NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Unknown Or Other complaints
15 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · Jan 20, 2024
Air BagsSeatsUnknown Or Other
The passenger side seat airbag sensor is malfunctioning. A message displaying “Service Airbag” comes up and the airbag light comes on. This happens numerous times during a typical drive (around 20 minutes) The airbag is turned off while the message and light is displayed. This issue has been occurring for about a year or two now…
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The passenger side seat airbag sensor is malfunctioning. A message displaying “Service Airbag” comes up and the airbag light comes on. This happens numerous times during a typical drive (around 20 minutes) The airbag is turned off while the message and light is displayed. This issue has been occurring for about a year or two now. Starting around 90k miles, currently has 111k miles. I’ve done my research on this issue and many other Volt owners have this issue. Which is caused by a defect in the passenger side sensor mat in the seat that can fold over itself with normal use, causing the issue.
NHTSA ODI #11566665
Mileage unknown · Mar 11, 2023
Air BagsUnknown Or Other
Passenger airbag sensor mat is malfunctioning Leaking water from passenger side AC, drain line or structure
NHTSA ODI #11511299
Mileage unknown · May 3, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other
When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's…
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When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's not in park when it is.
NHTSA ODI #11463176
Mileage unknown · May 3, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other
When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's…
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When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's not in park when it is.
NHTSA ODI #11463174
Mileage unknown · Oct 29, 2021
Fuel/propulsion SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other
There is a bearing that fails in the motor which is a safety issue and should be recalled. It causes the engine/transmission to lock up and become inoperable which can result in a crash. They even issued a bulletin regarding it (PIP5081), yet they have been refusing to cover it under warranty for me as well. This needs to be rec…
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There is a bearing that fails in the motor which is a safety issue and should be recalled. It causes the engine/transmission to lock up and become inoperable which can result in a crash. They even issued a bulletin regarding it (PIP5081), yet they have been refusing to cover it under warranty for me as well. This needs to be recalled and all affected owners should be reimbursed for any expenses they paid regarding this issue. General Motors must be held accountable for this safety issue. This has been confirmed by the dealer and all of these vehicles are experiencing the issue.
NHTSA ODI #11438594
Mileage unknown · May 23, 2021
Electrical SystemUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control
has had the blank screen display the vehicle is unsafe to drive. One can run out of electrical power and or gas and not know, stop on the highway and be in harms way. no turn signals, no speed indication at all, nothing. this is recall worthy! and needs to be addressed by chevy.
NHTSA ODI #11418222
43,000 miles · Mar 9, 2021
Electrical SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other
THE VOLT IS DISPLAYING MANUFACTURER CONTROL ERROR CODE P1 E00$07E8 AND IS NOT CHARGING. ON THE DASH, THE MESSAGE DISPLAYS AS "SERVICE HIGH VOLTAGE CHARGING SYSTEM". THIS IS A SOFTWARE ERROR THAT CHEVROLET NEEDS TO CORRECT ON THE 2013 CHEVROLET VOLTS AT NO COST TO OWNERS.
NHTSA ODI #11400016
Mileage unknown · Dec 28, 2020
Unknown Or Other
AIRBAG WARNING LIGHTS HAS STARTED TO CONTINUALLY TURN ON -- EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO PROBLEM. I THINK THE SENSOR HAS MALFUNCTIONED.
NHTSA ODI #11385325
80,000 miles · Nov 27, 2020
Electrical SystemStructureUnknown Or Other
THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW IN THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE THAT CAUSES WATER TO LEAK IN AND POOL IN THE FRONT PASSENGER FLOORBOARD. THERE ARE LOTS OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS NEAR WHERE THIS WATER POOLS THAT COULD CAUSE A SAFETY ISSUE.
NHTSA ODI #11376637
68,450 miles · Oct 30, 2020
Unknown Or Other
ON CITY STREETS AND THE HIGHWAY, WHEN INCREASING OR DECREASING SPEED THE DRIVE MOTOR STATOR/ROTARY BEARING MAKES A CHAINSAW TYPE SOUND INDICATINGTHE BEARING AND COVERS FAILURE. THERE IS ALREADY A SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS VOLT HAS LOW MILES AND SHOULD NOT BE MY $1400 EXPENSE TO REPAIR WHEN THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE…
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ON CITY STREETS AND THE HIGHWAY, WHEN INCREASING OR DECREASING SPEED THE DRIVE MOTOR STATOR/ROTARY BEARING MAKES A CHAINSAW TYPE SOUND INDICATINGTHE BEARING AND COVERS FAILURE. THERE IS ALREADY A SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS VOLT HAS LOW MILES AND SHOULD NOT BE MY $1400 EXPENSE TO REPAIR WHEN THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE DEFECTIVE PARTS CAUSING THIS PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM BECAUSE THE BREAK DOWN OF THE BEARING WILL EVENTUALLY STOP THE VEHICLES FUNCTION AT AN UNKNOWN TIME.
