2017 Chevrolet Volt

We were driving on the highway (my wife and younger son were passengers, and my 17 year old son was driver). He was in electric mode and then the engine propulsion reduced message came on and the check engine light came on. Car was still running, albeit slower. We stopped and filled up the gas, and got an engine unavailable message. Vehicle switched back to battery mode on its own and because there was no charge, the vehicle stopped ON THE HIGHWAY. The car lost all control and power abilities and it was very dangerous. They were able to pull over into the break down lane and they called a tow. Took the car to Mike Reichenbach Chevrolet in SC and they removed and replaced the EGR valve. However, within the last couple of weeks, my son has received the loss of propulsion message again and the car is violently shaking. This is a safety issue!

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.

EGR valve failed on [XXX] southbound near Cartersville, GA. Initially, the engine showed a Check Engine light, and showed a message that "Propulsion power had been reduced". Approxmately 60 seconds later before we could reach an exit, the engine shut off while driving at 60 MPH. Had to coast/navigate over two lanes while the car was slowing to make it to the shoulder, and was stuck on the shoulder while the engine cooled down enough to leave the shoulder. Jim Ellis Chevrolet confirmed the failed EGR valve, but have so far been able to reproduce the overheating in the shop. Replacing the EGR valve is estimated at $1100, with GM providing a $250 warranty assistance. I have confirmed with other Volt owners that this is a very common issue which affects all GM Volt 2 cars manufactured between 2016 and 2019. Enough of the EGR valves have failed that the part is in short supply with possible wait times of over 6 months. The EGR Valve is part of the emissions system. However, the problem appears to be (unconfirmed) a manufacturing defect in the control board for the valve. This fails, causing the engine block F3 fuse to blow. This fuse also powers the engine coolant pump, which is what takes this from an emissions problem to a safety problem--which can cause the car to shut down suddenly. References to the issue online: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] The issue has been confirmed the issue with this service bulletin: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2017 Chevrolet Volt has had issues with failing to start for years. Many times when the car did start I would receive an error message saying “propulsion power reduced,” resulting in the vehicle being less responsive to the accelerator. I have taken it to get serviced many times only for the issue to persist. Now the car has completely broken down and will no longer turn on at all. The car is currently at a Chevrolet Dealership where a service technician has diagnosed the problem as being related to a faulty BECM (battery energy control module) and that I need to spend thousands of dollars to replace this part. A simple google search showed me that this problem is incredibly common with other Volt drivers, so much so that there is even a class action lawsuit against GM now for this issue (which I received no notice of). I feel like I was sold a faulty car and I now have to pay a price for GM’s negligence.

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.)

All of a sudden while braking on a freeway offramp, the check engine light came on and a reduced propulsion warning came on my screen. The car ran weird for about a day, then it wouldn't start. I had it towed to a dealer, they diagnosed the BECM went bad, now my car has been there 2.5 weeks and there's no estimated ship date for the part, much less repair date. If they said they had enough parts for BECM failures, they're either lying to you or they're lying to me.