Software glitch could strand Chevy Volt drivers

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By way of information, From Yahoo news:

The Detroit News reports that Chevrolet is initiating a “customer satisfaction” program to fix a computer glitch that can cause the plug-in hybrid car’s electric motor to shut down while the vehicle is in motion. Up to 4,000 2013 model year Volts may be affected by the problem.

The automaker is currently contacting owners to inform them of the issue, saying that it can occur after they use the Volt’s delayed charging feature, which allows them to program a time for the car to automatically start charging to take advantage of off-peak electricity rates.

Several owners have experienced the problem in the real world, but the automaker says steering and braking are not affected when it occurs, which apparently allowed all of them to safely bring their cars to a stop. Turning off the car and waiting 2-5 minutes before restarting it temporarily solves the problem, but owners are being asked to bring their cars to a Chevy dealer for a re-flash of the control system software.
According to Chevy, there have been no accidents or injuries and it is not being treated as a safety issue at this time. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has not yet commented on the issue.

The Volt comes with free roadside assistance for 5 years or 100,000 miles.

In January, Chevy initiated another customer satisfaction program to re-engineer the Volt in order to better protect the car's battery pack after government tests showed that certain components could potentially catch fire under after an accident.

No formal recall action was taken for the issue.
 
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Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.


I think it's going a little far to use "typical GM" here. I wouldn't call a software glitch like this "blowing it" especially since most people would never have even heard of it till now. This isn't something about an engine exploding or catastrophic failure, such as the examples you used. Seriously,making a mountain out of a molehill.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.


I think it's going a little far to use "typical GM" here. I wouldn't call a software glitch like this "blowing it" especially since most people would never have even heard of it till now. This isn't something about an engine exploding or catastrophic failure, such as the examples you used. Seriously,making a mountain out of a molehill.


Agreed Nick. Sounds a lot more like typical Microsoft than typical GM
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They're acknowledging and fixing the issue before NHTSA has even commented and notifying owners via FedEx.

That's not typical for *any* automaker.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.


Bah, this from the Guy who still drive a Mopar 2.2, your constant baseless bashing gets old...Before you get you knickers in a bunch I have had 8, yes 8 different 2.2 turbo cars. I can still name them all.
84 Laser, 85 Daytona, 85 Lebaron, 86 Laner, 86 Omni, 86 Lebaron, 87 Shelby Lancer #24 and (2) 88 Daytona Pacificas 1 auto, 1 speed. Not to mention one N/A Plymouth Horizon with the Holley 2 barrel. While I liked them they were piles, head gaskets, fuel pumps, turbos, axles, injector wiring harnesses. After all those piles I still bought a 96 Stratus. Worst car ever. Sorry your GM stuff from the 70's sucked. Get over it. Any GM I have owned has been better than any Mopar I have owned and you have not seen me cry or whine until this tread.


The 80's called. DD Mccall wants her car back. you should let go and give it back.
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Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Always degenerates to mindless GM bashing.

We would normally not even know about this except for the Net!



Yeah than the poster who started it brings up the Vega, Oldsmobile Diesel and ancient trannys!! Wow - 1980's stuff still being rubbed in.

NEWSFLASH!! ALL automakers, foriegn and domestic, have A LOT of software re-flashes all the time. No big news here. Not every issue can be simulated in durabilty testing - some things get by that the customer will see...and it gets fixed. What more do you want? This even happens with appliances and other goods we buy daily.
 
I'd take a glitchy control program over a cooked/frozen battery. One's a software update, while the other is decidedly more expensive to fix.

Look at all the Iphone users stranded when Apple kludged the maps app in iOS 6. They still haven't come out with a good fix for that.

Bad software gets written and corrected. Normal.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.


I think it's going a little far to use "typical GM" here. I wouldn't call a software glitch like this "blowing it" especially since most people would never have even heard of it till now. This isn't something about an engine exploding or catastrophic failure, such as the examples you used. Seriously,making a mountain out of a molehill.


The idiots that typical one a Prius would own a Volt and drive fast and are inconsiderate drivers. A lot of them couldn't figure out how to throw a Prius in Neutral to save their life. Having the engine cut off on you is very dangerous. You got a very limited time and speed to bring your car to stop safely and you still need to throw a car in Neutral to gain some precious speed to not get slammed from behind. I highly doubt Volt drivers can do that.

It caused me to buy a new car while investigating the problem. It sound like the Volt has the same problem as my stupid Corolla.
 
It was not my intention to have this thread turn into yet another that car company is ... bashing thread, but just for information out there as some have/are looking at getting this car. Since no formal recall will be issued this information my not be readily known. Just information, that's all geesh..
 
Originally Posted By: M1Accord


The idiots that typical one a Prius would own a Volt and drive fast and are inconsiderate drivers.


Some threads complain that Prius owners drive too slow, while others complain they drive too fast.

BITOG'ers can't even keep their stereotypes straight anymore!
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Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Typical GM.Everytime they try to push the "state of the art" they blow it.The millions of Vega 2300 aluminum block on steel piston rings,GM 350 diesel,TH200 transmission owners know that all too well.



Hypereutectic aluminum cylinders have evolved considerably since the Vega. And while GM led the way with the Vega engine, today Europe and Japan are leading the trend to the linerless aluminum block. OEM's using the material include Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Volvo, VW, Jaguar, Yamaha, and Honda. Manufacturers of power sport vehicles, outboard motors and compressors also use hypereutectic cylinders.
 
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