2011 Chevrolet Volt Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that water was accumulating inside the driver's side taillight assembly. The contact stated that the water caused a short circuit in the taillight, and the passenger’s side turn signal became inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and determined that the wiring harness for the driver's side taillight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ID

11694484

Incident

Aug 20, 2025

Mileage

97,000 mi

I was stopped at a red light with my foot on the brake. When the light turned green, I released the brake and the car suddenly accelerated forward on its own, without me touching the accelerator. As soon as the car surged forward, I immediately pressed the brake pedal hard to stop it but instead of slowing down, the car continued to accelerate. It felt like pressing the brake was making it worse. The car was totally out of my control. The vehicle collided with tow truck and even after the impact, the engine was still revving as if it was trying to keep going. I had to shut the car off to stop it completely. There were no warning lights or error messages before or during the malfunction. The front end of my car was damaged in the crash. No one was injured, but the malfunction could have easily caused serious harm or death. This was not user error it was a terrifying mechanical and electronic failure. The car accelerated on its own and the brakes failed or possibly triggered more acceleration. I have never experienced anything like this. After looking online, I found other Volt owners reporting similar problems involving brake assist failure, unintended acceleration, and stuck revving. This looks like a serious pattern that deserves urgent attention. I’m asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and General Motors to immediately investigate this issue. I want to know if there are any recalls, technical service bulletins (TSBs), or known defects related to brake failure or unintended acceleration in the 2011 Chevy Volt. Please contact me with next steps. This is a major safety risk that could easily result in fatalities if not addressed.

NHTSA ID

11678156

Incident

Jul 30, 2025

Driver display is blank (no speed, gear position, odometer, gas tank, etc), with the exception of some warning icons like tire pressure and passenger seat belt status. Does no return after turning off power.

NHTSA ID

11585428

Incident

Apr 21, 2024

'11 Chevy Volt hybrid was daily driver of 100+ miles, multiple trips both highway and city for last 2 1/2 months. Breaks and rotors have been replaced all the way around, fresh oil changes as needed and filters. Warning on dash "Service High Voltage Charging System", ”Service Airbag" and check engine light have been on since I've owned it (Oct. 23). When plug car in it doesn't charge, but the EV charges while driving. Car generally switches back and forth from EV to ICE without issues. No other issues have been noted. 1/18/24 Start car and drive all day for work. Total of 129 miles between 22 trips. Last trip car sat for 30 minutes after running deliveries all day. Started as normal, turned off at gas station, filled tank with premium, restarted and drive to freeway. Drove 20 miles, pulled over to text, put car in park. 5 mins later took out of park and car wouldn't move. Inside had complete power, radio, windows, ect. Only noticable difference was car would get no acceleration, power steering went out, and heat started blowing cooler air. Absolutely no warning and car just cuts off engines. Thankfully I was parked safe. Towed home, replaced 12v. Started and drove no problem on 1/19/24. No new warnings or anything different. Started up 1/20/24 drove 7 miles and the engines cut off in the middle of a main road while accelerating, once again no warning. Luckily got into turn lane before almost getting hit. Still not sure what's wrong with car. Same codes. No battery warning or loss of power indication at all. Just up and cuts off. This is very very dangerous and needs to be looked into please. When my volt died today the truck behind me had to slam on his brakes and came inches from hitting me. If this would've happen on the freeway, I'd likely been hit.

NHTSA ID

11566740

Incident

Jan 20, 2024

The car quit running when my wife was driving the car when the mileage range went down to 4 miles range remaining. The car was towed to the local Chevrolet dealership who charged over $1,000 to reset the electronics so car would run. I was advised that if battery range was run down to a low mileage range that car would quit running again and that it would have to be towed back to the dealership for the electronics to be reset. I was concerned about liability if anyone drove car and it stopped on highway. It was clear to me that the only way out of potential liability, associated with the car stopping on the highway was to sell the car for salvage. I purchased this Chevrolet Volt Premier new. It was never in a collision or damaged in any way. The car was sold for with approximately 81,000 miles for $2,013.

NHTSA ID

11562597

Incident

Feb 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ID

11544532

Incident

Aug 25, 2023

Mileage

90,000 mi

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the defroster failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer replaced the heating system module; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11497799

Incident

Jan 15, 2020

Several times over the 2 years I have owned this vehicle while driving an almost complete loss of braking occurs with a service notice for the ABS system. If you turn off the ignition and restart it the braking works fine. I am in the process of having the Electronic Brake Control Module - GM (84070136) and the Brake Pressure Modulator Valve - GM (23283683) replaced. i believe that there is a design flaw in this system in that a problem of the ABS should not eliminating the ability to stop the vehicle. This is costing me $3500, but the point is that loss of braking is a serious safety issue and should be addressed by the manufacturer. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11469570

Incident

Jun 16, 2022

Driver instrument panel went blank. Speedometer, fuel/battery gauge, odometer, etc are all gone. The screen display light lit on and off in the background without any information.

NHTSA ID

11436185

Incident

Oct 6, 2021

FOR UNKNOWN REASON CHECK AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. NO ONE SITS IN PASSENGER SEAT AND THE SEAT HAS NOT BEEN WET.

