I noticed this morning that the display on my backup monitor is split: the top 1/10th or so of the image is not at the bottom of the screen.

I searched through the owner's manual in vain for some way to adjust this (does't mean that it is not in there, just that I could not find it) and similarly searched here for posts about this problem and found none.

Anyone else have this problem?

Would you have a picture of the display splitted?
is the image on the bottom simply dark?

Francois
B2653

Maybe there is dirt on the camera lens...

I think what he meant to say is "the top 1/10th or so of the image is NOW at the bottom of the screen.".

That rules out dirt

I think what he meant to say is "the top 1/10th or so of the image is NOW at the bottom of the screen.".

Exactly. It looks very much like when the vertical hold as mis-adjusted on old analog Tvs of the '50s and '60s.

I would call "Warranty Time!"

Sounds like something is tweaked.... that's definitely not a feature.


but..... Have you tried hitting the top of the TV? (punk kids won't get that....)

Same exact thing happened to my back-up camera, just today.

Same exact thing happened to my back-up camera, just today.

Well, given that you and Lee are both within 10 VIN numbers, it could be related to a bad batch of components.

Of course, I am just making that up. We actually have no idea of either of your VINs or models numbers. If you posted that as part of your signature, maybe we would see a pattern.

Sorry, but I won't post pictures or whatever, even if I could.

This car is becoming very annoying. Three recalls so far (all ignored), lots of minor software glitches, almost day to day anymore. I love the electric nature of it, but I am thinking about getting rid of it. It's just not ready for prime time. The Lincoln MKZ I had before it went three years without a single problem. THAT was a good car.

I haven't had a single problem in a month and a half of ownership. Of course the upgrades for battery, air bags etc were done in the factory before delivery for me. As an early adopter, stuff happens. GM seems to be trying to take care of their customers when they have problems. If you don't understand that the first year or two of a completely new model with drastically new technology might have some bumps in the road then maybe you're better off with a Lincoln.


Sorry, but I won't post pictures or whatever, even if I could.

This car is becoming very annoying. Three recalls so far (all ignored), lots of minor software glitches, almost day to day anymore. I love the electric nature of it, but I am thinking about getting rid of it. It's just not ready for prime time. The Lincoln MKZ I had before it went three years without a single problem. THAT was a good car.

The Lincoln MKZ I had before it went three years without a single problem. THAT was a good car.

No, no, it really wasn't.

- Mark

...lots of minor software glitches, almost day to day anymore. The Lincoln MKZ... THAT was a good car.

It really sounds like there's an issue with a cable or connector somewhere in your center stack. Take it in, and let GM see if they can find and fix it. Might as well let them do the upgrades at the same time, especially the software upgrade.

By the way, how did that MKZ compare to your Ferrari? I wish I could make a comparison like that! :-)

Sorry, but I won't post pictures or whatever, even if I could.

This car is becoming very annoying. Three recalls so far (all ignored), lots of minor software glitches, almost day to day anymore.

I think that typically someone who intentionally will not post helpful information is not the best candidate for being an early adopter.

Remember, too, that the Volt has had no recalls! "Recall" means several things; the Volt has had no official (NHTSA) recalls.

And by "lots of software glitches", yes it has -- but the important ones have been fixed, and most of the bugs are only experienced by a handful of people (I've had my Volt for nearly a year now (wow, it doesn't seem like it!)), and do not recall any software bugs that I have encountered. There are certainly some things I would change in the software if I had access to it, but not bugs.

Remember, that what you see at gm-volt.com (or ANY type of support forums) is heavily skewed towards problems. The desire to fix a problem tends to outweigh the desire to report something you like. If you're sitting here counting software bugs that are reported every couple of days, you'll be happier not monitoring this site. If you really are encountering different software bugs every few days, I feel bad for you -- but let GM know, they would probably LOVE to pay you to join their quality control team!

Oh, my! Nothing against Ford (honest!), but it's a accepted industry knowledge that Ford missed BIG with the latest version of Sync.

Sorry, but I won't post pictures or whatever, even if I could.

In your first post you ask if anyone has had a similar problem, but you refuse to post a sample photo of what that problem looks like? Good luck !

Comments on various above . . .


In your first post you ask if anyone has had a similar problem, but you refuse to post a sample photo of what that problem looks like? Good luck ! I think my description was suitably unambiguous and most of the responses clear indicate I communicated


Sync? I wouldn't use it if my car had had it. And the Lincoln was a good car: three years of good service, no problems, never back to the dealer. A near perfect automotive "appliance" if very dull.

