Two car plug-in family failure (volt problems)

[Pipcecil]

So after owning a leaf for 6 months my wife decided she enjoyed the electric drive so much she wanted one for herself and decided on getting a volt. The decision on a volt versus another leaf was due to styling and her roundtrip commute of 100+ miles (extremely difficult in cold weather with wind on a leaf).

We ordered the volt at the beginning of february with an expected delivery in 6-8 weeks. Unfortunately, the month break was annouced 3 weeks after and our car was pushed to production after the break, much to my wifes dissapointment.

We waited 3.5 crueling months (she has been extremely excited to get a volt as was I) and our dealership finally called yesterday saying it was ready and we could pick it up! After going through all the paperwork/waiting for 3 hours, we finally had our volt and were driving off the lot....then disaster hit.

The check engine light came on while still in the parking lot. We circled around and found our sales rep again who was quite dismayed and confused. The car had 2.1 miles on it. It was already passed the dealership's closing time and the rep had a good idea to use the onstar system diagnostic to figure out the problem, he was thinking it was a sensor error or something, but what came back was worse:

Combustion engine sparking was failing and the engine was not operating correctly. In addition the power output from the electric engine was way below normal and was failing as well. What...the...hell.

The rep was competely shocked as was my wife, whom at this time, was well beyond angry to be so close..yet so far.

I am now extremely concerned. Did we get a lemon? How could a car pass checks at the factory, train depot, and dealership with a major problem? I am frustrated, but maybe optamistic that it was maybe a sensor problem. What could cause the check engine light to come on and a report with those errors? Anyone have ideas?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

all of the symptoms you described cannot be verified by any on board diagnostic you have access to. it could be nothing more than a bad sensor and the car is actually running fine.

 

[CarZin]

Chill out. They obviously just got it off the truck, and there is no telling what happened in transit.

As a Volt owner, while using OnStar to read engine diagnostics codes can be nice, it also can inadvertently mislead you. I have had the check engine light come on 2 times, both after connecting to bad charging stations. The errors Onstar read back were ominous. But it was just a result of a bad EVSE that was failing to charge, and the light cleared one day later.

Was the battery fully charged when you got it? Was it trying to operate on gas?

You also need to visit gm-volt.com, as that group is going to be a lot better helping you out than Leaf Owners. I think this is the first time I have heard of this error.

 

[TomT]

It happens from time to time with all cars and it likely is not a big deal. There have been a number of Leaf owners who have also had similar occurrences right after delivery and they were easily and permanently resolved. It's truly a bummer after such a long wait but I'd not let it spoil the experience. The likely explanation IS a sensor or connection issue, or it might simply be a false error code. I seriously doubt it is anything significant.

I am now extremely concerned. Did we get a lemon? How could a car pass checks at the factory, train depot, and dealership with a major problem? I am frustrated, but maybe optamistic that it was maybe a sensor problem. What could cause the check engine light to come on and a report with those errors? Anyone have ideas?

 

[smkettner]

Keep us posted. I think it will get fixed and will be fine for a long time.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i am sure it was just a poor checkout procedure on the dealers part. you stated you were there after closing time which means about 8 PM? so the service dept probably closed at 6 and there were codes leftover from the shipping of the vehicle that were not cleared is what i am guessing.

 

[garygid]

Was the car actually running well and driving OK without any
strange sounds?

 

[UkrainianKozak]

What the battery fully charged and gas in the tank?
I wonder if someone forgot to put gas in considering it was electric, and some other guy forgot to put it on charger after delivery thinking that it can run on gas?

 

[Pipcecil]

There was gas in the tank (it was full) and the sales rep had tried to charge the battery but had not plugged it in correctly (fyi in comparison to the Leaf the Volt is WAY more difficult to plug in. The angle is straight instead of slightly tilted up, and the "snap" in requires more force) so it only get a standard 120v charge for the 3 hours we were there when my wife and I noticed no light on the dashboard for charging. So with 500 feet of driving the main gas engine shouldn't have turned on and the electric engine had enough juice for the trip.