NHTSA ID

11430167

Incident

Aug 20, 2021

Charging station over heated and the plug burnt my wall plug

NHTSA ID

11424711

Incident

Jul 13, 2021

SINCE THE SPRING OF 2020, "SERVICE AIR BAG" WARNING COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY, RELATED TO PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG. WARNING GENERALLY COMES ON AT STARTUP, IF IT APPEARS. NO FLUIDS HAVE BEEN SPILLED ON THE SEAT, AND NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE SEAT. I AM THE SECOND OWNER, PURCHASED FROM FRIEND, CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GARAGED AND SERVICED REGULARLY. ONLINE SEARCH SUGGESTS THAT OTHER OWNERS HAVE SAME ISSUE, AND THAT DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR CAN BE $500 TO $1000. I HAVE NOT HAD A CHEVROLET DEALER DIAGNOSE THIS ISSUE SINCE IT IS INTERMITTENT. CURRENT MARKET VALUE OF VEHICLE (55K MILES, OTHERWISE EXCELLENT CONDITION, A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE) MAKES COST OF REPAIR DIFFICULT TO JUSTIFY, ESPECIALLY IF IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING.

NHTSA ID

11373533

Incident

May 2, 2020

Mileage

53,000 mi

THE HEAT WILL NOT WORK IN THE CAR WHEN THE CAR IS USING THE BATTERY - HEAT WILL ONLY WORK WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING.

NHTSA ID

11360870

Incident

Sep 18, 2019

Mileage

1 mi

THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS TURNED AND AIRBAG SENSOR IS BAD. PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT ILLUMINATE AND WORK FOR SOMEONE SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID

11360869

Incident

Sep 24, 2020

Mileage

10 mi

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, WHICH DISPLAYS SPEED, ODOMETER AND FUEL LEVER AMONG OTHER SAFETY INFORMATION, STARTED TO GLITCH TOWARDS THAT END OF A TRIP OF ABOUT TWO HOURS. AT FIRST THE SCREEN WOULD FLICKER BUT WOULD EVENTUALLY REBOOT AND THE INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE SHORTLY AFTER. NEXT MORNING THE SCREEN WOULD TURN ON SLOWLY AT FIRST, BUT THEN IT WENT OUT AGAIN AND NEVER STARTED AGAIN EVER SINCE.

NHTSA ID

11352164

Incident

Aug 29, 2020

Mileage

201,314 mi

DRIVER INSTRUMENT CLUSTER TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING. CAN NOT SEE SPEED, BATTERY CHARGE, FUEL LEVEL, TIRE PRESSURE, OR ANY OTHER WARNING. NOT SAFE TO DRIVE WITH OUT SPEED AND FUEL REMAINING.

NHTSA ID

11349072

Incident

Aug 10, 2020

Mileage

125,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BECAME INOPERABLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 117,000.*BF*JB

NHTSA ID

11329552

Incident

Jun 18, 2020

Mileage

117,000 mi

WHEN BELOW FREEZING OUT MAIN DISPLAY CONTAINING SPEED, DIRECTIONAL, GEAR SELECT, TIRE PRESSURE AND FUEL IS BLACK. ONLY AFTER TEMP GOES ABOVE FREEZING DOES DISPLAY GO BACK TO NORMAL.

NHTSA ID

11298161

Incident

Jan 9, 2020

'SERVICE AIRBAG' CHIME AND LIGHT COMING ON, ROUTINELY, EVEN WITH OR WITH ANYBODY IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR TO A DEALER YET SINCE I HAVE BEEN READING FORUM INPUT ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND SEEING HUGE COST TO REPAIR. CAR HAS ONLY 81K MILES AND HAS NEVER BEEN FLOODED OR HAD WATER ON THE SEAT(PASSENGER).

NHTSA ID

11281492

Incident

Nov 6, 2019

Mileage

81,000 mi

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED DUE TO A FAILED SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. HAD TO REPLACE WITH A USED SEAT.

NHTSA ID

11257702

Incident

Aug 21, 2019

Mileage

134,458 mi

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED DUE TO A FAILED SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. HAD TO REPLACE WITH A USED SEAT.

NHTSA ID

11257693

Incident

Sep 24, 2019

Mileage

96,667 mi

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WENT BLACK DARK NO VISIBILITY MPH , FUEL LEVEL, WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT. IT FELT VERY DANGEROUS.

NHTSA ID

11252525

Incident

Jul 30, 2019

Mileage

85,350 mi

DRIVERS SIDE DASH DISPLAY WENT BLACK WHILE DRIVING, ( JUST DRIVING DOWN A CONGESTED FREEWAY IN HOUSTON ) ALL INFORMATION LOST SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAUGE, TURNING INDICATORS, PROPULSION MODE,, RATHER A NIGHTMARE HAVING THIS HAPPEN

NHTSA ID

11243474

Incident

Aug 2, 2019

Mileage

35,700 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE MORNING OF MAY 30, 2019, THE DRIVER SIDE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WENT BLANK. I PULLED OFF THE ROAD TO INITIATE A FULL SHUTDOWN OF THE VEHICLE. UPON STARTUP, THE DISPLAY CAME BACK ON FOR 5 SECONDS, THEN WENT TOTALLY BLANK AGAIN. THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER NEVER CAME BACK ON. DEALER ANALYSIS REVEALED A SHORT IN THE LCD PANEL CAUSED THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER TO BE INOPERABLE.

NHTSA ID

11222822

Incident

May 30, 2019

Mileage

57,000 mi

PROPULSION POWER REDUCED WARNING HAPPENING OFTEN. CAR WAS BROUGHT IN FOR DIAGNOSIS AND I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A SW REFLASH REQUIRED. IT CONTINUES TO OCCUR AFTER THIS REFLASH. IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WHEN THIS OCCURS WHILE ENTERING A HIGHWAY AND I CANNOT GET UP TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT WILL EVENTUALLY CLEAR, MAYBE AFTER 10 MINUTES OR SO, AND ACCELERATION WILL NORMALIZE.

NHTSA ID

11220305

Incident

Jun 1, 2016

Mileage

80,000 mi