2017 Chevrolet Volt

My 2017 Chevrolet Volt started displaying an error message last week "reduced propulsion power". I set up an appointment at the dealership but had to continue driving in the meantime. The error message changed to "Engine Unavailable" and shortly therefore shut down completely. We had it towed to a dealership, who has informed us that the EGR valve and gasket need to be replaced, and are on indefinite backorder. This is clearly a safety issue as we need to be able to rely on the car not shutting down in the middle of driving. Now we are left without a car or a timeline for repair.

1st incident-While doing a U-Turn on an inclined road car suddenly sounded like it was going to die, no acceleration when I pressed on the gas pedal. Car almost stopped as it was on a hill and suddenly the gas engine turned on so the accelerator started to work again. I felt very unsafe and thought I was going to get hit by any on coming cars due to the loss of acceleration. 2nd incident(about a month after the 1st)-Just going straight down a road, pressed on the accelerator and again nothing happened, no acceleration, car sounded like it was turning off, then switched over to the gas engine and the accelerator started to work again. Also, not very safe with cars coming up behind me quickly and loss of acceleration. Had GM look at car, could not reproduce problem, BCEM module already replaced-they could not replace due to GM not approving a second replacement, they would not say car is safe, but go ahead and drive it anyway until the problem occurs again. How many times should this happen before I am actually in an accident because of this problem? I have been the sole owner of this care since 2017 and I have done all the maintenance required for it, I do believe this is a safety issue that should be addressed. I have just been told to drive it until it catastrophically doesn't work, how reassuring of GM!

While driving, a warning message came on: "Engine unavailable." I was able to drive a few more blocks but then the car stopped on its own. This happened despite the fact that the car had almost a full tank of gas. If this had happened on the highway, it would have been very dangerous. Luckily, I was on a fairly empty city street and I simply pulled to the curb. This is a known problem with the Chevy Volt (2017). An independent service center confirmed that the original problem is that the EGR valve needs replacing. When this is an issue, a fuse often blows and this fuse stops the car from moving. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance rep or others. There was a message that came on a few days before the incident that said "propulsion power is reduced." An independent service center said the EGR valve needs to be replaced. There are no EGR valves available; they have been on back order for months. I have an appointment with the Chevy dealer for next week, so they can confirm the EGR valve needs replacing and I can get on their waitlist to receive an EGR valve. This is expected to take 6-12 months or possibly longer. In the meantime, I can drive the car on electric charge but am supposed to avoid engaging the ICE engine. If I end up running out of electric charge, I am at risk of once again having the fuse blow and the car failing to move forward. This is ridiculous. Why is GM/Chevy not required to provide parts in a timely manner to existing customers to make sure their cars run safely? I am definitely not the only Volt owner experiencing this issue -- there are many people online complaining about the same issue. All of us risk a situation of the car stopping to run at any time.

Starting June 2024 my car started s displaying the check engine light with the message “Propulsion power is reduced” when driving on electric. When the message is displayed it switches to gas even if it has a full charge. Since June 2024 the check engine light is mostly on but sometimes turns off when electric is depleted and it’s running on gas. The message is randomly displayed when I accelerate

I own a 2017 Chevrolet Volt and at about 90,000 miles on the odometer, my dashboard displayed a "Propulsion Power Reduced" message, and upon diagnostic scanning, error code P0401 was detected. This code indicates an issue with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. After further investigation, it has been determined that the EGR valve has failed and requires replacement. However, finding a suitable replacement part has proven to be challenging due to limited availability. I had work done to repair the issue at the dealership, but found it wasn't resolved during a recent attempt to pass emissions. This issue is well-documented with Chevrolet Volt owners and can lead to a dangerous loss of power, particularly when driving uphill or in demanding traffic conditions. The sudden reduction in propulsion power could potentially impede traffic flow and create hazardous situations for both the driver and other road users.

