2013 Chevrolet Volt

Passenger Airbags failed to engage when occupied during accident, drivers side activated. Results in injured passenger

WHILE DRIVING IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC THIS CHEVY VOLT'S ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CRASHED CAUSING ME TO CRASH RIGHT ALONG WITH IT. NO BRAKES (ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM FAIL)NO STEERING OR HORN EVEN WORSE...NO AIR BAGS.... RESULTS: MULTI-CAR COLLISION WITH NO FATALITIES BUT, SEVERAL INJURYS.

OCT 24TH MORNING MURRIETA, CA , IT WAS RAINING AND BIG THUNDERS AND LIGHTING. MY WIFE STARTED FOR WORK , THE CAR WAS FULLY CHARGED. SHE MADE HER USUAL RIGHT TURN FROM " MURRIETTA HOTSPRINGS RD " TO " BUTTERFIELD STAGE ROAD" IN CITY OF MURRIETA / TEMECULA CA. SHE PUT THE CAR IN "REGENERATION MODE" AS THE ROAD WAS DOWN HILL. THERE WAS A BIG LIGHTING AND FOLLOWED BY A BIG THUNDER SOUNDS. SHE SAW WHITE LIGHT AND WAS BLINDED FOR FRACTION OF SECOND, IT WAS RAINING HEAVY, IMMEDIATELY SHE FELT THE CAR WAS FLOATED/DRIFTING TO LEFT , HIT THE CENTER RAOD DIVIDER AND ALL AIR BAGS WERE ALREADY DEPLOYED. SHE TRIED HER BEST TO PULL THE CAR TO RIGHT (SHE COULD NOT SEE DUE TO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED ALL EXCEPT PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG) BUT COULD NOT DO SO , SHE ALSO STATED THE STEERING WAS STRUCK. THE CAR CAME TO STOP AFTER JUMPING INTO OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET. NO OTHER CAR WAS INVOLVED. MOST OF THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR WAS TO THE FRONT WHEELS, FRONT UNDER BODY DUE TO IMPACT WITH THE CENTER ROAD DIVIDER. ALL AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED EXCEPT FOR THE PASSENGER. SHE WAS ALONE IN THE CAR. THE POLICE AND EMD WERE AT THE SCENE AFTER 10 -15 MINS AS SOMEONE HAD ALREADY CALLED 911. I WAS AT THE SCEEN AS THE LOCATION WAS 10 MINS FROM MY HOME. THE POLICE REPORT IS STILL DUE AS I NOTIFY YOU. INSURANCE DECLARED TOTAL LOSS. MY WIFE HAD MINOR INJURIES DUE TO AIR BAGS. WE HOPE SOMEONE CAN FIND ANSWERS FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. 1) DID LIGHTING CAUSE ANY ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE WITH VEHICLE ELECTRONICS WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT ? 2) WHY DID AIR BAGS DEPLOY IF THE WHEELS HIT THE CENTER DIVIDER . OR WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF AIRBAGS DEPLOYMENT ?

WHILE ENTERING IN THE HIGHWAY THE CAR STARTED TO DECELERATE REGARDLESS THE FACT THE GAS PEDAL WAS PUSHED SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR DECELERATED AND THEN STALLED. THE CAR HAS BEEN REAR ENDED BY THE CAR BEHIND. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH MORE SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND IT WAS A VEHICLE FAILURE.

AT LOW SPEED (UNDER 5 MPH) I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND HAD NO RESPONSE. I STOMPED DOWN WITH ALL MY MIGHT AND STILL HAD ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE FROM EITHER THE POWER ANTILOCK NOR THE MANUAL BRAKE. THE CAR CONTINUED FORWARD WITH NO SLOWING UNTIL IT HIT THE CAR AHEAD OF ME, TRAVELING SEVERAL FEET BEFORE DOING SO. I NEVER FELT ANY BRAKE ENGAGEMENT INCLUDING 'PUMPING' OF THE ANTILOCK OR ANY SLOWING. I WAS ON A CITY STREET AND HAD BEEN AT A FULL OR NEAR FULL STOP BEFORE LETTING OFF THE BRAKE TO ROLL FORWARD. I WAS GOING STRAIGHT AHEAD. BRAKES HAVE BEEN REGULARLY SERVICED.

IN AN EMERGENCY BRAKING SITUATION ON A CITY STREET TO AVOID A CAR I HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL AND IT WENT TO THE FLOOR, NO PULSE FROM THE ABS SYSTEM. HIT CURB AND BUMPER HIT FENCE. TOOK CAR TO SERVICE TO LEARN ABS ELECTRONIC CONTROLLER FAILED. NO WARNING LIGHT ON DASH OF ANY KIND. HAVE LEARNED GM HAS ISSUED A BULLETIN BUT NO RECALL MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. COST TO REPAIR $2400.00. CAR IS IN PERFECT CONDITION, HAS BEEN TROUBLE FREE AND HAS ONLY 23,000 MILES ON IT.

