2017 Chevrolet Volt

The Volts BECM has failed. There are warning lights constantly warning about Engine and low Propulsion. There are multiple symptoms. Most serious is that car has stalled while driving 3 times. If I pull over, put in park, then turn off; I can restart the engine using battery mode. It does not drive well in gas mode where gas fuels generator to charge battery for propulsion. It is now very loud and often won't allow you to drive faster than 30 MPH. The mileage diagnostics (MPG) are just over 50% of what they were before problem started. It often randomly switches from battery mode to gas. This is undesired. My problem is that the only certified tech is on other side of Island Volcano. I have no confidence that I can drive it to dealer, given the distance and power required to climb mountain. So, I am stuck with no way to fix. There are widespread reported issues, similar to mine, caused by defective BECM (Battery Energy Control Module). Problem started September 2023 and have issues every day I dare drive it.

My Chevy Volt has been having spotty pop-ups stating that "Propulsion Power is Reduced" for about a month, but I was not sure how reliable the pop-up was as there were plenty of days the pop-up would not come on when starting the car. On the day of my incident in October 2023, I once again received the "Propulsion Power is Reduced" pop-up when I started my car. While driving, I stopped at a stoplight, and my battery drained. When the battery is drained, I usually don't have anything to worry about, as the Volt is an EV hybrid, and I can use the gas until I can charge my vehicle again. But the Check Engine Light came on when the battery drained this time. When the light became green, I started to drive like normal, but I suddenly got a pop-up on the screen regarding the engine no longer working, and the car rapidly began to cruise while I was in the middle of the road. I was lucky enough to have space to pull over to the side, have a tow truck to get me, and not be in the middle of a busy street or highway. I scheduled an appointment with my local Chevy dealer for an inspection and figured something could be done to fix my vehicle. I was told my car was under warranty and what parts were needed to repair it. This was in October 2023, and I have been waiting for nearly 3 months for the EGR Valve required to repair my car after being told countless times that it is in backorder. I don't understand how a part can be in backorder for so long for a vehicle that is not being produced anymore. I was told I could drive my car in electric mode, but I do not want to risk the safety of others by having my battery suddenly become drained, as the EV Range the dashboard shows is never correct and rapidly drains.

Loss of Motive Power due to EGR Valve. I was driving down the highway when I experienced a loss of motive power and the Volt entered a reduced power state while in moving traffic. After the EV battery ran out and the ICE turned on, the following message showed up on the instrument panel "Propulsion Power Is Reduced" and the check engine light turned on. The Volt slowed down and would not accelerate to the speed of the moving traffic. I was able to get off the highway and drive home under reduced power which was still not safe. The engine ran very rough on the way home and was not able to maintain speed high enough for the flow of traffic on the roads. The dealer diagnosed the issues as a failed EGR Valve. The part was on backorder for about a month. In that time, a GM trained technician deemed the car operable (according to GM standards) and said that I could take it back and drive it on electricity only. Unfortunately, that meant that the EV range is about 40 miles in winter after a full charge and running out of electricity would again result in a hazardous loss of power. The behavior of the car under this reduced propulsion is Identical to the one in investigation PE23022 - Loss of Motive Power due to the Battery Energy Control Module. The Chevy Volt EGR Valve issue is a common problem reported in other NHTSA complaints and Volt forum posts and I am surprised that there has not been a recall. I hope that this issue is investigated same as the BECM issue. Some examples: NHTSA ID Number: 11558668 NHTSA ID Number: 11557845 NHTSA ID Number: 11557876 NHTSA ID Number: 11557995 NHTSA ID Number: 11483673 [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The latest episode with my 2017 Chevy Volt is a culmination of years of issues with the low clearance on the vehicle causing continual damage and unsafe driving conditions that require expensive repairs due to the design flaw (note - I had a 2014 Chevy Volt that had NONE of these problems). My son was driving the car a week ago and the Engine Control Module (GM part # 12700116) fell OUT of the car. This led to the car to stop driving instantly - if he had been anywhere other than a quiet residential street it could have been catastrophic. Upon having towed the vehicle to the dealership, I was informed that the wiring harness failed which led to the ECM falling onto the street. I drive this car strictly in city limits and on major highways, and despite this the bottom undercarriage is constantly damaged because it is simply to low to the ground. In addition to the repair bill of $3K+ (my 4th repair required due to this defect), the harness isn't even available and GM cannot provide an ETA for when it will be. I experienced a similar issue 6 months ago when a part was backordered for 3+ months and this is compounded by the fact that their dealerships no longer have loan car inventory. Note that there was no warning before this happened. I have tried escalating to GM but their response is essentially that I am SOL. Again - this is a design flaw of the vehicle that should have been addressed but never was. Note that this doesn't include the other continual issues (well documented) that continue to plague the car after other recall service (loss of propulsion, shifter issues that frequently make it impossible to actually turn the car off, etc.)

