Electrical System Problems of Chevrolet Volt - part 1

Check engine light came on car was able to start but the cluster started reading the battery being full with a charge. And was having trouble starting. Fast forward a day I get a propulsion system reduced warning on the dash as I’m entering the highway and the car fails to stay on I’m able to pull it to the shoulder and I cannot get the car to start. Get towed home throw it on the charger and the dash says unable to charge. Swap the 12v (checked it and it died) thinking that might fix the problem since the car was able to power on but not start. To no avail through my code reader and code p1e00 code. Took it to my local dealer and was told id need replace the becm… and was quoted 33xx for the repair. Had any of this happened while I was on the freeway I might not have been able to make it to the shoulder potentially putting myself and others on the road and a possibly fatal situation.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Volt 🔎.

When shift lever is moved to park, the car often does not recognize it is in park and can't be shut down. It takes a lot of time of moving the selector in and out of park to finally get the car to recognize it is in park. During an occasion when the car would not go into park, the car ran for hours while the driver was at work. This seems to be a known issue (micro switch) with this model. This is available for inspection upon request. Safety is at risk because this condition leads to not being able to shut the car down, which leads to the potential for a dead battery and getting stranded. While I have not yet had my car's problem reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center, there is a lot of evidence in online forums of the prevalence of this problem. The vehicle/component has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. There weren't any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure as long as we've owned the vehicle. We purchased this vehicle less than a week ago, on August 2, 2025. The issue presented itself once on our test drive and again intermittently in the six days we've owned the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Volt 🔎.

On [xxx], our 2018 chevy Volt experienced a critical becm (battery energy control module) failure while being driven by our [xxx] daughter. The failure caused the vehicle to enter limp mode, resulting in a severe loss of power and the inability to shift properly. Most alarmingly, the brakes failed to function correctly—despite being fully engaged, the car continued to move forward at a red light, placing our daughter in immediate danger. She was only able to safely stop the vehicle by maneuvering it off the road into a parking lot. This becm defect is a well-documented issue for chevy Volts from 2016 to 2018. However, Chevrolet has refused to cover our VIN under the existing special service bulletin, despite our vehicle using the same faulty part number as those included in the recall, and has provided no explanation for this exclusion. As a result, we are being forced to pay $2,100 out of pocket to replace a part that gm knows is defective. This is an unacceptable financial burden for a safety-critical issue. Gm should immediately issue a recall for all vehicles equipped with this faulty part number to ensure the safety of all drivers and prevent further undue costs. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Driving at 75 mph on the freeway the power completely cuts off an a message appears on my dash "propulsion power is reduced" - pressing the gas barely gives any power, imagine being in the middle of flowing traffic doing 75 mph to close to 20 mph. Research shows me this is a known issue with gm and the problem is with the becm control module. There is also the issue of the egr valve which apparently is tied into the becm. I brought to the chevy dealer and they said the becm needs to be replace ASAP because gm knows this is a dangerous situation and gm extended the warranty on this part to 150,000 miles. My vehicle is at 152,400 miles and they will not cover this. This is a serious issue that should be a recall that forces gm and chevy to pay for this fix as it is something they have been aware of for years and it is a major accident waiting to happen. Please make them issue a recall for the becm fix.

See all problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt 🔎.

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that after arriving at the destination and moving the shifter into park(p), the message "shift to park" was displayed. The contact became aware that with the message displayed the vehicle would not start. The contact disconnected and reconnected the 12-volt battery to reset the system, enabling the vehicle to start. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the battery energy control module. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 96,000.

Driving on interstate doing 65 and suddenly warning pops up and car dies immediately. I was lucky to get over to the edge and not wreck or cause an accident. Found that the 12 Volt battery was not being charged without warning until failure. Found a 15 amp fuse blown in the high Voltage relay module.

