Chevrolet Volt 2014 — Reported problems

Rear view camera display experiences intermittent failures. The display only occasionally works when the car is placed in reverse. This has led to nearly impacting one or more pedestrians when the car is driven in reverse.

While driving 50mph on a 4 lane highway, propulsion reduced speed and engine unavailable message came on and the car immediately shut down, a car almost hit me because of it. I had to hurry up jump out and try and push it off the road out of oncoming traffic! After about 15 minutes of turning car off and then back on. It finally started again, I then drove 1/4 mile and it did it again this time as turning left across a 2 lane highway with traffic oncoming, once again had to hurry up and jump out and push it out of the road! This was such an extremely scary situation for me and I thank god my wife wasn’t driving with our daughter and grand kids! This is the 2nd time because on 8/1/2025 it did the same thing while driving on a major 4 lane toll road, was able to pull off to side of the highway BUT had to be towed home!

I was slowly maneuvering my car into my garage when the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly surged forward, despite only lightly tapping the brake and not touching the accelerator. The car had been displaying the warning, “Propulsion Power is Reduced” and was not holding an electric charge in the days before the incident. No malfunction indicator lamp ever turned on. Per the owner’s manual, the vehicle did not need to be serviced because the malfunction indicator light never came on at the same time as the propulsion power reduced message. This led me to believe the vehicle was safe to drive. The unexpected surge caused the car to strike and cause considerable damage to the garage wall. Fortunately there was no one in the garage at the time and I, myself, was not injured. My car was deemed a total loss by the insurance company.

Propulsion power is reduced

The contact son owns a 2014 Chevrolet Volt. The contact's daughter stated that while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle loss motive power without warning and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with battery failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the time frame for a free battery replacement had expired. The vehicle was towed to the residence and had not been driven since the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Loss of propulsion. Vehicle will not start/move. If vehicle does turn on , it will not turn off. Vehicle has been having reduced propulsion issues for multiple years (taken to dealer many times) that dealership has refused to do a HV battery capacity test while under warranty, even after leaving with them for multiple months they claimed they could not replicate error. On day of pickup error presented itself and I showed service advisor and left vehicle for additional testing. Dealer provided explanation of reduced propulsion when in mountain mode as cause even though vehicle was not in mountain mode when error occurred. Dealer performed customer satisfaction GM Program # N172130462 update 11/2021 on HV system that stopped propulsion issues (mainly battery capacity concerns) until vehicle was out of warranty. Now vehicle will not turn on/move even though HV battery completely charged. Vehicle is essentially bricked at this point. Will be taking back to dealer 12/30/2024

The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the contact stated that while attempting to merge in the right lane, the vehicle hesitated and shut off while in the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the battery had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

I'm losing power as I am driving and car is moving slower than usual.

Battery pack died with no warning while I was highway driving

The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to sound as if the engine was revving while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. The vehicle failed to respond as needed while the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle slowly decelerated. The contact stopped the vehicle and waited for the failure to cease before the contact was able to drive normally. The failure recurred over a dozen times at various speeds with the "Propulsion Power Reduced" message displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer several times, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V397000 (Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage is unknown.

I bought my car and I had no idea about a known issue that this car has. Unsuspecting and trusting, I noticed my car had a reduced propulsion and it would like lose power and just slowly jerk and then really drastically reduce speed without anyway to fix it and on the freeway I got scared as I have never in my life has this happen in any car. So it happen a couple more times and I took a picture of it and took it to the dealership where I purchased it. They told me they couldn’t do l as they can’t repeat the issue. Well that only usually happens when I’m driving but now it’s more. The propulsion thing loses power and I as a driver going up a hill or anywhere now will lose speed and it’s dangerous, I feel like I may not make it home and I took it to the dealership many times and they told me there’s no issue. I took it again recently now that I’m out of warranty because it also had some high voltage issue and a sensor coolant issue that misreads. I like the car but very unhappy about dealership and manu not fixing this issue that every volt owner I talk to has, read about. I lose power, my car randomly heads up when it’s been cold all night and not driven now I have the same issues. I have the same issues and I use 91 gas, I have inspected my car and I had to learn about cars or more than I ever did which was like zero all because of this car. I even took it to the dealership 3-4 times (documented) to get it fixed and they just said there isn’t anything wrong nor did they say there’s a known issue and watch out for this or that. I had to look up the issue and learn about it on my own. Very dangerous date happening this is happening now almost everyday but was frequent 1.5 years ago but last 8 months it’s like the standard. I’m afraid my car will lose power on freeway, which it does and I have to take toll to stay away from others for everyone’s safety

