Purchased a 2012 Volt on Wednesday and drove it home. It pulled to the left and the steering wheel wasn't even straight. Took it back on Thursday morning and the dealer still has it and is now saying it may not be fixed until next week.

Very disappointed that a new, expensive car has to even go back to the dealer for repair the next day.

Anyone else have alignment problems? How long did it take to get fixed?
The service writer did say they fixed the alignment but now there is an issue with the traction control. They've been contacting an engineer in Detroit and apparently they don't have any fast answers. Totally frustrating.

Never heard of a Volt with this problem. I had a 2000 Suburban that that this problem, though. It happens sometimes, and should have been caught by the dealer.

That would be frustrating. Note to self: require a full thirty-minute test drive before accepting my Volt.
Actually I am looking for an extensive list of checks to do before taking my Volt home. Just to be sure, you know. Probably good to do this with any new car. Just because it's new doesn't mean something hasn't been overlooked.

My current car I bought used. I had a check list that took me about one hour to go through.

Mine's been great. Hope they get it fixed quick for you.

The early Volts off the line certainly received big time white glove attention from GM. You can imagine that wasn't going to last and you will start to have the normal issues with any Chevy on delivery.

First I've heard of alignment problems. Bummer. Sorry for the frustration. Not to worry when you get it back right you will soon consider this to be one of your best purchases. Really a cool car to own and drive. (Mine is in the shop getting tire rotation and 2011 Volt software updates and I'm in a rented Impala right now and wow what a difference)

That does sound frustrating. I must admit that I test drove two Volts, but then purchased one that I hadn't actually test driven, thinking that they would all be perfect. I had a problem with the shocks/struts very early on. I doubt I would have noticed the problem in a test drive as it was pretty subtle, but in hindsight that test drive could have saved me some agravation as well. Lesson learned.

BTW, I really like my Volt, the dealer fixed the car promptly, and the problem didn't sour the experience for me at all. I hope things work out the same for you.

Sounds like damage in rail or truck load/unloading. Wonder if the dealer is having to replace any suspension parts?

OK. Here's an question to which somebody on here may have an answer.

I would like to know how many individual parts the Volt has, in total. Comparing that with the number of individual parts in other cars would be interesting.

Instead of ranking cars reliability simply by number of issues, it would be more meaningful to rank cars by the problem RATE. I.e. let's say car A has X number of parts, and has had Y number of reported issues. Its malfunction rate would be Y/X. This would be a more accurate comparison between cars.

Perhaps even simple number of parts is not a good enough metric. Maybe comparing cars by total number of physical connections between parts (if a numerical value could be obtained), and then making a similar problem rate comparison, would be better. E.g. let's say car B has C number of connections, and has had D number of identified issues. Its malfunction rate would be D/C.

A comparison of the number of moving parts would also be interesting. Electrical component counts as well.


OK. Here's an question to which somebody on here may have an answer.

I would like to know how many individual parts the Volt has, in total. Comparing that with the number of individual parts in other cars would be interesting.

Instead of ranking cars reliability simply by number of issues, it would be more meaningful to rank cars by the problem RATE. I.e. let's say car A has X number of parts, and has had Y number of reported issues. Its malfunction rate would be Y/X. This would be a more accurate comparison between cars.

Perhaps even simple number of parts is not a good enough metric. Maybe comparing cars by total number of physical connections between parts (if a numerical value could be obtained), and then making a similar problem rate comparison, would be better. E.g. let's say car B has C number of connections, and has had D number of identified issues. Its malfunction rate would be D/C.

Yes, make sure you drive it extensively before. My spouse and I test drove one before and then just drove the one we purchased around the lot a few times. Of course you wouldn't notice the steering wheel or the pull to the left when driving under 35 mph. It wasn't until on the way home on the highway that it became apparent the alignment was totally off. So definitely get up past 50 mph on the test drive of the car you purchase. I think what is so frustrating is that we handed a check to the dealer and they still have the car. On any other car a wheel alignment would be a simple thing to do--which makes me wonder if they are working around a car with a factory defect and not telling us.

Our Volt pulled to the right. It wasn't that noticeable until I drove it for a few days and it was tough to be sure since it was windy during the time I took delivery. The dealer finally put it up on the rack and found the problem. After ordering a "camber kit", they fixed the problem. No big deal to me since things like this have happened to other cars that I've owned.

Our Volt pulled to the right. It wasn't that noticeable until I drove it for a few days and it was tough to be sure since it was windy during the time I took delivery. The dealer finally put it up on the rack and found the problem. After ordering a "camber kit", they fixed the problem. No big deal to me since things like this have happened to other cars that I've owned.

Thanks... I'll ask the service technician if they have thought of that. So far they are aligning the wheels and then miffed at why the computer tells them the wheels are not aligned. They still have the car over the holiday weekend.
And they're putting mileage on it testing it. We'll get a new car with over 100 miles on it. Nice!

Mine before delivery is getting three new tires. I always make the dealer do a force balance before I accept delivery on any new car(from Porsche experience) and low and behold three bad tires. The dealer demo I am driving since Saturday has the forward park distance sensors inop, otther than that for a 4856 mike car it is not bad.

Three bad tires? What makes them "bad" that they need replacing?