2023 Chevrolet Bolt Euv

While driving my 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV at approximately 136,594 miles, the vehicle suddenly began making severe mechanical clacking/grinding noises and vibrating heavily. I could no longer safely drive the vehicle at normal road speed and was only able to move it very slowly. Fortunately, this occurred when traffic around me was light. If this failure had occurred in heavy or high-speed traffic, the sudden loss of normal drivability could have created a serious safety risk to me and other motorists. The vehicle was towed to Simpson Chevrolet of Irvine for diagnosis. The Chevrolet dealer found a large hole in the transmission/transaxle case and confirmed that the unit had lost all of its fluid. Diagnostic code P17C8 was also present. The dealer described this as an unusual failure. I specifically asked whether an external impact or road debris caused the damage. The dealer stated that there were no visible signs of impact to the undercarriage other than the hole in the transmission case itself and that they could not determine the exact cause. I did not shift the vehicle into Park while it was moving, and I do not recall striking any road debris or other object that could explain this catastrophic damage. I am reporting this because a sudden catastrophic drive-unit/transaxle failure while a vehicle is in motion may present a significant safety risk. I believe this failure should be documented and reviewed to determine whether similar failures have occurred in other Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV vehicles.

Steering Rack: The internal components of the rack bind up and create heavy resistance, causing the wheel to lock into a turned position rather than gliding back on its own to maintain control. This issue forces you to manually pull the steering wheel back straight after every turn, making high-speed and everyday driving unpredictable and dangerous. Power train: The powertrain is loose when moving forward and backward potentially causing a risk to others when leaving the vehicle in park.

The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the message "Service Transmission - Unauthorized Shift" was displayed. While attempting to shift into drive(D), the gear shifter failed to move to the intended selection. The contact stated that a tow truck arrived and while loading the vehicle onto the flatbed, the driver attempted to shift into neutral (N), but the transmission failed to respond. The vehicle was towed to a dealer; however, the failure could not be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

While car was on a warning popped up saying "Service Transmission" and then another warning popped up saying "Propulsion Power is Reduced". This then limited the speed of the car and the acceleration significantly making it extremely unsafe to drive. Thankfully I was not on the interstate, but I certainly would have been hit if I was. This car is less than 2 years old, has under 10,000 miles, and his had all recommended maintenance done.

One pedal speed control was used to slow down and stop the car approaching a busy intersection. The car came to a complete stop and was idle at the intersection. While stopped at the red light, the car suddenly accelerated into oncoming traffic and was directly heading towards a head-on collision. The driver turned the car to the left, avoiding injury, however, a party in the other vehicle was injured. The Chevy Bolt received extensive damage and was totaled. The police filed a report and the insurance company inspected the vehicle and has taken possession of the vehicle.

I drove the vehicle roughly 5 miles on city streets then parked and walked away for roughly 15 minutes. I came back, got in the car, powered it on and attempted to shift but was presented an error message stating “Conditions not correct for shift”. The car seemed to be ‘running’, but the AC did not turn on despite the settings displaying that it was operating. Thankfully I was able to shut down the car after a few minutes and, after waiting a few minutes further, power it back up. This is the first time this has happened to me. Additional details: Mileage: <900 Age: ~2 months At first I thought this could be due to my own behavior. I live in the Southwest (desert). This is possibly the first time I haven’t remotely started the car and let it precondition, but that seems slightly irrelevant given that this happened at night (not baking in the sun) and, before the 10 minutes of rest, the vehicle should have theoretically been ‘conditioning’ during the previous drive.

Frightening SAFETY Problem: Sudden Power loss on Los Angeles freeway. About 6/21/2023 began repeated episodes where my Chevy 2023 Bolt EUV hesitated for a few seconds before responding when I pushed on the accelerator pedal. Full power and acceleration resumed right after the initial hesitation and were sustained until I had to stop the car. A dashboard warning light appeared. I called for an On-Demand Diagnostic evaluation, spoke by phone with Chevrolet support who assisted with the evaluation and emailed me the results (screenshot) indicating an issue with the HCP - Hybrid Control Processor Module and a Diagnostic Code P2797. The Diagnostic Information read: "The Electric Drive Unit is not performing as expected. An issue has been detected in the Auxiliary Transmission Pump System..." The “Recommended Action” was to “Service within 7 days.” (Screenshot) I contacted the dealership where I purchased the car and was told that I would have to leave it for several days before evaluation/servicing could be done. However the next morning (before I could take the car to the dealership) the instrument panel alert had disappeared. So I considered it all a temporary "glitch". Then on 8/27, driving about 60MPH on very busy 405 Freeway in Los Angeles, the car suddenly lost most of its power and slowed down…with an orange dashboard warning icon “Propulsion Power is Reduced” and another message that speed limited to 30 MPH. Alarmed and fearful, I turned on emergency blinker lights, moved to right lane and exited freeway at next off-ramp. The problem persisted as I slowly drove surface streets to destination and parked. Several hours later I started car; alert message came on but car accelerated normally. I slowly drove home on surface streets. On 8/29 another Chevy dealership identified "Scanning Code P2797" and "Replaced Transmission Fluid Pump” by warranty coverage. No problem since. Service manager said she has seen 3 similar problems. I see similar reports online.

I, and many other owners of Chevy Bolts are having our speed suddenly reduced without warning. The vehicle immediately drops to a max speed of 30 mph and gives an error message "Propulsion Power is Reduced". One common cause seems to be defective transmission fluid pumps, although other electrical and mechanical components also seem to cause this problem. One common error code seems to be P2797, along with the "Propulsion Power is Reduced" message. This dangerous speed reduction is sometimes happening in dangerous situations, while driving in heavy traffic and at high speeds on highways. This is an incredibly dangerous defect and could easily cause car accidents, injuries or death. People are also being stranded without warning. There are many posts (dozens+) about this on various owners groups, including Reddit, Facebook groups and others. The Bolt brake lights and turn signals are also placed in very bad locations which are not obvious or visible, which is also incredibly dangerous.