2012 Chevrolet Volt Engine Problems

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.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while his son was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with engine software failure. The contact was informed that the engine software needed to be updated. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.

I WAS DRIVING THE CAR NORMALLY IN ELECTRIC MODE, AND PARKED IT WITH ONE MILE REMAINING OF ELECTRICITY. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE GASOLINE ENGINE CAME ON AND WAS REVVING AT A VERY HIGH RATE. IN ADDITION, A POP-UP MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD READ 'PROPULSION POWER IS REDUCED.' THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO REV HIGH AND I WAS ONLY ABLE TO ACHIEVE A SPEED OF ABOUT 30 MPH DURING MY TWO-MILE RIDE HOME. UPON PARKING THE CAR IN GARAGE AND CHARGING IT, THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARED. IT WAS 90 DEGREES OUTSIDE WHEN THIS HAPPENED.

I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR 4.5 YEARS. IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS THE ERROR MESSAGE "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED" HAS HAPPENED AND THE VEHICLE HAS GONE INTO LIP MODE. ALL THREE TIMES THE MESSAGE OCCURRED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, BATTERY DEPLETED, AND GAS ENGINE RUNNING. DRIVABILTY WAS AN ISSUE AS THE CAR WAS IN LIMP MODE AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY. MY CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, TWICE. I WAS TOLD BY JAY TOWNSEND, DISTRICT MANAGER AFTERSALES CHEVROLET, THAT THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION AND HE POINTED TO A BULLETIN. HE SAID THERE IS NO FIX, BUT THAT GOING INTO LIMP MODE SPONTANEOUSLY WAS A " VEHICLE CHARACTERISTIC ". IT IS ILLOGICAL THAT AN ERROR MESSAGE POPPING UP IS NORMAL "VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS" AND THAT GOING INTO LIMP MODE IS NORMAL. THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM THAT GM SEEMS WILLING TO ACCEPT. OBVIOUSLY SOME PARAMETERS BEING BROKEN IS SETTING OFF THE WARNING MESSAGE, BUT GM DOESN'T WANT TO ADDRESS THIS. INSTEAD THEY ARE STATING IT IS NORMAL OPERATION. SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE HURT BECAUSE OF SUDDEN REDUCTION OF POWER AND GM'S DELIBERATE DENIAL TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE ME OR MY FAMILY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET VOLT. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A CYLINDER MISFIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000.

DRIVING USING CRUISE CONTROL DURING COMMUTE AT 60MPH. SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPERIENCED DRASTIC POWER LOSS AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. ONSTAR DIAGNOSTICS REPORTED AN ELECTRICAL PROPULSION SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. ATTEMPTED TO NAVIGATE TO A SAFE PARKING AREA BUT EVENTUALLY LOST ALL PROPULSION AND ENDED UP IN A TRAFFIC LANE. SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO CONTROL ESPECIALLY IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC THAT NEARLY RESULTED IN A COLLISION. *TR

WHEN I TURNED ON THE VEHICLE THE TOUCHPAD SHOWED NO A/C. I STARTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AND APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES THE HEATER CAME ON AND BLEW HOT AIR, THEN AFTER AWHILE THE A/C CAME ON. AFTER ACCELERATING FROM A STOP WHEN I REACHED APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. I COULD NOT CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THEN THE VEHICLE JOLTED AND THE POWER RETURNED. THIS HAS HAPPENED PRIOR AND WAS TAKEN INTO CHEVY DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. LOOSING POWER AND STEERING CAPABILITY IS NOT SAFE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,492. *TR

I WAS SLOWING DOWN AT A MERGE POINT, WHEN VEHICLE "STALLED". I AND DEALER WORKER COULD NOT RESTART FOR 45 MINUTES, AT WHICH TIME IT FINALLY STARTED. DROVE TO DEALERSHIP, CHECKED OUT BRIEFLY, SEEMED OK. DROVE IT AGAIN LESS THAN A MILE, AND FOR 2ND TIME, AGAIN STALLED FOR APPROX. 45 MIN. CAR COULDN'T BE STARTED. FINALLY CAR RESPONDED AND DROVE 2ND TIME TO DEALER, WHERE IT WAS LEFT FOR ANALYSIS AND POSSIBLE REPAIR. CAR PURCHASED AUG. 30 2011, INCIDENT SEPT. 1, BEGINNING 7-8AM. CAR IS NOW IN DEALER'S HANDS FOR POSSIBLE REPAIR. CHEVROLET VOLT HYBRID EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION IF CAR STALLS IN MAJOR INTERSECTION OR AT HIGH SPEED ON HIGHWAY. DEFECTIVE COMPONENT BATTERY, ENGINE, COMPUTER?? *TR