2017 CHEVROLET VOLT Complaints

BECM failure resulted in a situation where the vehicle drove with erratic surging power delivery throwing engine codes P1E00, U2603,U2604, U2605,U2606 Regen braking in this vehicle has a dedicated control on the steering wheel which applies only regen braking no friction brakes. When battery state of charge is high this can result in a situation where the regen braking button abruptly (i.e. during one extended activation of the button) delivers less brake force than the user is demanding.

Cart fails to start nearly every time I try to start it. BECM failure seems to be the issue. Car instructs to shift to park then fails to start until eventually it clicks over and will start in gas mode. Sometimes will randomly flag into low propulsion mode while driving, which majorly affects acceleration speed. Car will no longer charge and must be used in gas mode due to known electrical defects. Sometimes have to wait 10+ minutes for the car to start.

-- My 2017 Chevrolet Volt experienced a failure of the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) in the powertrain system. This failure prevented my vehicle from being driven. The BECM and related battery pack components were replaced under warranty by a Chevrolet dealership. Those parts, to my knowledge, are not available for inspection. -- From a safety perspective, my vehicle was luckily parked when the failure occurred. Many Volt owners have reported -- via online Volt forums and on Reddit at r/volt -- that the failure has occurred while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in a safety issue when the vehicle loses power and stops in the middle of a street or highway. -- A Chevrolet dealership confirmed my vehicle's BECM failure through diagnosis and code reading (see attached documentation). In my case, the BECM initially failed and I lost the ability to drive my vehicle when it was stopped in a parking lot (while I was on vacation, 225 miles from my home). I left the dead vehicle in the parking lot overnight. The next day I was able to start the vehicle and drive it to the nearest EV-certified Chevrolet dealership, where the BECM permanently failed in the dealership's service entrance. I watched the dealership service staff push the dead vehicle into the service bay. It should be noted that I was lucky -- the replacement BECM part was available from GM to the dealership in two days. NHTSA will receive complaints from other Volt owners who waited weeks and MONTHS for a replacement part and repair, all the while their vehicle could not be driven. -- My vehicle's BECM was inspected, the failure diagnosed, and the part replaced by a Chevrolet technician at a Chevrolet dealership (see attached documentation). -- The BECM failure on my vehicle happened immediately with no warning. When I could not drive my vehicle, I saw cryptic "propulsion lost" and "shift transmission to park" error messages on the instrument panel.

Any time the car switches from battery to gasoline the 12v battery comes on, I get the message to shift into park, and the car shuts off. This happens multiple times a day, making it difficult to drive long distance. It also makes it difficult to work more than a couple of hours at a time as an Uber driver. It has happened on the highway, very dangerous.

BECM failure, covered by warranty but required towing that I had to pay out of pocket. Have been waiting a week for the repair to be completed and the dealer is refusing to provide a loaner vehicle.

Was driving on the highway at approximately 70mph for a couple of hours, when I suddenly received a check engine light and "Reduced Propulsion Power" message. Engine temperatures were much higher than normal (220F-240F). Was able to get the car to a Chevrolet dealership eventually where they diagnosed the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve as faulty. There are no parts available for months. Any time that I drive on gas power at highway speeds, engine temperatures are high and cruise control has disengaged. This is a safety issue as I am not always able to maintain speed during extended highway driving when using the gas engine.

The vehicle stopped operating on the highway suddenly and without warning and would not restart. I had it towed to the Chevrolet dealer. They determined power train parts were required which were backordered. They are unclear on which parts. The car has been at the dealer for 2 months waiting for parts. They have no estimate on when they will have the parts. I am concerned about the reliability issue and also that they don't have the parts to fix it for months on end.

I was driving home from a client meeting on the highway and received a check engline light with the message "Propulsion Power is Reduced." After a trip to the dealership, I learned that the car's Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. Some online research shows that this is a very common issue with Chevrolet Volts. What's worse, the part is back ordered indefinitely because they're not manufacturing enough of them. I know NHTSA is looking into the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) issue as well. I'm very worried about when happens when/if this fails too and if it happens out of warranty. There should be recalls on both of these common failures and GM should make sure there they're a) all replaced and b) people don't have to wait months to get parts needed for their cars.

BECM issues causing vehicle to lose power, not go in to park, will not remote start, battery failure, and not turning on or not turning off when prompted.

During a drive the car began warning of loss of propulsion. The vehicle is at a dealer waiting for repair since Oct 16, 2023. There is no ETA on back ordered EGR valve that the technician anticipates a fix.