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2016 Chevrolet Volt Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 170 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, most often about the electrical (45% of complaints, typically around 45,500 miles). It is 5th of 9 Volt model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2016 Chevrolet Volt problems
Electrical
77 complaints · 45%Half of these problems showed up before 45,500 miles. Parts named most often: propulsion system.
The vehicle issues a message to move the gear shifter into park (shift to park) message even when it is already in park. The vehicle will not engage nor will it enable the driver to turn the vehicle off which results in unsafe driving circumstances and strands the drive in untenable situations. This is known in social…
When I put the car in park and try to turn it off, I frequently get an error on the gauge display that says "action required, shift to park." this is very frustrating. When this error happens, I'm unable to power off the car or lock the doors. I turn the car back on, jiggle the shifter or move it into drive and back…
Fuel system
65 complaints · 38%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles.
The Volt center display has gone blank, probably a bad screen. The display serves multiple purpose: infotainment, navigation, charging control (being an electric vehicle), and most importantly the back up camera display. The rear hatchback visibility is very poorly designed, with great dependent & reliance on driver…
The contact's son owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer due to an oil leak caused by a puncture in the oil filter. The vehicle was repaired. The contact's son had informed the dealer that he had been smelling a fuel odor inside the vehicle; however, the dealer informed…
Transmission
51 complaints · 30%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Un-commanded vehicle acceleration under full electric drive mode (twice). While driving steady around 65 MPH on the freeway (no cruise control used), a slight step on the accelerator, caused the car immediately accelerated up to 88 MPH (dash show large electrical draw of battery power). Stepping on the brake, using…
This is an update to my original complaint #:11299056 for un-commanded acceleration on 1/13/2020. The chevy dealership worked with gm corporate engineers and were unable to duplicate the problem after several days. The returned the car and blamed it on the floor mat. This is not likely since the mat is a OEM heavy…
Engine
49 complaints · 29%Half of these problems showed up before 43,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system.
When attempting to turn off the car it says "action required: shift to park" and will proceed as being left on, despite being in park. This occurs about 70% of the time the car is driven and takes several tries of turning on the car, moving, parking, and turning back off before the engine shuts off without this…
The vehicle issues a message to move the gear shifter into park (shift to park) message even when it is already in park. The vehicle will not engage nor will it enable the driver to turn the vehicle off which results in unsafe driving circumstances and strands the drive in untenable situations. This is known in social…
Other or unspecified
20 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles.
When I press the power button to turn off the car, it won't shut off. A message on the dash says I must "shift to park". Of course, I've already shifted into park. If I put the shifter back into the "l" position several times, eventually it will shut off. This problem is getting worse by the day. Now I need to repeat…
When attempting to turn off the car it says "action required: shift to park" and will proceed as being left on, despite being in park. This occurs about 70% of the time the car is driven and takes several tries of turning on the car, moving, parking, and turning back off before the engine shuts off without this…
Speed control
6 complaints · 4%Un-commanded vehicle acceleration under full electric drive mode (twice). While driving steady around 65 MPH on the freeway (no cruise control used), a slight step on the accelerator, caused the car immediately accelerated up to 88 MPH (dash show large electrical draw of battery power). Stepping on the brake, using…
Brakes
4 complaints · 2%Service stabilitrak light came on along with ABS and traction control and check engine service center found metal debris on tone ring. Unknown origin
The contact owned a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the message service stabilitrak suddenly displayed. The brake pedal was still and the steering wheel failed to respond when turned as a result control of the vehicle was lost and the contact crashed into a bluff. The…
Stability control
3 complaints · 2%The entire control window was blank and I couldn't get it to come back after restarting the car. The radio and functions still worked, just couldn't see any of the functions to operate them. This was when the vehicle was started, and during the entire drive on city streets and a highway
Service stabilitrak light came on along with ABS and traction control and check engine service center found metal debris on tone ring. Unknown origin
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 Chevrolet Volt recalls
Air bags: frontal
Risk: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began november 8, 2017. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 17387.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2015-2016 gmc canyon and chevrolet colorado, and 2016 chevrolet volt vehicles. The driver's frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.
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
Loss of motive power due to the battery energy control module
Summary
On november 29, 2023, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened pe23022 to investigate allegations of a loss of motive power, including a stall, reduced power state, and/or a no start condition due to the battery energy control module (becm) in model year (my) 2016-2019 chevrolet volt passenger car vehicles manufactured by general motors (gm). The becm is located within the high voltage electric vehicle (EV) battery pack and monitors the temperature, current, and voltage of the high voltage battery cell groups. Gm stated that the root cause was identified as an internal failure leading to a loss of communication within the becm and does not pose a risk to motor vehicle safety. Gm fur
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
Questions about the 2016 Chevrolet Volt
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (77 complaints, typically around 45,500 miles); fuel system (65 complaints, typically around 57,500 miles); transmission (51 complaints, typically around 40,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Chevrolet Volt have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 5, 2017 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the Chevrolet Volt?
- It is 5th of 9 Volt model years by number of complaints, with 170 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.