Ferrari? Perfect - here are the stats on the last dozen cars I bought, oldest first,
- '94 Honda Accord Wife's car. Never went back, never broke or needed non-routine anything. Boring though.
- '96 Mercedes E. Worst car I ever owned. Never a day when everything worked. 4 months and 2K miles. Dealer took it back
- '96 Cadillac - the smaller one whatever it was called-Seville? Four years. Wife's car. Never went back . Nothing broke at all, ever. Nice if dull car with complicated sound system, etc.
- '98 Camaro Z28 - I drove it three years, gave it to my youngest boy who drove it seven more. 140K miles. Never had any problem, recall, issue or breakdown. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods including NOS and nearly 500 drag strip runs
-01 Audi A4 four years and 28k miles. Wife's car. Never went back . Nothing broke on even deteriorated.
'02 Corvette ZO6 - owned it four years. Had a private mechanic do the one recall (steering shim). Never broke down, never had an issue. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods and 400+ drag strip runs.
-04 Audi S4. four years and 22k miles. Never went back for anything. Nothing ever broke or operating weird.
-04 Porsche Carrera S - owned it four years, 40k miles. Never went back for anything. Nothing broke or even deteriorated: looked brand new when I traded it on . .
-'07 Aston Martin Vantage - owned it three years & 35 kmiles. Perfect and flawless every day. Wish I had kept it.
-'08 Lincoln MKZ - four years and 44k miles. Also perfect and flawless every day. Dull but dependable "grandfather car" I bought just for when family was in town but ended up driving alot more than I expected. 21 mph no matter where or how I drove it.
- Ferrari F430 w. factory 522 HP upgrade (one of the last six Ferrari's made with a man ual transmission, eve: ex Factory Apr 26, 2009) - two+ years and 12k miles. Perfect and flawless so far. Yes, maintenance is about $3,000 a year, oil costs $70 a quart (takes 11 quarts) and it demands DOT4 brake fluid, but so what? Surprisingly easy to live with for an exotic, but deserving ot its reputation entirely.
-'12 Volt -six and a half months and about 7 K miles. Three recalls (all ignored so far - seems no need to me). Lots of body squeaks and pops (the plastic seems to warm up and pop in sunlight). Weird and often unrepeatable software glitches (screens go black and white, sat radio won't work some days,), reverse screen split sometimes. Voltex system seems bulletproof though. Good nav system. No power to speak of, but I love never having to stop at a gas station.

...
- '98 Camaro Z28 - I drove it three years, gave it to my youngest boy who drove it seven more. 140K miles. Never had any problem, recall, issue or breakdown. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods including NOS and nearly 500 drag strip runs
...
'02 Corvette ZO6 - owned it four years. Had a private mechanic do the one recall (steering shim). Never broke down, never had an issue. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods and 400+ drag strip runs.
...
-'12 Volt -six and a half months and about 7 K miles. Three recalls (all ignored so far - seems no need to me). ...


OK, please don't bash the Volt unless it deserves it.

NHTSA shows 4 recalls for the 1998 Camaro, 3 recalls for the 2002 Corvette, 0 for the 2011 Volt, 0 for the 2012 Volt.

Remember, "recall" can mean several things; the Volt has never had a government-level recall. You have to give a company credit for a company-level recall; that's a good thing for customers. It lets the customers that want the fix get it, while not being serious enough for a government-level recall.

And if you see no need for the recalls, why are you complaining about them?

Comments on various above . . .

I think my description was suitably unambiguous and most of the responses clear indicate I communicated


Sync? I wouldn't use it if my car had had it. And the Lincoln was a good car: three years of good service, no problems, never back to the dealer. A near perfect automotive "appliance" if very dull.