I got a warning from my car a little over a week ago (around 6/1, unsure of exact date) that I needed to service the battery charging system, but then the check engine indicator light shut off and so did the warning light. The hybrid battery took a charge with no issues after that. Then, I left work the evening of 6/9 and drove home. On my way home, the check engine light came back on, followed by warnings that I needed to shift to park. Before I could pull over, my car stopped moving. Cars had to stop abruptly behind me and navigate around me into incoming traffic. I shifted to park, then tried to turn my car off and on again. I tried to switch between the gas engine and the battery, I tried to move my vehicle in any way. I couldn't get it into neutral to push it out of traffic. I turned on my hazard lights and a person came out from his house to assist in directing traffic away from my car for about an hour while I waited for a tow truck to arrive. The kind bystander who directed traffic and I were very concerned about a car accident happening due to my stopped vehicle. A police officer stopped by to check on us and try and get my vehicle into neutral but he was unable and said he was on his way to a 911 dispatch so he did not write a report of any kind that I could see. He told me the vehicle placement was not safe and I agreed with him. The tow truck came as he was leaving. The dealership I sent my car to said it is likely a short circuit in the 12v battery but I know the becm in the chevy Volt is known to cause similar behavior. Dealership refused to service the becm when asked about it.

My experience required me to tow my 2017 chevy Volt from a parking garage, where the becm died, to 2 different dealerships back and forth to my home. I have been charged over $1,000 in towing and diagnostics at my local dealerships. As usual they informed that I need a new $10k battery. I did my own research and the error codes (u2603, u2604, u2605, u2606, u2617, u2618, u2619, u2620, u2621, u2622, u2623, u2624 and p1e00) clearly indicate that my becm failed. I was able to check the health and status of the traction battery and it functioning correctly. On my 3rd trip to my local dealership service department with the special coverage program n232432680 in hand, the dealership informed me that yes my bcm had failed and there was a special coverage program for 2016-2019 chevy Volts, but that my VIN number was not covered. There were a limited number of vins that received warranty extensions for becm, but mine was not.

When the vehicle is running, and the gear is moved to park, and I attempt to turn off the car by pressing the ignition button, an error shows on the dash display and the message is "shift to park". Even though the car is in park, the vehicle doesn't know it. I then cannot turn off my car.

On may 26, the car was running in electric mode and switched to gas because the power batteries were depleted. Shortly after switching to gas mode, lights came on the dash board saying engine not available get service immediately. I was on a highway at the time and fortunately had just enough left to get off and the car would not move any further. Turning the car on and off did not resolve the problem. It had to be towed to a chevy dealer. Even after an hour, the messages would come on when trying to start the car. The next day, the dealer called and said they could find no problems with the car and it works fine. This happened once before, but that time there was enough charge in the battery to get home and then later it would start without the message.

While driving the vehicle, the car shut down. Thankfully I was coming to a yield at a round about after exiting the interstate. I was finally able to get it to restart and proceeded on my way. If this had happened on the interstate myself, and other drivers would be at risk due to unassisted steering and braking. I also have experienced intermittent periods of "reduction of power" while on the interstate and other 55mph plus highways. This presents a hazard to myself and other drivers as well. These issues are covered for similar vehicles under special warranty coverage n232432680 as required by NHTSA on March 6, 2024. My vehicle also exhibits all of the primary symptoms described in that coverage, but gm claims that my vehicle is not covered. Cel is on. Can't charge condition reduced power no start condition.

More than two weeks ago, my 2017 Chevrolet Volt lt showed becm codes. The local dealership service center said they would order the parts for a complete replacement. The work and parts are covered under warranty as this has been a common issue. The becm and coolant arrived within a few days, but the remaining parts are back ordered! after two weeks of waiting gm has failed to send the parts and I and my family are in need of our vehicle for both work and safety reasons. The part number for the parts that still need to be sent 11517042. The warranty coverage number from Chevrolet's bulletin in regards to this failure n232432680.

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.

There was a recall for the hpcm2 where the propulsion power reduced warning would come on whenever the car's cell battery was depleted. This happened with my car and there were several times it slowed on the freeway and on exit ramps as I tried to safely get my car off the road. It first happened on 4/13/25. I took my car to a regular mechanic who charged me 3k of repairs on basic maintenance, new tires, etc but were unable to fix this issue. They advised it was a manufacturer issue and to go to a hybrid specialist or a dealership. I called a hybrid specialist who found the faulty code and advised the same. I took my car to felix Chevrolet (3330 s. Figueroa st. La, CA 90007) and they offered to do many maintenance service items that I had done earlier this week in an attempt to fix the hpcm2 software bug. After I told them that the maintenance items were complete, they called me back an hour later to tell me I needed other maintenance repairs that are less common. When I gave them the description of the recall and re-explained this is identical to my car's symptoms and that this manufacturing issue may have affected other vehicles like mine that were outside of the recall batch, they told me it was impossible to apply this diagnosis as long as my VIN number was outside of the recall batch. Can you please add my VIN to this recall or have my car reviewed by someone who can debug the software?.

