2012 Chevrolet Volt — Known Issues & Recalls

Your Chevy Volt's airbag sensor in the seat may not be working properly. This could prevent the airbag from deploying if you're in a crash. You should have a dealer diagnose and replace the faulty sensor right away.

Your Chevrolet Volt's Passenger Sensing System may be malfunctioning, which causes the airbag warning light to come on and could prevent the passenger airbag from deploying in a crash. GM discontinued the replacement part needed to fix this problem, making it unavailable through dealers. You may need to contact GM directly or explore alternative repair options with a qualified technician.

Your car's front passenger seat has a faulty occupancy sensor that prevents the passenger airbag from working properly. This means the airbag may not deploy in a crash to protect a passenger, creating a serious safety risk. The sensor will need to be replaced or reprogrammed to restore airbag protection.

Your front passenger air bag warning light stayed on while driving. The dealer found that the passenger sensor system for the front air bag was faulty and needed to be replaced, but the manufacturer has discontinued this part, so no repair is available.

Your 'Service Air Bag' warning light keeps turning on and off while you're driving at different speeds. General Motors is aware of this issue through NHTSA investigation PE19013, but your vehicle hasn't been diagnosed or fixed yet. The problem appeared around 127,000 miles on your odometer. Resolving this will likely require a dealer diagnostic scan to identify the faulty sensor or wiring in the airbag system.

Your passenger airbag warning light comes on because the sensor wiring underneath the seat keeps disconnecting when you move the seat back and forth. The airbag system can't detect when someone is sitting in the passenger seat because of this loose connection. GM has issued a service bulletin for this issue and should rewire the harness under warranty to permanently secure the connection.

Your Volt won't start and all interior and exterior lights have stopped working. After jump-starting the vehicle, the same problem happened again when you tried to restart it, leaving you unable to drive. This suggests a serious electrical system problem, likely with the battery or charging system.

While driving at 70 mph, your instrument panel suddenly stopped working without any warning. This left you unable to see your speed, fuel level, or any warning lights on the dashboard. The problem occurred at 99,835 miles on your vehicle. The fix will likely involve diagnosing and replacing the faulty instrument cluster or its electrical connections.

While driving at 50-60 MPH, your Volt displayed multiple warning messages including "Engine Failure," "Battery at Zero Percent," and "Propulsion Power Reduced," and the check engine light came on. Your car then slowed down to 30-40 MPH on its own. After pulling over and restarting the vehicle several times, it finally started again. The dealer found that your high-voltage battery pack needed to be replaced, though the repair was not completed at the time of this report. The vehicle also failed its yearly inspection until the dealer loaded test data and drove it 50 miles. Fixing this issue will likely involve replacing or reconditioning the high-voltage battery pack.

Your car randomly accelerates on its own even when you're not pressing the gas pedal, and sometimes the brakes respond with a delay. This has happened multiple times. You'll want to have the accelerator sensor and brake system checked to identify what's causing these unpredictable responses.

Your passenger airbag system's presence detection sensor is malfunctioning, triggering a "service airbag" warning light. This means the airbag may not deploy properly in a crash if a passenger is seated. The replacement sensor parts are no longer available from the manufacturer, making this a persistent safety issue that the dealership cannot guarantee will be permanently fixed.

While driving 45 mph on a busy road using only the gas engine, your Volt suddenly displayed a "Propulsion Power Reduced" warning and your speed dropped significantly even when pressing the gas pedal, forcing you to pull over quickly to avoid an accident. The check engine light also came on at the same time. The dealership diagnosed the problem as a failed hybrid battery that needs replacement, even though you were running on gasoline at the time.

Your Volt's drive motor battery coolant radiator can be damaged by rocks and debris kicked up from the road due to its design exposure. When this happens, you'll suddenly see a check engine light, get a "reduced propulsion" warning, and an "engine not available" message, which can cause your car to stall unexpectedly—especially dangerous at highway speeds. Chevrolet has issued a service bulletin for this issue, but there is no active recall despite it being a recurring problem. Repairing this likely involves replacing the damaged radiator and refilling the coolant system.

Your Volt's engine suddenly became unavailable and you saw a "reduced propulsion" warning on the display, along with a check engine light. The car stalled unexpectedly while you were driving on the highway, which created a safety hazard. The issue likely involves a problem with the engine, fuel system, or hybrid propulsion system that needs diagnostic testing to identify the root cause.

Your passenger seat sensor is malfunctioning, causing your airbag to turn on and off repeatedly while you're driving. This means the airbag might be disabled even when a passenger is sitting in the seat, which is a serious safety concern. The warning light may come and go intermittently. The fix will likely require replacing or recalibrating the passenger seat occupancy sensor at a dealership.

Your car's engine became unavailable and your brakes failed while driving, making it impossible to slow down or turn. This resulted in a crash into another vehicle. The combination of losing engine power and brake function created a dangerous situation where the driver couldn't control the car.

Your Volt experienced sudden loss of power (reduced propulsion) and was recalled for this issue under GM Program #N172130462. Even after the recall repair was completed at 91,064 miles, the power loss problem has happened multiple times again. Your dealer believes it's a software issue but hasn't been able to fix it—even with help from a GM engineer—and your car has been in the shop for 5.5 months. Fixing this will likely require GM to develop and install an updated engine control software or reprogram the power management system.

Your brake pedal required much harder pressure than normal to slow down, and your ABS warning light came on. A mechanic found that your brake pressure modulator valve had failed. This issue may be related to a known safety recall affecting electronic stability control and service brakes on your vehicle. The fix will likely involve replacing the brake pressure modulator valve and having the brake system inspected.

Your engine runs too fast in cold weather, idling around 3000 RPM when stopped and reaching 4250 RPM on the highway—normal would be much lower. This causes poor fuel economy, sometimes dropping to 22 MPG. Restarting the car often temporarily fixes it, and the problem goes away when temperatures warm above 50°F. The owner suspects the vehicle's battery may be aging and the engine computer needs recalibration to handle this condition properly.

Your car's computer displayed a false warning that the battery coolant level was low, even though it wasn't actually low. This was a known software glitch that required a computer update to fix, which cost $400.