2018 Chevrolet Volt

Failed EGR Valve. While I was driving, I got a "Propulsion Power Reduced" message and "Engine Unavailable." My car slowly began losing power, leaving me with about 30 seconds to safely pull over. I had it towed to the dealer and they diagnosed a faulty EGR valve. This seems to be a widespread problem with the Chevrolet Volts. To make matters worse, the replacement part is extremely hard to find, with many people waiting on backorder for over a year.

While driving on the highway, the EGR valve in my car malfunctioned, initially causing my dashboard to read "Propulsion Power is Reduced". After continuing to drive the car, the dashboard read 'Engine not available, service soon', where it stalled and we had to restart the car. After restarting, the car went into EV mode with significantly reduced speed. Our safety was put at risk due to the initial stalling and subsequent reduced speed on the highway. The problem has been reproduced since the initial incident and our dealership confirmed the problem relating to the EGR valve which continues to blow fuses when the engine is over-exerted while using gas. The dealership said that this is covered under warranty however, there has been a 5-year back-order on the part and they are refusing to offer any loaner car or compensation for a rental car.

My 2018 Chevy Volt displayed a warning message of "Propulsion Power is Reduced" on the dash when I started the car in a parking garage on Saturday, March 9th around 10am. The car would not drive normally and made a strange noise. I had to stop and start the car six or so times before it drove normally for me to get home. Had this happened at high speed, it could have caused an accident or worse. I contacted the local Rockville, MD Chevrolet dealership and they ran the diagnostic test on the BECM and HPCM2 systems and performed battery capacity reset. I do not believe this software reset will correct the technical issue. According to the dealership records, such a software reset was performed in 2021 by the previous owner before we purchased the car second hand in July, 2022. The dealer would not replace the BECM unit but there is supposedly a special coverage bulletin issued by General Motors. We need the unit replaced ASAP for safety.

While driving, an engine warning "Reduced propulsion Message" came on. Then it said " Engine Unavailable". The car would not go to gas engine. We panicked as we were 20mi from home and only had a few miles of electric left. I was able to drive to the nearest Chevrolet Dealership. It has been sitting there parked for 2 months. Uncharged. We are told that the problem is the EGR valve but no part is available anywhere. It is a known problem but GM has no parts available to fix. I am not getting any answer as to how long it may take to get the part. Meanwhile, I am without a vehicle. I only have approx 25,000 on the car. We have not been given a replacement car or been given any clear response from GM or the Dealership as to how long this may take to locate a part.

Early on the week of November 9th my car displayed a message that there was "Low propulsion power - engine not available." Upon returning home and parking the car it started without incident the following day. On November [XXX], my vehicle stated "Low propulsion power - engine not available" but this time the car shut down completely leaving me unable to return home. I had the car towed to Fairway Chevrolet for repairs. The service technician indicated that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced and the part was out of stock and would take 3 weeks to become available. No rental or loaner car was provided. On November [XXX] I was told that my car was fixed and it would be able to be picked up. I picked up the car and parked it at home and drove the car I was currently renting to California for the Thanksgiving holiday. Upon returning home, I returned my rental and returned to my car. The car behaved normally but after driving down a busy roadway for less than 2 miles the "Low propulsion power - engine not available" message reappeared and the car shut off IMMEDIATELY. This is horrifyingly dangerous especially considering the speed and location of where I was driving. I had the car towed to Fairway Chevrolet but didn't speak to anyone until the morning. In the morning I called in and explained what happened and stressed the safety fact that my car was returned and malfunctioned in a very dangerous way. The tech said that they were going to perform a diagnostic which they were going to charge me for, even though the original repair did not fix the defect. Fairway performed the diagnostic and stated they need to clean the engine bay and run a separate diagnostic of the brake system. These total more than $1.6k out of pocket and are not related to the power deactivating while in motion. My car is still at Fairway as they have not started the repairs and I am still self paying for a rental car. Fairway is uncooperative and refuse to check into the propulsion INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF

My 2018 Chevy Volt was at a Chevrolet dealership in Burbank and they have been running tests on my car to re-create the problem which they have not been able to do. On [XXX] my car suddenly stopped and shakes violently after I turned it on after about driving 15 feet, and my screen was telling me “engine not available, service needed soon” so I got it towed to the dealership (no prior warning signs on dash or anything). On [XXX] they told me they were not able to find the fix or recreate it and also said “This is definitely very rare. Drive it around and bring it back in if it happens again” which felt like they really didn’t care for my safety at all. On [XXX], the same exact problem happened with my car, “engine not available, service needed soon” and shook violently (my girlfriend witnessed it) after 100 yards of driving it and then towed my car back to the dealership. On [XXX], 23 DAYS LATER, the Chevy dealership calls to tell me they still haven’t been able to recreate the problem or find a solution again. I haven’t been able to drive my car this whole time. I have had a case open with GM this whole time where they have been extremely spotty on communication and pretty much just ignoring me the alot of the time. They called me on Saturday, [XXX] (when they’re “closed”) to tell me their solution but I missed the call, I called Monday and Tuesday but can’t get in contact with my advisor until finally Wednesday, I call and they are able to connect me and they gave me a final solution on [XXX] of $1500 off a New GM brand car so they weren’t in any rush to contact me about the final solution. They should repurchase the car from me and pay for damages. Car feels extremely unsafe and there should at least be some type of diagnosis… CHEVROLET CANT FIX THEIR OWN CARS, UNREAL!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My BECM failed pulling in to my grandpas house. I was able to park the car, but unable to start it afterwords. Prior to failure, the engine would switch between electric, then back to gas, then back to electric This is a very common issue on these vehicles. I am fortunate this did not occur on the highway, as I had just exited I 94

Initially was receiving intermittent “Recieved Propulsion Power” warning and no check engine light. Did it about every 2 weeks but became worse. Received Reduced Propulsion power warning on a road trip from East TN to Charlotte then showed a check engine light. I continued to Charlotte I had 4 miles left on battery and was running on gas engine when “Engine Not Available” warning came on leaving me with a nearly dead battery for propulsion. Fortunately, there was a very nearby GM dealership in Charlotte which I was able to drop off and flew out of town for the week. I was told by the dealership that it was an O2 sensor and they had replaced it. Picked up the car the next week. I began the 3 hour trip back to East TN and about 30 miles into the trip I received the Reduced Propulsion Power AND Engine Not Available. I had about 10 miles left on the battery so I stopped and stayed at a hotel with a car charger overnight. Resumed trip home that am, but same code was displayed and engine would not come on. Rented a uhaul w/trailer and towed it home. Dropped it off at Champion Chevrolet in Johnson City and they diagnosed it as a faulty EGR valve. I learned that the part has been back ordered and looking at web forums I see people have described the same problem and they have been waiting many months for an EGR to be available. So, nature of complaint is: I got lucky in that I did not get stranded. Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time. I could have easily totally lost propulsion were my battery were fail and don’t know if I could have gotten off the roadway.