My 2014 Chevy Volt suffered a complete failure of the EV power system when the battery reached 0 remaining miles. Unlike normal failover to hybrid mode, the vehicle switched into reduced power mode. I was able to drive home (1/4 mile) in this mode but was unable to charge or drive the car after parking it. At this point the car become completely immobile and had to be towed to the dealer (Jerry's Chevolet in Joppa MD). It was there as of December 18. 2023. This is the same behavior as noted in the complaint about Gen 2 Volts except this is a Gen 1 Volt. In the reduced power mode, the car does not accelerate normally and is subject to power surges. The dealer inspected the car and said that a failed cell in the traction battery caused a fault in the entire traction pack. The resulting repair requires a replacement of the battery for $22,000 not including labor! The car is otherwise in excellent condition. I had the SAME issue repaired under warranty in 2021 with the exact same symptoms. If a reasonable battery replacement was offered, I would happily repair the car. Prior to the fault, the vehicle performed normally and even had 39 miles of range (this is nearly original range). I had not indication that the battery may be failing or degraded.

The car stopped working at a stoplight while I was driving my son to school. There was no warning other than a "Propulsion power is reduced" message seconds before it stopped working. After turning it off and back on, I got the car to limp out of traffic. By the time the tow truck arrived an hour later, we could barely get it to go into neutral to tow it. After towing it to the dealer, they replaced the engine control module. Since then, it has been working fine.

Vehicle stopped when changing from battery power to gasoline. Unable to drive. Not charging the Lithium battery therefore, I experienced 3 similar incidents with this vehicle. The first one on 02/15/22. The vehicle was towed to Bommin Chevrolet in Florida City, FL. This time it was under warranty. The second time 01/02/23 while on the road similar thing happened, again was towed to Tropical Chevrolet in North Miami, FL; a diagnostic was performed the error code was cleared and started charging again. This time same issue when the main battery was depleted the vehicle stalled. I had to towed to my home where is still sitting. Not operational.

Early this year GM disabled the OnStar feature on all Chevrolet Volts that have 2G connectivity. GM offered Canadian owners the option to upgrade their Volt's from 2G to 4G. In September 2019 they issued Service Bulletin 15-08-44-001J that gives the GM service department instructions on how to upgrade the Volt from 2G to 4G connectivity. They should give us the same options here in the states!

Date above is approximate. The airbag sensor in the passenger side of the vehicle is faulty and causes a constantly cycling alarm when there is a passenger present. I believe this means that it is not accurately sensing the passenger and is turning the airbag on and off, making for a safety issue in the event of a crash. This is apparently a frequent issue and customers should not need to pay the $1,000 to fix the faulty sensor that could put a passenger at risk. https://www.gm-volt.com/threads/2013-passenger-presence-sensor-airbag-error.260945/page-2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGq_9T6om7g

Passenger airbag sensor is faulty. It is available for inspection upon request. My passenger is at risk if the airbag does not deploy in case of an accident. Yes, I found out that the sensor had been replaced before, which did not resolve the issue. No. I got notifications right away after purchasing the vehicle. This appears to be a very common issue for gen 1 and 2 Chevrolet Volts. 2012-2013 Volts have a recall for this system, but I found online that lots of people with 2014 Volts are having the same issue.

Service Airbag warning light comes on and off. Reading message boards for 2014 Chevy Volt, is seems that this is a defective Passenger Occupancy Sensor that happens on a lot of Volts. A dealer has confirmed that this is the problem and will cost $1,000-$1,200 to fix. Since this is a safety component and is failing regularly on all Volts, I believe the manufacturer should recall this item to be replaces.

With only 80,000 miles on my volt, the dash is intermittently ringing and telling me to service my airbag, and turning off passenger airbags even though the car is clean accident free and damage free. Apparently this is a know issue, and very common. I’m confused why this $1000 repair and safety issue is not being recalled to be serviced by Chevy. It’s very hazardous and costly, as well as incredibly common. I’ve read of at least 100 people having this identical issue.

