Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
PIT5074F05/01/201210044242Gm: j-35616-64b terminal test probe and replacement terminal. also included models verano, regal, lacrosse, cts, srx, volt, sonic, malibu, impala, equinox, cruze, avalanche, tahoe suburban, silverado, sierra, yukon, and terrain for model05/24/2012
PIC-557211/01/2011PIC-5572-A10042364Chevrolet: on certain vehicles, after updated calibrations were installed, may exhibit a possible and an estimated electric range drop. *pe updated 12/7/11. *pe12/06/2011
PIC-557210/01/201110042364Chevrolet: on certain vehicles, after updated calibrations were installed, may exhibit a possible and an estimated electric range drop. *pe12/06/2011
PIC-5549-A10/01/201110042344Chevrolet: certain vehicles may exhibits symptom(s) of check engine lamp illuminated and vehicle fails to charge. check the charge port door for open/closed switch operation. *pe12/06/2011
PIC-556510/01/201110042324Chevrolet: on certain vehicles, cord cannot be removed from receptacle if the charge cord handle latch is stuck. can not shift vehicle out of park if this arises. *pe12/06/2011
PIC-556510/01/2011PIC-5565-A10042324Chevrolet: on certain vehicles, cord cannot be removed from receptacle if the charge cord handle latch is stuck. can not shift vehicle out of park if this arises. *pe updated 12/7/11. *pe12/06/2011
SB-11-09-41-003B10/01/201110042389Chevrolet: intermittently, the air bag indicator would illuminate. *pe12/06/2011
PIC-547806/01/201110039509Ready08/01/2011
PIP-490504/01/201110038753Ready06/27/2011
PIP-490504/01/201110038753Gm: 2011 volt. the vehicle will not charge and there may be a trouble code stored. *rm06/27/2011
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
PIP-4843-A02/01/201210043667Chevrolet: gm tac has placed, on restriction, the drive motor generator control module part, known as pim. *pe04/18/2012
PIP-4865-A12/01/201110043313Chevrolet: during cold temperature, internal combustion engine (ice), runs when vehicle is plugged to charger or cycles on and off if running for extended time. *pe03/12/2012
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY
PI-072706/01/201210044381Chevrolet: due to stone or foreign material impact, the high voltage battery radiator may leak coolant and may need to be replaced. *pe06/18/2012
PI-073205/01/201210044382Chevrolet: messaged displayed in driver information center (dic), indicating high voltage charging system service, after enhancements for side impact pole performance update was performed. *pe06/18/2012
PIC-5448-A12/01/201110043312Chevrolet: bulletin providing information on displaying vehicle and how to maintain the 12 volt battery properly for the vehicle. *pe03/12/2012
PIC-544203/01/201110038505Ready06/16/2011
PIC-544203/01/201110038505Gm: information on testing and charging the battery. 2011-2012 volt. *rm06/16/2011
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE
PB-1113708/01/201110041528Chevrolet: product enhancements for various issues. software updates and calibrations. *pe10/04/2011
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY
PIP-4871-A10/01/201110042385Chevrolet: while driving vehicle with shift lever out of park, vehicle may be set to power off. power button was pressed inadvertently instead of drive mode button. *pe12/06/2011

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY
PE11037GENERAL MOTORS LLC11/25/201101/20/2012Post-Crash EV Fire Hazard
 The subject vehicles, which employ emerging technology, are range-extended electric vehicles that utilize a high voltage (hv) battery to provide energy for propulsion. the hv battery is lithium-ion based technology that has a nominal full charge of 390 vdc, a 16 kwh capacity, and a control system that incorporates liquid (antifreeze) cooling and various electronic devices (control modules, sensors, wiring, etc) to monitor and manage the hv battery. the hv battery, portions of the cooling system, and the control system are contained within a common enclosure.during an ncap oblique side pole impact test conducted by nhtsa in may 2011, the pole struck and deformed the sill plate under the driver's door at a location where there is a structural member. the lateral member displaced inward, pierced the hv battery enclosure and battery, and caused a battery coolant leak. thereafter, the agency conducted a rollover test (the rollover test consists of four 90-degree rotate-and-hold movements about the vehicle's longitudinal axis). in that test, the hv battery and electronics were exposed to coolant that leaked as a result of the crash. the vehicle fire that occurred three weeks later and the additional testing nhtsa conducted are discussed in a report titled 2011 chevrolet volt battery fire incident report a copy of which is available in the public file. the report indicates that intrusion induced coolant leakage, and subsequent rollover that saturates electronic components, were the only test conditions which resulted in a subject vehicle hv battery fire.gm announced its intention to conduct a free-of-charge customer satisfaction campaign (csp) on the subject vehicles on january 5, 2012. the action affects 14,735 vehicles produced prior to december 21, 2011. the csp addresses three areas related to the issue under investigation. the first involves a modification/strengthening of the structure of the vehicle in the area where battery intrusion occurred in the may 2011 test. the second involves adding a sensor that detects excessive hv battery coolant loss, and