While making a 90 mile drive on 7/20, after having depleted the primary battery charge and switched to hybrid mode, a "propulsion power is reduced" warning appeared on the console, along with the Check Engine Light. Other than somewhat reduced power (max displayed of ~40-50 kW), performance otherwise seemed unimpeded. Contacted local dealership to schedule service for earliest available date of 7/26. Car made return 90 mile trip on 7/21 without issue additional issue ("propulsion power is reduced" message remained.) Service identified "numerous codes", but replaced a fuse known to result in the above issue and observed no other issues. Car was driven purely on battery at that time, and for the intervening time until a 170 mile drive on 8/2, where the message and Check Engine Light reappeared, again after battery charge was consumed and car switched to hybrid power mode. Dealership was again contacted to schedule service, slated for the morning of 8/7 (tomorrow, as of this writing). Car reached its destination without further incident. During return 170 mile trip on 8/5, traveling on the highway, car abruptly alerted that the engine was no longer available and entered a severely reduced-power mode. Car had been operating in "mountain mode" (conserving some extra battery charge) as a precaution, so we were able safely exit the highway and pull into a local parking lot, at which point AAA was contacted to tow the car the remaining 120 miles home. Upon arriving home, the car was able to pull into the garage without the "engine not available" alert, but still displaying Check Engine Light and "propulsion power reduced" messages. We have come to understand this is a fairly common issue with Generation II Volts and have been advised by other owners to file this report.

[XXX], while driving on [XXX], check engine light came on with reduced propulsion warning. Continued driving to destination without incidence. Did not drive again until [XXX]. [XXX] while driving using "hold" method of propulsion using internal combustion engine, check engine light remained on, after the engine warmed up, all of the sudden, there was a noticeable reduction of power, followed shortly by the internal combustion engine shutting off while I was entering onto an interstate highway ramp. Fortunately I was able to pull off to the side of the road and back down the ramp without incidence and return home under grossly reduced battery propulsion. July 8, took vehicle to Chevrolet dealership (Baierl Chevrolet, Wexford PA) under battery power. Was told ECM module was bad. ECM module was replaced, error codes cleared, vehicle ran as expected. after driving approximately 50 miles, check engine light with reduced propulsion warning returned. Turned vehicle around and returned to the same dealership. Was told EGR valve was bad while blowing fuse F03 (Non walk home circuit). The dealership did not have a replacement in stock and it would take 7-10 days to obtain a replacement. I had to rent a vehicle out of my own pocket to return home for employment purposes. July 11th, I emailed dealership's service advisor for status of replacement part. Never heard back from service advisor. July 15, 11:24 am, talked to dealership service advisor, was told part was in transit with no estimated delivery date. July 22 called service adviser and left a voice mail message for a return status call. Never received a return call. July 23, called dealership, talked to parts department for part status, was told part had not shipped from warehouse yet and there was no estimate on shipment. After having to return the rental vehicle, I am without a vehicle for my daily required activities. Not an acceptable situations. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving down the highway at normal speeds when I noticed the engine temperature began climbing out of the blue, and eventually the CEL light came on before the dashboard read "Propulsion Power Reduced" and eventually the engine stopped entirely and I had to coast to an area on the side of the highway where I could pull over. The battery-only part of the car was drained but there was plenty of gas in the tank, so my only way out was via the ICE. I turned the car off, waited for it to cool down, then turned it back on, only for the same issue to occur within another couple of miles of highway driving. I had to repeat this process until I was able to get to an exit and coast to a business that would let me recharge the battery enough to drive on battery-only where I could park it overnight, as I was not near my home. Eventually I had to get the car towed to a dealership, where I was told it was either an EGR valve or EGR cooler that needed replacing. After the dealership refused to provide any specifics regarding the diagnostics in writing, Chevrolet corporate informed me that it was an EGR valve that was requested and is on global backorder. This issue has not been resolved for a year now, and put me in the extremely dangerous position of losing power entirely on the highway with almost no warning, and no statements to date that would have prepared me to deal with this issue.