ON SEPT. 5TH 2018 I HIT THE CENTER ISLAND WHILE TURNING ON THE CITY STREET AT ABOUT 15MPH. THE IMPACT WAS SO SLIGHT THAT THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T EVEN DEPLOY. I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO THE DEALERS ON IT'S OWN POWER. MY INSURANCE COMPANY SENT THEIR APPRAISER ,JEREMY , TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE. I HAD TO GET SOME ITEMS OUT OF MY CAR BEFORE THAT. THE MECHANIC HAD THE CAR ON THE RACK SO HE COULD SHOW ME. THE ONLY DAMAGE I READILY NOTICED WAS THE RADIATORS WERE CRUSHED, A 2 1/2" SQUARE FRAME CROSS MEMBER HAD A 1 1/2" DENT WHERE IT HAD IMPACTED THE ISLAND , AND SOME PANELS- NOTICEABLY THE FRONT UNDERSIDE AND DRIVER SIDE FRONT WHEEL WELL WERE DAMAGED. LATER JEREMY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THE CAR WAS A TOTAL LOSS.HE SAID THE ENTIRE FRAME WAS BENT OUT OF SHAPE. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. IN HIS REPORT HE ITEMIZED THE PARTS BUT ABOUT THE PROPULSION SYSTEM HE WROTE, CONDITIONS EXIST THAT THE ELECTRICAL MOTORS COULD START UP THE GAS ENGINE AND FLOOD THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT WITH CO. WELL IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHY DON'T THEY SIMPLY REPLACE THE COMPONENTS THAT WOULD LEAD TO THAT CONDITION OR IF IT WAS INHERENT IN THE CAR, WHY DOESN'T THE DOT DECLARE THE CAR A ROAD HAZZARD AND RECALL ALL VEHICLES? LN CONSUMER REPORTS THEY DECLARED THE VOLT SCORED 5 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5 RATING ON COLLISION SURVIVAL. WHAT? THE CAR RUNNING AT 15 MPH GETTING TOTALLED BY HITTING A BUMP IS A 5? I THINK MR. JEREMY IS PADDING ALL HIS ESTIMATES AND SHOULD HAVE AN INDEPENDENT APPRAISER REVIEW THE CAR. EITHER HE IS LYING OR THE CAR IS ACTUALLY A LEMON. I WOULD LIKE YOUR ADVICE ON WHAT LEGAL COURSE I SHOULD TAKE.

THIS IS THE THIRD INCIDENT SINCE I HAD THIS CAR ALONG WITH CHARGING ISSUE IN THE BEGINNING OF OWNERSHIP THIS CHEVROLET VOLT HAS BEEN BEEN DEEM TOTAL FROM THE ACCIDENT THAT OCCURRED ON JANUARY 6 BECAUSE OF THE STEERING LOCKING UP

I arrived at the charging station and plugged the charging handle into the charge port. At this time an audible shorting sound was heard coming from inside the handle followed by a burst of flames and white smoke. This flame immediately went out and the smoke subsided slightly before building back up and darkening. By the time that the fire department arrived, the car's engine had caught fire resulting in a total loss. Additionally, the charging handle of the station had melted, alongside the side mirror of a neighboring vehicle. It appears that there was a failure to detect the initial fault or at least a lack of protections for shorts. The parts are no longer available upon inspection, unless you have contact with the EVSE manufacturer, ChargePoint. My safety was put directly at risk. The charging handle shorted in my hand. In the unlucky case that the short made contact with me, I likely would've died on the spot or been at risk of burns from the subsequent fire. Additionally, should I have been in the car, I noticed when trying to get pictures of the inside, that the doors had remained locked. The problem cannot be reproduced because the car is burnt. The car has been inspected by insurance representatives alongside the look over by firefighters and police officers on site during the fire. There were no issues inside the vehicle hinting to any problem. I had used the charging station next to this one consistently each day going into work with no problems. When I arrived, the car which is usually parked at this problem charger was in the spot I usually used, which caused me to use this problem charger. While the exact cause is somewhat unknown, the initial perception by fire fighters, police, and myself were that the fire was due to the EVSE handle shorting out. The evidence for this is the location of the fire damage external to the vehicle and the melted handle. Chargepoint disagrees but does not state an alternative possible cause.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 CHEVROLET VOLT. WHILE DRIVING FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS OVER 75 MPH, THE "PROPULSION POWER LOW DECREASE SPEED" MESSAGE DISPLAYED AND THE SPEED DECREASED TO 55 MPH. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED, SMOKE WAS PRESENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE AND THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS PRESENT. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