control system software that then alerts the driver and prevents recharging of the hv battery. when the battery cannot be recharged, it will be depleted to a lower energy state as the vehicle continues to operate on the internal combustion engine. lastly, a tamper-proofing device will be added to the system to prevent consumers from adding coolant. gm discusses these revisions in its response to an information request (ir) issued by nhtsa, noting that vehicles produced in calendar year 2012 and later will be manufactured to this condition.in december 2011, and at the same test facility, nhtsa repeated the may 2011 side impact test using a model year 2012 volt modified to the structural condition described in the csp. the test did not produce intrusion of the hv battery, a coolant leakage, or a fire (see test 7611, available at www.nhtsa.gov/research/databases+and+software). in its ir response, gm describes four (4) additional side impact tests of modified subject vehicles it recently conducted using various build configurations and impact speeds (including higher speeds). gm reports that none produced hv battery intrusion, coolant leakage, or a fire.as noted in the complaint counts above, odi has not identified a crash occurring in consumer's use of the vehicle that has resulted in a vehicle fire, or produced coolant leakage. odi notes that side impact crashes with pole-like structures, such as would strike the sill plate, occur fairly infrequently, and such crashes with rollovers are even less frequent. a defect trend has not been identified at this time, and further investigation does not appear to be warranted. accordingly, the investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist, and the agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.
PE11037GENERAL MOTORS LLC11/25/201101/20/2012Post-Crash EV Fire Hazard
 The subject vehicles, which employ emerging technology, are range-extended electric vehicles that utilize a high voltage (hv) battery to provide energy for propulsion. the hv battery is lithium-ion based technology that has a nominal full charge of 390 vdc, a 16 kwh capacity, and a control system that incorporates liquid (antifreeze) cooling and various electronic devices (control modules, sensors, wiring, etc) to monitor and manage the hv battery. the hv battery, portions of the cooling system, and the control system are contained within a common enclosure.during an ncap oblique side pole impact test conducted by nhtsa in may 2011, the pole struck and deformed the sill plate under the driver
PE11037GENERAL MOTORS LLC11/25/2011Post-Crash EV Fire Hazard
 On may 12, 2011, nhtsa performed a ncap side pole impact test, followed by a post impact rollover test on a chevrolet volt.in connection with that testing, nhtsa has identified the potential for intrusion damage to the battery which may result in a substantial thermal reaction and fire. twenty-one days after the may 12, 2011 testing, delayed thermal heating and pressure release resulted in a fire that consumed the chevrolet volt and three other vehicles in close proximity at the test facility.during the week of november 14, 2011, nhtsa performed follow-up battery-level tests to simulate the incident.nhtsa performed three tests simulating the mechanical damage to a battery pack observed from the first incident.two of the three tests produced thermal events, including fire.because of these test results, nhtsa has opened this investigation to examine the potential risks involved from intrusion damage to the battery in the chevrolet volt, in coordination with the agency

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
07/26/20118482
 Our volt was left overnight to charge using the supplied 120v level one charge cord that comes with the vehicle (therefore i consider it part of the vehicle.) in the morning the vehicle was not charged -- at some point during the night the charge failed after the battery accumulated just 5 miles of estimated range. the socket into which the charge cord had been plugged, the receptacle of a kill-a-watt charge measuring device, was scorched and partially melted. there may have been a small electrical fire at the point where the volt's cord plugged into the device, but it is impossible to say. this seems to have happened because the strain relief on the cord was torn in half and the wires it was supposed to protect became exposed to the outside and perhaps to each other. it is quite likely that these exposed charge cord wires shorted against something inside the charge cord assembly, and that short caused the damage where the cord was plugged in at its wall end. guaranty chevrolet took possession of the cord (at gm's request) and ordered a new one under warranty, so the cord itself is no longer available for inspection. i still have the kill-a-watt device, and, despite the obvious visible damage, it still works. (i don't use it, though.) to me the strain relief on this cord was very flimsy. the material seemed too soft an pliable to do very much. the replacement seemed to be no different apart from one additional flex segment. i was not impressed, but so far the failure has not repeated. i have photos if you would like to see them. photos of the old cord, the melted socket and the new cord. also, i used a new kill-a-watt on this car after the incident and on other electric cars with no problems. it may be tempting to blame this device, but it has a sufficient amp rating and the problem happened on a day the strain relief failed.