The Air Bag light comes on every day. The passenger sight presents sensor malfunction. Technician says this can be harmful to a passenger if in an auto accident. My significant other can die.

From Diagnostic report: CODE B0074, Airbag Front Passenger Presence Module Replacement SHORTED. PART #22968437

Our 2014 Chevy Volt began to rarely give an audible chime with a: "Service Airbag" message on the Driver Information Center display, as well as the "Passenger Airbag" overhead panel display showing "On"-"Off"-"On", spontaneously back in 2018. Again, this was rare, but concerning. This became somewhat more common in the months that followed and is now a common annoyance on every drive. Because of personal circumstances, as well as the Coronavirus Pandemic, we have not driven this vehicle much over the past couple of years, and we have not taken the car in for service. It has not yet been inspected by any other entity other than myself. The alarms happen whether the passenger seat is occupied or not. I have read on the GM-Volt online forum that this is likely caused by a defective passenger detection pad in the passenger seat, but I have personally checked the seat wiring harness and connector, and they appear to be nominal. Obviously, having an inoperative passenger airbag system is a significant safety concern. We ordered the car, and it was delivered new in December, 2013. There has never been a spill, leak, or any damage to any of the seats or airbag system of this vehicle. We intend to report the problem to our dealer, "Bob Steele Chevrolet" in Cocoa, FL within the next week. Our car is readily available for inspection at any time.

Several times a the passenger side airbag with or without a passenger will say it has an issue and a warning will pop up on the dash for a few seconds and then go away. It has been doing this since I got the car used over 2 years ago. I'm not sure if this means the airbag will deploy or not. It simply says airbag warning then goes away. I took it to the chevy dealership and they didn't find any issue.

The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle during an electrical storm the power would shut off causing the vehicle to become inoperable. On one occasion the power shut off causing the vehicle to roll into the rear of a second vehicle causing damage to the bumper. No injuries were reported and no police report was taken. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure and no repairs were performed. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.

Service airbag is turning on.

Not long after purchasing my 2014 Chevrolet Volt, I got a warning light telling me to check my airbags. I immediately took my car to my local Chevrolet to be looked at. I was told “oh this happens a lot with the earlier Volts” and was quoted $1100+ to fix the issue. I took it to another shop and was quoted a similar amount, around $1000+ with parts and labor. The safety of myself and any passenger of mine is at risk indefinitely because of this issue. I cannot have any passengers sit in the front passenger seat because the airbag will toggle on/off even when there is an adult sitting in the sit and not moving around. The problem was not reproduced, but was confirmed by a mechanic at Chevrolet in Tallahassee. The only thing that mechanics tell me is that “this is a common issue” and upon looking into this issue online, there are many people having the same issue. I’ve done nothing that would have damaged this airbag sensor so I do not understand why it is malfunctioning, and why I’m supposed to pay over $1000 for an issue that should not exist in the first place? If the passenger airbag is having issues, what if my drivers seat airbag has an issue that I’m unaware of? I can honestly say that I am not 100% confident that my airbag will deploy if I get into an accident. When driving my car I am constantly afraid for myself and for my passengers. I cannot afford to pay $1000 for an issue that doesn’t make sense. My mechanic could not explain why this happens, just that it is common with my vehicle

GM sent me a letter in June, 2019 notifying me that my 2014 Chevy Volt was in need of a software update “that is intended to increase the amount of warning time provided to you before your vehicle enters a reduced propulsion mode while driving, loses propulsion, or might not start.” The letter goes on to say: “WHAT WE WILL DO: Your Chevrolet dealer will update the Hybrid Power Control Module (HPCM2).” And: “This service will be performed for you at no charge until June 30, 2021.” (NOTE: this was later extended until October, 2021.) As suggested, I made an appointment to perform this service with a local Chevrolet where I live and took my Volt there. However, they told me that this service is covered only as part of GM’s “Customer Satisfaction Program” and since this vehicle has a salvage title, they would have to charge me (>$150) for this service. For your information, when I bought this Volt, it only needed some relatively minor body work and there are no mechanical of safety issues associated with it. Furthermore, my OnStar Diagnostic Report warns me that this vehicle should seek service under GM Recall #N172130462 due to "Loss of Propulsion Due to Low Cell Voltage." So it seems to me that that this isn’t just a matter of customer satisfaction, but rather a serious safety issue if I should suddenly lose propulsion while driving down the road. However, after writing a letter to GM and having several conversations with their Customer Care Department over the last year, they refused to perform this service at no charge to me as promised in their June 2019 letter. GM should do the right thing here and fix this problem.

