2013 Chevrolet Volt Electrical Problems

Fully charged. Goes from electric to generator/gas propulsion and abruptly slowes about 1/2 speed. Very dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11734728

Incident

Apr 27, 2026

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

NHTSA ID

11720796

Incident

Oct 13, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID

11715715

Incident

Feb 3, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11705337

Incident

Dec 13, 2025

Mileage

141,323 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving approximately 76-77 MPH, the vehicle experienced reduced power. The message "Low Propulsion" was displayed, and the engine revved significantly. The contact moved over to the far-right lane to pull over to the side of the road as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring temporarily. The contact had researched the failure online and became aware that the release of the accelerator pedal while the failure was occurring could temporarily correct the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

NHTSA ID

11651727

Incident

Mar 24, 2025

Mileage

61,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted, and the propulsion system warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.

NHTSA ID

11585457

Incident

Apr 26, 2024

Mileage

186,000 mi

When starting the vehicle, which had some charge on the batteries, the engine immediately started and a message appeared on the speedometer screen which stated, "Propulsion Power Reduced,” and another message said, “speed limited to 25mph.” I was in a very busy part of Hollywood running errands for my job when this happened. I felt very unsafe driving under these circumstances as I often need to drive above 25mph to keep up with traffic and cross busy streets to avoid other cars. The vehicle is available for inspection. It has not been taken to a dealership or anywhere else to have the issue looked at. The problem has occurred a few other times. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. There were no warnings or other symptoms whatsoever prior to this issue occurring.

NHTSA ID

11585069

Incident

Feb 7, 2022

I was driving my plugin hybrid Volt on a highway when the engine stalled and the engine light turned on. I tap the throttle a few times to get it to stay on. It worked, but I had to continue to tap the throttle to keep it going. It also revved up sharply when it was in low gear. The vehicle was out of battery, so it was as running on engine.

NHTSA ID

11561788

Incident

Dec 24, 2023

My 2013 Volt will not charge or start. This happened suddenly. It has been working fine.

NHTSA ID

11561760

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

I received a notification on the dashboard that the engine is not in service and propulsion has been reduced. The car is available for inspection upon request. The safety and myself has been deeply compromised because the issues cause the car to suddenly not accelerate without warning. The issue happened to me on a freeway and could have caused an accident due to the engine and propulsion systems stop functioning without warning. The vehicle has been inspected. There were no warnings on why the car was doing what it was doing. The only warning I received was that the engine and propulsion system has now stopped functioning.

NHTSA ID

11558652

Incident

Dec 1, 2023

High voltage charging system.. changed out the coolant sensor and the bypass coolant value and still getting high charging error.. machanics can’t figure out the issue and now we can use it as an electric car.. light returns after sitting for an hour and a half in the off position.. something is clearly wrong with the design of the electric side of the car

NHTSA ID

11539281

Incident

Aug 4, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID

11530200

Incident

Apr 26, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID

11492761

Incident

Feb 3, 2021

The High Voltage charging system error message has chronically been triggered despite numerous mechanic visits, sensor and coolant replacement. I am now told this is a software issue and hope to have it resolved. This issue has cost hundreds of dollars in inspection and troubleshooting and hundreds of gas miles that should have been EV driven. The error prevents EV charges and I must rely on the gas back up.

NHTSA ID

11491035

Incident

Oct 21, 2022

The car’s hybrid battery shut down the car in the middle of the road. I was unable to turn it back on safely.

NHTSA ID

11489049

Incident

Sep 27, 2022

When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's not in park when it is.

NHTSA ID

11463176

Incident

Apr 25, 2022

When placing the vehicle in park, an error message "shift to park" lights up even as the car is turned off. This has been an issue with early models of the Chevy Volt. I have owned 4 of them. Every single one of them had this same problem. My current two Volt I just obtained both have this error message. The car thinks it's not in park when it is.

NHTSA ID

11463174

Incident

May 3, 2022

The car keeps getting a false error code that does not allow the charging of the electric battery, this has also prevented me from completing a smog check. Was brought to the dealers attention that the error is being caused by an issue with the software and was told it was the sensor in the coolant reservoir. Was forced to change that part and still have the same issue as it was not the part the dealer indicated. This seems to be a too common problem with the Chevy VOLT as many other owners have reported the same issue.

NHTSA ID

11448784

Incident

Jan 24, 2022

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the service high charging system and the propulsion power reduced warning lights were illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the charging port system and unknown fluid battery to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that his son replaced the charging port. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

NHTSA ID

11439667

Incident

Aug 1, 2021

Mileage

87,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH, a warning message appear a propulsion power reduction and the vehicle began to lose power and reduce in speed while the contact was driving. The contact was able to pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road waited a few minutes and restart the vehicle and continue to drive to their residence. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the failure as the propulsion battery would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was appromaxtley 78,000.

NHTSA ID

11439207

Incident

Oct 27, 2021

Mileage

78,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH, a warning message appear a propulsion power reduction and the vehicle began to lose power and reduce in speed while the contact was driving. The contact was able to pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road waited a few minutes and restart the vehicle and continue to drive to their residence. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the failure as the propulsion battery would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was appromaxtley 78,000.

NHTSA ID

11439205

Incident

Oct 27, 2021

Mileage

78,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the propulsion power reduction message was displayed, and the vehicle began to lose power and the speed was reduced while driving. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road, waited a few minutes, and then restarted the vehicle and continued to his residence. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the propulsion battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

NHTSA ID

11439204

Incident

Oct 27, 2021

Mileage

78,000 mi

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that the vehicle would not charge. The contact stated that the "service high voltage charging system" warning message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

NHTSA ID

11430338

Incident

Aug 3, 2021

Mileage

105,000 mi

has had the blank screen display the vehicle is unsafe to drive. One can run out of electrical power and or gas and not know, stop on the highway and be in harms way. no turn signals, no speed indication at all, nothing. this is recall worthy! and needs to be addressed by chevy.

NHTSA ID

11418222

Incident

May 1, 2021

VEHICLE HAS STOPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. DURING THIS TIME THE VEHICLE WILL POST AN ERROR ON THE DASH SCREEN. THIS ISSUE HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE TRANSITIONS FROM ELECTRIC FUEL TO GASOLINE, WHEN THE ELECTRIC FUEL IS DEPLETED. CHEVY REFUSES TO REPAIR OR WARRANTY THE VEHICLE, ALSO THE DEALER REFUSES TO COMPLETE THE NECESSARY RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RETURN TO NORMAL UNTIL YOU TURN THE VEHICLE ON AND OFF MULTIPLE TIMES.

NHTSA ID

11415209

Incident

Apr 30, 2021

Mileage

70,000 mi