Ferrari? Perfect - here are the stats on the last dozen cars I bought, oldest first,
- '94 Honda Accord Wife's car. Never went back, never broke or needed non-routine anything. Boring though.
- '96 Mercedes E. Worst car I ever owned. Never a day when everything worked. 4 months and 2K miles. Dealer took it back
- '96 Cadillac - the smaller one whatever it was called-Seville? Four years. Wife's car. Never went back . Nothing broke at all, ever. Nice if dull car with complicated sound system, etc.
- '98 Camaro Z28 - I drove it three years, gave it to my youngest boy who drove it seven more. 140K miles. Never had any problem, recall, issue or breakdown. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods including NOS and nearly 500 drag strip runs
-01 Audi A4 four years and 28k miles. Wife's car. Never went back . Nothing broke on even deteriorated.
'02 Corvette ZO6 - owned it four years. Had a private mechanic do the one recall (steering shim). Never broke down, never had an issue. Just normal maintenance, in spite of mods and 400+ drag strip runs.
-04 Audi S4. four years and 22k miles. Never went back for anything. Nothing ever broke or operating weird.
-04 Porsche Carrera S - owned it four years, 40k miles. Never went back for anything. Nothing broke or even deteriorated: looked brand new when I traded it on . .
-'07 Aston Martin Vantage - owned it three years & 35 kmiles. Perfect and flawless every day. Wish I had kept it.
-'08 Lincoln MKZ - four years and 44k miles. Also perfect and flawless every day. Dull but dependable "grandfather car" I bought just for when family was in town but ended up driving alot more than I expected. 21 mph no matter where or how I drove it.
- Ferrari F430 w. factory 522 HP upgrade (one of the last six Ferrari's made with a man ual transmission, eve: ex Factory Apr 26, 2009) - two+ years and 12k miles. Perfect and flawless so far. Yes, maintenance is about $3,000 a year, oil costs $70 a quart (takes 11 quarts) and it demands DOT4 brake fluid, but so what? Surprisingly easy to live with for an exotic, but deserving ot its reputation entirely.
-'12 Volt -six and a half months and about 7 K miles. Three recalls (all ignored so far - seems no need to me). Lots of body squeaks and pops (the plastic seems to warm up and pop in sunlight). Weird and often unrepeatable software glitches (screens go black and white, sat radio won't work some days,), reverse screen split sometimes. Voltex system seems bulletproof though. Good nav system. No power to speak of, but I love never having to stop at a gas station.
Nice line-up of cars! You really drive a lot, which is what cars are meant for. Most Porsche's don't rack up 40k in their lifetime let alone in 4 years.

As others have said, the technology in the Volt is more advanced than any of the other cars on your list, even though some are legendary and very well regarded.

The Volt center stack may be one of the first in the industry that is all touch capacitive.
The drivetrain and battery packs are pretty obvious.

As an 'early' adopter of this technology, I expect there to be design issues and such, which is EXACTLY why I bought it. I love technology and I work with it daily and even teach it to college students. ;)

OK, please don't bash the Volt unless it deserves it.

NHTSA shows 4 recalls for the 1998 Camaro, 3 recalls for the 2002 Corvette, 0 for the 2011 Volt, 0 for the 2012 Volt.

Remember, "recall" can mean several things; the Volt has never had a government-level recall. You have to give a company credit for a company-level recall; that's a good thing for customers. It lets the customers that want the fix get it, while not being serious enough for a government-level recall.

And if you see no need for the recalls, why are you complaining about them?

I'm not bashing it - I am objectively commenting on my ownership experience. I don't doubt the car's technology or dependability, but the incessant small glitches make me very wary of it.

I never received a recall about my Camaro. I would remember. My model must not have had the equipment or issues. The 'vette had just the one.

As to the Volt and why I am complaining: I get calls, I get letters, I get reminder letters about the letters, I get e-mails: for all three "not recalls." whatever they are. THAT is annoying.

I respect GM a lot for trying hard and achieving so much: I'm just telling it like it is.

I guess if your sole criterion for judging a car as "good" is how many times it needs to go back to the dealer for service... He is right.

So how many times did you have to take the MKZ in for an oil change?

Just pretend the Volt needs an oil change and have them do ALL the work in one trip under warranty. Problem solved.

I guess if your sole criterion for judging a car as "good" is how many times it needs to go back to the dealer for service... He is right.

So how many times did you have to take the MKZ in for an oil change?

Just pretend the Volt needs an oil change and have them do ALL the work in one trip under warranty. Problem solved.

Sole criteria? I never said or implied that. It's the minor software glitches that worry me most. And the recalls annoy me, even though I am ignoring them, because I get so many calls and letters and e-mails. I love the smoothness of the car, but hate the very noticeable lack power (on balance its a wash). The strange plastic popping noises from the body anytime it goes from shade to direct sunlight are disappointing because anyone who uses plastic or composites should be able to engineer that out - and nearly everyone else does.

And I never took the Lincoln in for anything except its annual emissions/safety check - there is a service here that comes out to my house and changes the oil and does routine service, etc. They even replace tires if need be, etc. I've used them on everything but the Aston and the Ferrari (a local shop send someone out to get them and turns them all done).

The Volt reminds me of my Kindle. I had one of the first models: novel but with a lack of power in its own way and gobs of software glitches. I finally destroyed mine (because it had my credit card # stored in it) and threw it away. With each model the Kindle and its competitors got better, and now the Nook is completely acceptable. So it shall be with EVs I think.