Problem started by itself. No outside stimuli.

SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON WHILE SITTING IN GARAGE. NO WATER SPILLED ON SEAT. NO POT HOLES. NO COLLISIONS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED INTERMITANTLY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER STEVENS CREEK CHEVROLET (3640 STEVENS CREEK BLVD, SAN JOSE, CA 95117, (408) 490-0013) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING THE PASSENGER'S SIDE OCCUPANT DETECTION MODULE TO BE REPLACED. CONSUMER WAS QUOTED $1300. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 48,000.*DT*JB

ALL OF A SUDDEN, MY 2014 CHEVY VOLT WITH 70K MILES START HAVING AIRBAG SENSOR ERRORS ON AND OFF. I STARTED TO RESEARCH AND FOUND A LOT OF OTHER OWNERS WITH CHEVY VOLTS GENERATION 1 AND 2 HAVE SIMILAR ISSUES. VERY SURPRISED THAT GM HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL FOR THIS AND EXPECT US TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR ON THEIR FAULTY SYSTEM.

VOLT HAS 90,000 MILES ON IT & I HAVE AIR BAG SENSOR ERROR MESSAGE. NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT & NEVER SPILLED ANYTHING ON THE SEATS. THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE WITH THE VOLT. CHEVY WILL NOT REPAIR THE ISSUE & WANT $880. ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE

AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT IS ON. GARAGE HAS ALREADY REPLACED LEFT FRONT AND RIGHT REAR IMPACT SENSORS. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. GARAGE HAS ALREADY SPENT 2 DAYS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT PROBLEM. NO LUCK. I JUST DISCOVERED, VIA A GOOGLE SEARCH, THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MY VOLT. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL!

THERE IS WATER LEAKING INTO THE PASSENGER FRONT AND REAR FOOTWELLS OF THE CAR. THIS OCCURS WITH OR WITHOUT RAIN, THE A/C CONDENSER APPEARS TO NOT BE DRAINING ONTO THE GROUND WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY AS NO PUDDLES ARE SHOWING UP UNDER THE CAR LIKE THEY USED TO BEFORE THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED. YESTERDAY AND TODAY THERE WAS NO RAIN, HAVING USED A WET VAC ON THE CARPET 2 DAYS AGO THE CARPET WAS FAIRLY DRY BEFORE, USING THE CAR LAST NIGHT, TODAY DRIVING IT A TOTAL OF 2 1/2 HOURS IN THE LAST 2 DAYS WITH NO RAIN, I VACUUMED OUT ANOTHER PINT OR 2 OF WATER OUT OF THE PASSENGER FRONT, THE BACK WAS JUST A LITTLE DAMP BUT WASN'T SOAKED LIKE THE FRONT. I RUN THE A/C WHENEVER I'M DRIVING, AS I LIVE IN S FLORIDA WHERE IT'S ALWAYS HOT AND HUMID. THIS PROBLEM WAS FIRST NOTICED ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO. WHEN I HAD TO WET VAC OVER A GALLON OUT OF THE CAR.

CA HAS ONLY BEEN DRIVEN 20K MILES AND ALWAYS GARAGED. RECENLTY, ABOUT A WEEK AGO, THE "SERVICE AIRBAG" LIGHT CAME ON. THE EALERSHIP HAS TOLD ME IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE BUT IT'S NOT COVERED BY ANY RECALLS OR WARRANTIES!

