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2012 Chevrolet Volt Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 245 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Volt, most often about the electrical (35% of complaints, typically around 73,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Volt model year since 2000 and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2012 Chevrolet Volt problems
Electrical
86 complaints · 35%Half of these problems showed up before 73,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, ignition, propulsion system, 12v/24v/48v battery.
The screen on the drivers dash for the instrument panel , speed, gas volume and electric charge,has gone black or blank and stays black in park or in driving mode. The result of the inspection from a chevy technician found the cluster is inop. It needs to be replaced and reprogramed for $923.52 as quoted.this is an on…
Vehicle dies suddenly while moving, although under full electric charge. Could not restart. Chevy said was software problem and made fix dec 2018. Just happened again yesterday 2/17. Others reported on Volt blog site. Said wait 5-10 minutes and then restart, which I did and that worked. Concern that loss of power is…
Air bags
86 complaints · 35%Half of these problems showed up before 98,000 miles. Parts named most often: sensor, srs malfunction warning lamp/light.
The passenger airbag system will intermittently code for service airbag. It will do this when a passenger is in or not in the seat. When it does this the airbag indicates as off instead of defaulting to on. This is worrisome cause the airbag could not deploy in the event of any accident on the passenger side when it…
Front passenger seat airbag module is bad. No accidents. Sensor failure comes on when you start the car. Chevrolet is saying it's over $800 to replace. 99950 miles on odometer. Airbag sensor started coming on sporadically while an adult was sitting in the front passenger seat during the last 10,000-20,000 miles of…
Fuel system
37 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 77,500 miles.
Gm sent me the following letter dated sept. 2016: "this letter is intended to make you aware that some 2012 model year Chevrolet Volt vehicles may have a condition where the accelerator pedal can break at the stalk just below the housing due to the driver entering or exiting the vehicle with their foot resting on the…
Warning message saying I had limited propulsion came on when driving normally in neighborhood.. No warning light came on with it. I could no longer accelerate. I pulled over and turned off the car. Turned it back on and message and problem were gone. This is second event like this.
Engine
27 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 52,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and completely lost power. The vehicle was towed. In addition, the check engine indicator illuminated without warning. The vehicle was diagnosed, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made…
I was driving the car normally in electric mode, and parked it with one mile remaining of electricity. Upon restarting the car a few minutes later, the gasoline engine came on and was revving at a very high rate. In addition, a pop-up message on the dashboard read 'propulsion power is reduced.' the engine continued to…
Brakes
24 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. On several occasions, the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the regenerative brake bearing. While the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to stop. As a result, the contact had to wait for the brake pedal to return to normal position to stop the vehicle. There…
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the contact depressed the brake pedal to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact had to shift the gear into park in order to stop the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, powered off and…
Transmission
22 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles.
Air bag sensor pad in front passenger seat is faulty. Dash light comes on and off at random in front seat. May lead to airbags failing to go off. Front passenger seat faulty, air bag sensor pad is not installed beneath the foam in the seat, instead it is on top. Has lead to numerous problems when even just setting a…
The drive motor rotor bearing failed at approximately 71,000 miles. This major repair to the drive train makes the car unusually loud and the dealer cautioned that it was a safety hazard and that if left in repaired could cause more substantial damage to other vehicle components.
Other or unspecified
17 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
2012 chevy Volt airbag passenger side. Light car has been tampered with by the dealerships. Have been dealing with this since I bought the car. Refusal to fix. Issue allows for third party access to my vehicle. Using sub language menus. For spanish and french. This is a major problem and no one is doing anything about…
I was making a left hand turn and was hit by an SUV who ran a red light doing about 35 or 40 miles per hour on front of my car. It hit the front of my car spinning it to the right [about 160 degree turn] when my car spun I hit the back of my head and left shoulder on the door pillar, my head hurt and I was dazed. The…
Seats
14 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 93,000 miles.
Air bag sensor inside the seat started failing intermittently. Over 6 months it went from going off and back on once a trip, to multiple times in a trip. Then full on failed. Appears to be a common issue based on discussions here: https://gm-Volt.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-306433.html
The air bag sensor warning light is on and air bag will not work for passenger seats. Per the dealership there is an issue with the airbag sensor that they are aware of the cost of repair is 800. To replace the airbag sensor module. They said placing a cell phone or laptop on the seat causes the malfunction but there…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Chevrolet Volt recalls
Electrical: ignition
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Brakes: service brakes
Risk: If the brakes lock up it could cause a loss of steering control and/or a lengthened distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and dealers will install a new brake pressure modulator valve free of charge. The recall is expected to begin july 12, 2013. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-866-694-6546. Gm's recall number is 13184.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2012 chevrolet volt vehicles manufactured march 1, 2012, through april 17, 2012. Due to a brake pressure modulator valve problem, the vehicles do not relieve brake pressure from the front brakes during an anti-lock brake system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), or traction control event. One or both front brakes may lock up and not release. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standards (fmvss) no. 126, "electronic stability control systems"' and no. 135, "light vehicle brake systems."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
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 matt
Passenger sensing system
Summary
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 t
Post-crash EV fire hazard
Summary
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 drive
Questions about the 2012 Chevrolet Volt
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Chevrolet Volt?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (86 complaints, typically around 73,000 miles); air bags (86 complaints, typically around 98,000 miles); fuel system (37 complaints, typically around 77,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Chevrolet Volt have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from March 13, 2015 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Chevrolet Volt?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Volt model year since 2000, with 245 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.