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the battery high Voltage disconnect relay. The vehicle was not repaired due to lack of part availability. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the manufacturer confirmed that the part was on backorder. The failure mileage was 80,000.

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Volt 🔎.

I am submitting this complaint regarding a recurring and potentially hazardous issue in my Chevrolet Volt 2017. The vehicle frequently displays a “shift to park” warning message even when the gear shifter is correctly in the park position. This malfunction prevents the car from shutting off properly, posing both safety and operational concerns. This issue is widely reported among Chevrolet Volt owners, and general motors has acknowledged it in technical service bulletin (TSB 19-na-206). Despite this, no formal recall has been issued to ensure a permanent solution for affected drivers. My Volt currently has 138000miles, and although it is outside of the Voltec warranty period, this is clearly a manufacturer defect—not a result of normal wear and tear. The problem affects the safe operation of the vehicle and may lead to battery drain, inability to power down the car, and driver confusion. I strongly urge the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) to investigate this issue and consider initiating a recall to protect drivers and ensure accountability. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

My chevy Volt went into reduced propulsion system power mode, the engine light came on and the vehicle stalled while sitting at a traffic light on [xxx] at [xxx] in tyler texas. Checking the computer and the complaints online I found that my 15 amp #03 fuse (no walk home) had blown. I replaced the fuse and the next day on [xxx] the same thing happened again after driving 30 miles. The vehicle stalled at an intersection outside of tyler texas. The egr valve is known to cause the fuse to blow, so I had no choice but to unplug the egr valve and replaced the fuse and has not blown the fuse since. This is both a safety issue and an emissions issue, but the replacement part cannot be found anywhere to purchase anymore so I am having to drive this vehicle with this ongoing safety issue. Due to the nature of the egr valve blowing the fuse all the time and that it affects the safety of the vehicle a nationwide recall needs to be done on these vehicles to force gm to start making the part again. This is a dangerous flaw that will cause the vehicle to stall and create a safety hazard. This has been ongoing for quite some time with these Volts, and something needs to be done about it ASAP. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was slowly maneuvering my car into my garage when the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly surged forward, despite only lightly tapping the brake and not touching the accelerator. The car had been displaying the warning, “propulsion power is reduced” and was not holding an electric charge in the days before the incident. No malfunction indicator lamp ever turned on. Per the owner’s manual, the vehicle did not need to be serviced because the malfunction indicator light never came on at the same time as the propulsion power reduced message. This led me to believe the vehicle was safe to drive. The unexpected surge caused the car to strike and cause considerable damage to the garage wall. Fortunately there was no one in the garage at the time and I, myself, was not injured. My car was deemed a total loss by the insurance company.

See all problems of the 2014 Chevrolet Volt 🔎.

When moving the shifter to the "p" position after parking, the car will refuse to turn off with the message on the dash: "action needed: shift to park". Shifter is in park position but car will not recognize this and does not turn off. The issue can sometimes be resolved by pressing the shifter knob button repeatedly, or by pulling the shifter all the way back to drive and forth to park multiple times until the message is cleared. This happens about 4/10 times that I drive, there is currently a bulletin posted by chevy for a fix. However, the fix is only covered under a "warranty" and the chevy repair center at the dealership quoted $400 to complete the repair out of warranty.

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle stalled; the contact stated that the vehicle was jumpstarted and the vehicle to returned to normal operation; however, the failure reoccurred on several occasions. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the battery energy control module (becm) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the 12-volt battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the check engine warning light illuminated again. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

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

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and shifted to park(p), the message "shift to park" was displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle was inoperative. The contact stated that the vehicle was operative while in low power mode; however, the vehicle intermittently failed to charge in low power mode. No warning light was illuminated. However, the vehicle displayed the full battery icon on the display, but 1 ev mile. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the battery energy control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.

Vehicle had the battery energy control module fail at about 87,000 miles. Vehicle will not start and will leave you stranded when this happens. This is a known defect and gm issued a special coverage to extend the warranty for this specific component, but for some reason only applies to a handful of vins. Mine was not one of them, so I got stuck with a $2500 repair bill. I love the car and am not mad that they are breaking, engineering is hard. I am mad that even after a requirement from the NHTSA, chevy is refusing to repair a known defect with their vehicles that can leave the owner stranded and is making the owners foot the several thousand-dollar repair bill. This was my first chevy, and due to the poor way this has been handled, probably my last.