INTERNAL WATER BUILDUP UNDER PASSENGER FRONT AND BACK FLOOR MATS

A SIMILAR ISSUE IS CURRENTLY LISTED UNDER THE 2013 VOLT HERE BUT I EXPERIENCED IT ON A 2014 VOLT & IT LED TO COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING, VERY DIFFERENT THAN JUST "REDUCED PROPULSION POWER". I WAS DRIVING MY VOLT ON ITS EXTENDED RANGE MODE WITH THE GAS ENGINE (DAYS EARLIER, I HAD TAKEN THE CAR TO A REPAIR SHOP & GOTTEN A GREEN LIGHT ON IT) & I GOT AN ERROR MESSAGE "SERVICE POWER STEERING--DRIVE WITH CAUTION". THAT ERROR MESSAGE THEN TURNED TO "SERVICE PARKING ASSIST" & THEN "SERVICE STABILITRAK", BUT IT WAS DRIVING FINE & I INTENDED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY. THEN BEFORE I COULD GET HOME, THE MESSAGE CHANGED TO "PROPULSION POWER IS REDUCED", SO THE CAR COULDN'T DRIVE AS FAST AS BEFORE. I STILL NEEDED TO DRIVE HOME SO I TURNED ON MY HAZARDS & THEN THAT ERROR MESSAGE MORPHED INTO "ENGINE NOT AVAILABLE, SERVICE SOON". NOW IT'S STILL DRIVING OKAY BUT THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT DECELERATES COMPLETELY AND STOPS MOVING IN THE MEDIAN ON THE HIGHWAY. I WAS LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. I WAS NEVER INFORMED OF ANY RECALL ON ANY VOLT & I PREVIOUSLY OWNED TWO OTHER 2013 VOLTS.

THE "SERVICE AIR BAG" MESSAGE INTERMITTENTLY APPEARS ON THE DASHBOARD WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. THE COST TO REPLACE THE SENSOR PER CHEVROLET DEALER IS VERY EXPENSIVE, OVER $800. I UNDERSTAND THE SAME ISSUE IS REPORTED IN PRIOR YEARS MODEL. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO APPLY TO THE 2014 MODEL AS WELL. *TR

MY CAR HAS AN INTERMITTENT "SERVICE AIRBAG" WARNING. IT HAS BEEN THROWING A FAULT EVERY SO OFTEN FOR ABOUT A YEAR. ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE PASSENGER SEAT PRESENCE SENSOR WIRING IS FAULTY.

ON 2/17/2020, I WAS DRIVING ON I-5 NORTHBOUND AT ABOUT 10 PM NEAR BURLINGTON, WA. MY SPEED WAS ABOUT 60 MPH ON A RELATIVELY FLAT HIGHWAY. WEATHER WAS NORMAL FOR THE TIME. NO RAIN, NO WIND. SHORTLY AFTER MY CAR SWITCHED FROM THE ELECTRIC-POWERED OVER TO GAS-POWERED, THE CAR STARTED TO REV VERY HIGH AND QUICKLY DECELERATED EVEN THOUGH MY FOOT WAS FULLY PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED" MESSAGE CAME ON, FOLLOWED BY "ENGINE NOT AVAILABLE, SERVICE SOON" MESSAGE CAME ON. THE CEL ALSO CAME ON. I HAD NEVER SEEN THESE MESSAGES BEFORE. SEMI-TRUCKS WERE BEARING DOWN ON ME FROM BEHIND. IT WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER WITHOUT ANY CAR DAMAGE OR INJURY. EASILY THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MORE SERIOUS DAMAGE AND/OR INJURY IF THERE WAS MORE TRAFFIC NEARBY OR I STALLED IN THE TRAFFIC LANES. I WAS ABLE TO RE-START CAR AT ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND SLOWLY DROVE HOME AT A VERY REDUCED SPEED. SUBSEQUENTLY, MY CAR SEEMED TO DRIVE FINE. BUT EVERY TIME THE CAR GOES FROM ELECTRIC TO GAS, I GET NERVOUS THAT THIS INCIDENT WILL REOCCUR AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. MANY TIMES, THE HIGH REV WILL START AND THE "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED" MESSAGE COMES ON AND THE CAR DECELERATES BUT THANKFULLY THE CAR HAS NOT COMPLETELY LOST POWER LIKE THE FIRST INCIDENT. ABOUT 1 MONTH LATER, I TOOK THE CAR TO A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSTICS. THE CEL WENT OUT PRIOR. THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY FAULTS AND SAID EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. NOTHING WAS STORED IN MEMORY. THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM IN THE SHOP. THE "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED" MESSAGE HAS APPEARED AGAIN AFTER SERVICING. I AM FEARFUL TO DRIVE THIS CAR.