It could have been codes that were not cleared or a sensor error. For that 500 feet the car was running fine, no sounds, no anything out of the ordinary. But it was in parking lot, so we may have topped out at 10 mph? So there was no hard push on the motor (either) at all.

We haven't heard back from the dealership yet, but hopefully soon. Now that I am a little more clear headed about the issue instead of frustrated, it really is probably a code not wipped or a mis-fired sensor. Although the dealership had never seen a car get an engine warning that early before *shrug*. Its just playing the waiting game now.

 

[scottf200]

It could have been codes that were not cleared or a sensor error. For that 500 feet the car was running fine, no sounds, no anything out of the ordinary. But it was in parking lot, so we may have topped out at 10 mph? So there was no hard push on the motor (either) at all.

NOTE: it takes 3 drive cycles (on/off short drives) for the Volt to "test" the errors and if it doesn't reoccur then it will turn the light off. I'm fairly sure about that.

NOTE that the Volt's ICE/GG does not turn on under 20 MPH typically. See the 2nd graph here of 80% acceleration up to 90 MPH. Note that the Volt's ICE/GG doesn't show any RPM until 20+MPH http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9191-80-acceleration-up-to-90-MPH-and-compare-RPM-of-diff-vehicles" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mkjayakumar]

Why don't you simply return this and pick another equivalent car, perhaps with more options for the same price? The dealer should be able to do that considering the trouble they put your through..

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Probablh does not not have another Volt.

When I first saw the thread I figured it was an argument over who got to plug in first

 

[DANandNAN]

Sorry to read about your troubles, but I think you'd get more assistance posting on the gm-volt forum mentioned earlier. What does your personal Volt Adviser (complimentary, provided by GM) say? If you haven't talked to him/her yet, you should. I've never had a problem but the folks that have say they're great.

With this being so new, you may not have a Volt Adviser yet, so post on the gm-volt forum and you'll get assistance from one of the VA that monitor the forum or call and get one.

Good luck.

 

[Pipcecil]

Well time to settle the betting, it was codes not cleared by the dealership.

Apparently the dealership never went through any pre-check on the car resulting some codes not being cleared. In addition there was a minor software recall for the volt (you volt people can weight in on that) for some charging software, etc. To help people get the recall fixed, a engine light error was sent to the vehicles (don't know if it was for everyone or for people that procrastinated) and the system, if you used onstar to "diagnose" came back with heavy errors to "scare" you into bringing your car in.

So, in the end, just an excited dealership forgetting to clear basic codes and for not doing a software update. Wife and Volt are now happy (wife happy = major priority)

!

 

[scottf200]

<snip>In addition there was a minor software recall for the volt (you volt people can weight in on that) for some charging software, etc. To help people get the recall fixed, a engine light error was sent to the vehicles (don't know if it was for everyone or for people that procrastinated) and the system, if you used onstar to "diagnose" came back with heavy errors to "scare" you into bringing your car in.<snip>

Excellent news that you got your ride and the wife is happy. Keep us posted how she likes it (here or http://www.gm-volt.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. BTW, I have never heard of the charging software issue you mentioned or the 'heavy errors to scare you' and I follow Volt news fairly closely. Hopefully the better education dealer will sell a lot and a lot smoother next time. Nice color on the LEAF (I'd say that on the Volt but I have the same color and I would seem insincere <grin>). Hopefully with the two great "guilt-free" cars you don't forget about those lonely bikes hanging up <g>.

 

[CarZin]

Excellent! I wish I had two EVs in my garage Enjoy your Volt!

 

[mkjayakumar]

Two EVs, both beautiful red. Lovely..

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

yep. figured as much. i work at a dealership and i can tell you for certain. there is a new car checklist that the salesman did not complete but it is not his fault. the service dept which would have been closed by the time you got there should have had it ready to roll out way before you got there.

 

[palmermd]

I was going to say your Volt delivery was a lot like my Leaf delivery. Never got it off the lot before it died, but mine has been a happy story ever since, and I'm sure yours will be too. Congratulations on the new car. Enjoy!

 

[davewill]

Pipecil, What are your charging arrangements for the two cars? Did you install two L2s in the garage or...?