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.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact used a scanner and retrieved dtc: u2603-u2606 and u2607-u2622. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was scheduled for an upcoming diagnostic test. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

Issue summary: the chevy Volt has experienced recurring electrical problems, including the "shift to park" message, loss of power, and dead 12v battery. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership three times due to these issues. One incident involved a power loss while driving at 65 mph, which caused a near-miss with a semi-truck, posing a significant safety risk. Warranty status: the additional warranty was purchased, but only one of the three incidents occurred while the vehicle was under warranty. Safety concerns: the repeated electrical failures, especially while driving at high speeds, raise serious safety concerns.

When putting my car in park and shutting it off the dash board tells me to shift to park, and car does not fully shut off.

Vehicle slows at times and provides message "propulsion power reduced. " at times vehicle will not start and cannot move transmission shifter out of park.

Driving on gas on the highway, the adaptive cruise control suddenly disabled with a "reduced propulsion" message on the dash and a check engine light. The car started struggling in its propulsion. We found an autozone and scanned the codes, and multiple were returned. A google search pointed us to the "walk home" fuse, which indeed had been blown. Replacing that fuse and disconnecting/reconnecting the battery eliminated the errors. Less than a week later during highway driving (the next time the battery charge was used up and it switched to the ice) I got another check engine light, but this time without the "reduced propulsion" message. Scanning at autozone again revealed a p0404 message referencing the egr valve. Due to the limited availability of the part I have called into covert bastrop (bastrop, TX) and am waiting to hear back on their ability to fix the car.

Car lost power in 02/2024, was taken to dealer. Issue was not addressed properly. 12/2024 the car would not move, towed to dealer, estimate $2000 to replace becm, know issue for these vehicles.

My car stopped all of a sudden and lost power while my wife was driving. She could've been in a major accident since the car lost power. This has happened a few times in the past. Luckily she wasn't on the freeway or she could've been rear ended at highway speeds. There were warning lamps that said check engine and "lost propulsion". This should be looked at closely as my safety as well as the safety of others was at risk. Very dangerous situation! I had my car towed to the nearest auto repair shop where it is being looked at.

Loss of propulsion. Vehicle will not start/move. If vehicle does turn on , it will not turn off. Vehicle has been having reduced propulsion issues for multiple years (taken to dealer many times) that dealership has refused to do a hv battery capacity test while under warranty, even after leaving with them for multiple months they claimed they could not replicate error. On day of pickup error presented itself and I showed service advisor and left vehicle for additional testing. Dealer provided explanation of reduced propulsion when in mountain mode as cause even though vehicle was not in mountain mode when error occurred. Dealer performed customer satisfaction gm program # n172130462 update 11/2021 on hv system that stopped propulsion issues (mainly battery capacity concerns) until vehicle was out of warranty. Now vehicle will not turn on/move even though hv battery completely charged. Vehicle is essentially bricked at this point. Will be taking back to dealer 12/30/2024.

Took my 2018 chey Volt to the dealer after trying to start the car and shifting into reverse a action required and shift to park massage appears. Towed the car to the chevy dealership of on 11-19-2024 and on 12-17-2024 after the dealership has been talking with gm they tell me the car needs a new battery pack and there are none to be found. Car is still under gm warranty! service adviser recommends calling gm to buy back or get a lemon law attorney.

I was driving at about 50mph all of a sudden I got a propulsion error and my car stopped working it had no power! people had to swerve around me and I was almost hit. My car would not drive I shut it off and back on multiple times. Finally it started but would not go above 25 it was so scary. I went to the dealership they said it’s known issue since 2016 and that my miles were too high so it would not be covered to fix the total amount it almost 3,000 this seems unfair that chevy would continue to sell a vehicle knowing it had issues with a energy control module and not fix it for free. Especially when you could be killed while driving it!!.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet bolt. The contact stated while driving at a moderate speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the “propulsion power” message was displayed. The contact pulled over and upon an attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that the becm (battery engine control module) was defective. The mechanic discovered that the vehicle was under warranty and contacted that the local dealer for assistance. The mechanic drove the vehicle to the dealer who acknowledged the failure; however, the dealer stated that the failure was not covered under warranty. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.