March 6 about warranty coverage for the becm at issue. Gm responded that the bumper-to-bumper warranty expired and that they would provide no assistance. On March 15, 2024, plaintiff filed a complaint with the local better business bureau (bbb) regarding the becm at issue. Gm responded in writing that the bumper-to-bumper warranty expired and that they would provide no assistance. Plaintiff sought arbitration, but both the local bbb and the bbb auto line found that plaintiff was not eligible to arbitrate with gm due to gm’s program summary guidelines with the bbb. Gm breached multiple warranties and failed to provide sufficient repairs, and this Volt has been out of service for more than 80 days. Based on gm’s warranty breaches, insufficient repairs and inconsistent statements, this Volt poses serious safety concerns.

Our 2016 Volt was cruising at 65 mph on a major interstate highway (hold mode) when out of nowhere the check engine light came on followed by a warning message "propulsion power reduced. " we managed to pull off the highway, but a few minutes later navigating on local roads, we received another message that the engine had overheated and was shutting off. Fortunately, there was a chevy dealer only several miles away, and we made it there slowly under ev mode. They later traced the problem to a failed exhaust gas recirculation (erg) valve. It was replaced under warranty. The whole experience was terrifying. We also own a 2017 Volt, and now we are afraid that it could also experience the same problem without warning.

Component: dealer said its the becm. Lots of them failing, check any chevy Volt forum. What happened: driving on road, battery drive turns off and it switches to gas engine, "reduced propulsion" message pops up, then gas engine quits and 'shift to park' message pops up. No electric motor, no gas engine, coasting, then stuck in road, traffic piling up behind me. After half-hour or so of blocking traffic and me trying to restart the car, electric eventually 'reset' and it worked fine again, so I drove it the several miles home, and the charging system connected fine. Next morning, charging system said it was broken, and car would not start. Towed to dealer. Safety risk: both battery drive and gas engine turned fully off while traveling on road - no power, and steering/brakes hard to use. Luckily was in slow lane on local road near corner with traffic light, so others were 'prepared' to slow down, avoided my stopped car, and were able to get around. Prior symptoms: within the prior week, battery drive switched to gas engine with 'reduced propulsion' popup, but then it switched back to battery drive after stopping and restarting. Several times noticed the 'battery charge' indicator would change color and the estimated mileage remaining would bounce between 0 and 47.

Received a reduce power warning with a check engine light on. Onstar e-mail notification saying there is an issue with lithium-ion battery and to service the vehicle within 7 days. When this happened I was driving on the street not far from my house and sure enough I was not able to keep up with the speed of the traffic so I turned around and returned home. My battery was fully charged when I left home and when this happened, it showed my battery was depleted and switched to my gas engine but was not able to drive over 40 mph for the gas engine was making a weird sound as if it is not able to run smoothly.

Got a check engine light on Aug 26 2022 driving about 5 minutes out of my house. With that light turned on, the ev showed zero miles range (it was fully charged when I left the house), the ice engine kicked in but it was running very harsh and when I stepped on the gas peddle, it would not accelerate and can only go about 30 mph. I immediately made a u-turn and returned home for the car is not drivable. Took the Volt to my dealership on Aug 29, 2022 and service manager diagnosed as a becm failed and now waiting for a replacement, which they said they are not able to find one. This is going on week #7.

My car, without warning, lost power while driving and then flashed an engine light. This happened on a street and I was able to coast to safety, but if it had happened in an intersection I would not have been so lucky. The problem was confirmed by a dealer as a failure of the battery energy control module, which has been happening to this car with numerous other owners, according to the Volt owner website.

The contact's son owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer due to an oil leak caused by a puncture in the oil filter. The vehicle was repaired. The contact's son had informed the dealer that he had been smelling a fuel odor inside the vehicle; however, the dealer informed the contact's son that the odor was probably a burning oil odor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the fuel rail was leaking and needed to be replaced. The mechanic contacted the dealer who informed him that the part was on a national backorder. The mechanic replaced the part with a used part; however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered a coupon towards the purchase of a new vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The vehicle issues a message to move the gear shifter into park (shift to park) message even when it is already in park. The vehicle will not engage nor will it enable the driver to turn the vehicle off which results in unsafe driving circumstances and strands the drive in untenable situations. This is known in social media as the "shift-to-park" problem with Volt and other gm vehicles while gm is hush-hush about the issue. There absolutely needs to be a recall issued for all affected vehicles as this is clearly a manufacturer design issue given all of the problems drivers are having. It starts as an intermittent problem and continues to get worse over time with out any warning.

Unable to turn off power to car with error on dashboard saying shift to park. Have to power on and off several times while moving the shifter in and out of park to get the car to turn off.

In regard to recall 16055 reprogram hybrid powertrain control; module 2. I had this recall done on January 5, 2017. This service changes some settings without notification to the owner. Critically important it changes the engine run on remote start from off to on. If the owner starts their car to warm up in the garage the engine will run unknowing to the owner. This could be a very dangerous situation for the buildup of carbon monoxide in the garage.

Tl the contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the back-up camera was malfunctioning and the front console would not work if other services were being used. The contact had to turn off and restart the vehicle to get the console to work again. The vehicle was taken to reliable Chevrolet (800 n central expy, richardson, TX 75080, (972) 201-9240) where they re-flashed the module and changed the camera; however, the failure recurred and the vehicle would shut off when parked. The vehicle was a hybrid and the battery was depleted. The contact was concerned about the carbon monoxide level in her garage. The vehicle was getting more and more difficult to shut off and the contact had to wait several minutes to make sure it finally shut off. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they stated that they would contact the manufacturer and call back. The failure mileage was 5,000.

2016 chevy Volt wouldn't start, less than a year old, current on maintenance. Towed it to dealer, they said there were some recalls - but couldn't tell me what was wrong. Got it back after 2 days, was fine - then on 9/22/16 wouldn't start again - I was stranded in the dark, got it jump started. Took it to the dealer, since it was running fine he didn't take it in. Told me next time it happens to get it towed in. Wouldn't start again yesterday, unreliable car. Please investigate.