The drivers side front seatbelt pretensioner assembly contains a braided steel cable. The cable, through normal use, has become damaged to the point that individual wires have broken free from the crimped connector. The damaged wires of the cable have penetrated through the plastic sheath covering the cable causing a needle sharp poking hazard when reaching one’s hand toward the seat back adjustment lever. My wife had a minor laceration to her finger and I was also poked when trying to identify the cause. Upon further inspection I found that approximately 80 percent of the diameter of the pretensioner cable had broken free from the crimped connector. In the event of a collision, the cable would likely break free from the seatbelt, possibly causing serious injury to the driver. I tried to obtain a replacement part through the GM dealer parts network, but the part is listed as discontinued and unavailable. This leaves the vehicle unsafe in the event of an accident. The damaged components are available for inspection. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone but myself. There were no warning lamps or symptoms of the problem prior the the injury. I am the original owner of the vehicle and it has never been involved in a collision. The vehicle has been properly maintained and is used only for personal transportation.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the electric battery would not charge and the vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the 12v battery was faulty and needed to be replaced. The 12v battery was replaced and the failure was remedied. The contact stated that later while driving the central battery pack located under the center console had overheated causing a loud noise within the cabin of the vehicle. The contact had sustained a burn to the right shoulder which did not require medical treatment. After parking in the garage and shutting the vehicle off the vehicle rolled backward making contact to the with the garage door. No damage to the garage door was reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number 18V397000(HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was unknown.

ABOUT A YEAR AGO I CALL CHEVY ABOUT MY GAS PEDAL PULLING ITSELF TO THE GROUND AND THE CAR TAKING OFF MORE THAN ONCE. THEY NEVER GOT BACK TO ME. DONT PUSH THE PEDAL WHEN CAR IS OFF CAUSE WHEN YOU TURN IT ON IT WILL DO THIS...I THINK OCT 2016 I WAS ELECTROCUTED UN PLUGING MY CAR. THE 3 PRONGS BURNED MY ARM THAT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME ALONG WITH MY LUNGS BRAIN AND TIREDNES ! I PASSED OUT COLD IT TOOK ME WEEKS OF CRYING TO ADMIT TO MYSELF WHAT HAPPEN. I FELT ANGRY AND LIKE THE PLUG HIT ME GOING 100 MILES AN HOUR. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT IT HOW BEING SHOCKED MAKES YOU FEEL.

The passenger presence sensor is failing or failed because every time someone sit in there the airbag turns on and off repeatedly every 2-3 mins and gives a service airbag warning and if no one is sitting in the passenger seat then it just stays on. Could be really dangerous if a wreck happens while it’s glitching in the off mode and could cause death. Multiple people have had this problem with the volts and there is even a thing you can by to completely bypass the airbag going off which shows how common the problem is if there is a solution to eliminate it in an unsafe/not factory manner

I received the "Propulsion Power is Reduced" Alert engine light while driving in "Normal" mode on the freeway at around 60mph with 8-9 miles of Battery capacity, it showed 0 miles of Battery forcing the Gas Engine on and the vehicle hesitated upon applying the accelerator for the remainder of the drive. My safety and that was others was at risk because the acceleration dropped quickly and I was on a busy freeway at the time when the Alert happened causing further hesitation. Upon stopping I could not get the vehicle to take a charge nor would it start up until a mechanic arrived and was able to confirm the problem.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The Check Engine warning light was flashing, and the messages "No Propulsion Power" and "No Power To Engine" were displayed. The contact stated that two individuals pulled over and assisted the contact in pushing the vehicle to the side of the road to prevent a crash. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who made the contact aware of an unknown NHTSA Campaign Number; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact requested vehicle rental assistance, but the dealer was unable to provide assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance in initiating a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 141,323.

The passenger occupancy sensor gives a false positive. The only way I can get rid of the beeping is plug in the seatbelt. I have read on Reddit forums that this is a very common problem with 2013 volts, but for some reason there isn't a recall. This is a safety issue. Thank you!

Propulsion power reduced error has happened many times but the recall lookup shows that there are no active recalls on our car. There was a recall on this problem in 2018 so I think it may have been done my the last owner but it is still having this problem.

Fuel leaking from fuel tank at filler inlet. Defect in fuel tank assembly. Large puddle of gasoline formed under car after refueling causing buildup of fumes in closed garage. Vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than owner. There were no warning lamps prior to failure.

Front passenger seat sensor intermittently fails, causing the Passenger Airbag indicator to switch to OFF (even if a passenger is present) with an accompanying "Service Airbag" message on the dashboard and illumination of the service airbag light. This occurs usually driving above 25mph, but can happen stationary, and lasts for anywhere from 5 seconds to a minute (more commonly shorter). The issue appears some weeks more than others, usually activating most days a week but sometimes have a week or two where it does not happen.