While driving to work, the vehicle shook a bit and entered into "reduced propulsion mode". The vehicle had a significant reduction in engine power on the road (the propulsion became very jerky), which became dangerous on the highway. There were no previous indicators of any type of issue. After brining the vehicle to the dealership, I was told it would be okay to drive until my appointment (which was scheduled for the subsequent week). Two days later, the vehicle would not start. When attempting to start the car, the "Shift to Park" message displayed. I had to get the vehicle towed to the dealership at that point. The dealership mentioned it is likely an issue with the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM). However, I'm still waiting for a resolution.

Around the tenth of November my car, a 2017 Premier Volt bought used, began to display an information message that the propulsion power is reduces. It displayed 0 mi EV range, even though I knew I had some left. When I started to drive the engine seemed louder than usual and the check engine light was on. I pulled into a parking lot, and checked under the hood just to make sure nothing was obviously smoking or sparking. I turned the car on and off, and drove around the parking lot a few times until it resumed normal functionality, however the check engine light remained. This was after dark, when I got off work, and I drive home on Highway 49. I did not want to drive it home on the highway in the dark until the issue seemed resolved. Since the manual claimed that if I see both reduced propulsion and check engine light I should immediately take the car to my dealer, I made an appointment with them for the sixteenth of November. For the next couple days I continued to have the same issues, propulsion reduced, incorrectly displaying 0 EV miles, and the check engine light coming on. Starting and stopping the car, or driving around the parking lot a couple times seemed to temporarily solve the issues. At the dealer, I was told there is no ETA on the part, and that it is back ordered or wait listed. The issue is with the BCEM or battery energy control module. They provided me with a rental car for the time being. A few weeks have passed, so I called them today, the 11th of December, but there is still no eta. They are still waiting for the BCEM, which is back ordered.

On 2 separate time periods, "propulsion power reduced" message appears on dash: - 1st incident in November 2022, car would not move after powering off the vehicle. After sitting idle for a week, decided to retry, and car seemed to work normally. Took it in to Chevy service, they replaced the BECM. Car worked fine after this - 2nd incident in November 2023, again 'propulsion power reduced' message appeared. This time, however, car would suddenly cut off gas engine (even at highway speed), switching to 100% battery mode, and displaying 'Engine not available' on dashboard. Fuel level indicator would immediately display 'LOW' (even though gas tank was full). Reduced acceleration on battery mode. Car is now in same service center awaiting fix for the past month. Was quite an unsafe situation, especially at highway speeds, and especially given the fact that the battery also may have been at a low state of charge, risking complete vehicle breakdown. Coupled with both of these incidents, the cruise control intermittently shuts off, displaying 'Cruise control unavailable'. Car is lightly utilized, with just over 30k miles on the odometer to date. Additionally, the car is kept in a mild climate (coastal southern california) and parked in a covered spot shielded from sun and temperature extremes.