NHTSA ODI #11372416
Official recalls
3Jul 27, 2023
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Buick Verano, Chevrolet Camero, Sonic, and Volt vehicles. The driver-side air bag inflator may explode during deployment due to a manufacturing defect.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver-side air bag module, free of charge. On some 2013 Volt vehicles, the steering wheel will be replaced as well, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2023. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232413120.
Jun 14, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Chevrolet Volt vehicles. An update to the Hybrid Powertrain Control Module 2 (HPCM2) may have disabled the cell balancing function causing a low-voltage condition.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the voltage drops, the vehicle may lose propulsion, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the HPCM2, free of charge. The recall began July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18215.
Mar 13, 2015
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Volt vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, to June 26, 2013. If the driver exits the vehicle without turning off the electrical system, the battery may drain low enough that the gasoline engine will automatically start itself to recharge the electric battery.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the engine runs for an extended period of time in an enclosed space, there may be a build up of carbon monoxide, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the engine management software to limit the time that the stationary vehicle can be left in the ON position, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14617.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Electrical System:ignition
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Volt vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, to June 26, 2013. If the driver exits the vehicle without turning off the electrical system, the battery may drain low enough that the gasoline engine will automatically start itself to recharge the electric battery.
Consequence: If the engine runs for an extended period of time in an enclosed space, there may be a build up of carbon monoxide, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the engine management software to limit the time that the stationary vehicle can be left in the ON position, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14617.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Volt vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, to June 26, 2013. If the driver exits the vehicle without turning off the electrical system, the battery may drain low enough that the gasoline engine will automatically start itself to recharge the electric battery.
Consequence: If the engine runs for an extended period of time in an enclosed space, there may be a build up of carbon monoxide, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the engine management software to limit the time that the stationary vehicle can be left in the ON position, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14617.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
PE19013 · Passenger Sensing System
Opened Sep 17, 2019 · Closed Jul 2, 2021
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
In September 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-013 to assess the potential safety related effects of a malfunction of the Passenger Sensing System (PSS) in 2012-2013 Model Year (MY) Chevrolet Volt vehicles. Consumers reported that due to a malfunction of the PSS, the air bag system malfunction indicator light (MIL) was activated. Many of the complaints noted the malfunction occurred after the warranty period expired and mentioned high repair costs as a major deterrent to the repair of the vehicle.The PSS sensor mat is embedded in the front passenger seat cushion and is intended to detect child seats and small statured occupants who could be harmed by deployment of the frontal passenger air bag. The PSS may develop a malfunction due to bunching of the sensor mat in the seat trench. The bunching of the sensor mat could cause the mat to repeatedly fold in the same location. Over time, the repeated folding can cause an increased resistance in the sensor mat. An increased resistance in the PSS sensor mat is detected as a fault in the air bag system diagnostic. If this fault is detected, a diagnostic trouble code will be stored in the air bag control unit and the air bag MIL will illuminate.Further, if the fault is detected, the passenger frontal and knee air bags will be suppressed in a crash of sufficient severity to warrant a commanded deployment regardless of the nature of size of the occupant of the front passenger seat.The report counts shown above include only those reports that specifically address the issue covered by this investigation, failure of the PSS sensor mat. Reports alleging only that the air bag light is on with no cause stated, or where a different cause was otherwise identified, were excluded as the air bag light could be illuminated for system faults other than a PSS malfunction.The subject vehicles have been in service for approximately ten (10) years. An analysis of General Motors (GM) warranty data for the subject vehicles, including a comparison with other agency and manufacturer data pertaining to similar occupant detection system failure investigations, indicates the subject vehicles experience a comparatively low complaint rate for this issue given the number of years the vehicles have been in service.GM has instituted a cost reduction program for the repair/replacement of the PSS in the subject vehicles. Based on this cost reduction program as well as:1) a comparatively low warranty rate; 2) no reported injuries, deaths or asymmetric deployments; and 3) the age of the vehicles; ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety related defect does not exist. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.nhtsa.gov under the following ODI identification numbers in a separate attachment.
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