Sole criteria? I never said or implied that. It's the minor software glitches that worry me most. And the recalls annoy me, even though I am ignoring them, because I get so many calls and letters and e-mails. I love the smoothness of the car, but hate the very noticeable lack power (on balance its a wash). The strange plastic popping noises from the body anytime it goes from shade to direct sunlight are disappointing because anyone who uses plastic or composites should be able to engineer that out - and nearly everyone else does.

And I never took the Lincoln in for anything except its annual emissions/safety check - there is a service here that comes out to my house and changes the oil and does routine service, etc. They even replace tires if need be, etc. I've used them on everything but the Aston and the Ferrari (a local shop send someone out to get them and turns them all done).

The Volt reminds me of my Kindle. I had one of the first models: novel but with a lack of power in its own way and gobs of software glitches. I finally destroyed mine (because it had my credit card # stored in it) and threw it away. With each model the Kindle and its competitors got better, and now the Nook is completely acceptable. So it shall be with EVs I think.
I have never experienced any popping noises or any noticeable shakes or rattles from my Volt.

I traded in my CTS-V on the Volt, and the Caddy had all kinds of rattles everywhere. It drove me nuts, however, the irritation was quickly subdued when I pushed the go pedal.

It's the minor software glitches that worry me most.

Inquiring minds need to know. What software glitches??

If they are similar to your rear view screen issue (and not intentional design choices), then really, take your Volt in and get it fixed.

Anomolies in software. None are constant, all are occsionally, which means my confidence in the dealer being able to reproduce and "fix" them is nil. None are fatal, however. The car has never let me down, or failed to charge. Still these are disconcerting:
a) the aforementioned split screen, that occured only about 50% of the time but anymore it is about all the time
b) sometimes the center screen is in black and white, not color, no matter what it is showing (even backup). It stays there until I stop the car and restart it.
c) sometimes the climate control does not work, the whole screen is grayed out. Simply pushing a button to another screen and back does not fix it, but shifting to another screen, doing something (like shifting from FM to AM) and then back does. Stopping and restarting does fix it always, too.
d) About once a week the XM radio refuses to give all but one station - it will not shift or change stations no matter how much I rotate the tuning knob. (I have never tried to change and see if at those times it will not change radio stations either - since I never change radio stations from NPR). Only stopping and starting the car will get it out of this mode.
e) occasionally i get strange behavior when I shut down - the car beeps several times but there is nothing wrong - no key left, no door or shifter left int he wrong position (or at least no report on the screens).
f) Very occasionally the light dimmer won't - usually when the center screen in grey, I think.
g) About once a month the backup camera stays on for al ong time - I am used to the fact that it stays on even after I have shifted out of reverse as long as the vheicle has not moved forward a bit, but on these occasions I can watch the road disappearing behind for for quite a while. Pushing a button "radio," "Climate," the leaf, will always get out of this mode and go to the proper screen, but if left it seems to take up to a minute
g) Twice it has refused to lock (with either remote or with a handle button) - I guess this is much preferred to refusing to unlock.
There are no diagnostic codes or anything even when I call On-Star, etc.
I will not take the car to the dealer for this - since every one except the screen (which I can live with, its only the top 10% at the bottom now) all the other glitches are intermitant - I don't have any confidence they would fix these problems.

Popping noise is completely predictable now. It will be interesting to see if it occurs even in hot weather (it really happens alot when cold and I drive into the sun). Pretty sure it is the rear spoiler and the passenger's side front fender doing it: different expansion rates when heating in sunlight and "pop." Not critical in any sense, but no other car I have ever had did it so regularly and often, and loud - my wife hates the sound, she says it is like acormns are falling on the car.

Anomolies in software. None are constant, all are occsionally, which means my confidence in the dealer being able to reproduce and "fix" them is nil. None are fatal, however. The car has never let me down, or failed to charge. Still these are disconcerting:
a) the aforementioned split screen, that occured only about 50% of the time but anymore it is about all the time
b) sometimes the center screen is in black and white, not color, no matter what it is showing (even backup). It stays there until I stop the car and restart it.
c) sometimes the climate control does not work, the whole screen is grayed out. Simply pushing a button to another screen and back does not fix it, but shifting to another screen, doing something (like shifting from FM to AM) and then back does. Stopping and restarting does fix it always, too.
d) About once a week the XM radio refuses to give all but one station - it will not shift or change stations no matter how much I rotate the tuning knob. (I have never tried to change and see if at those times it will not change radio stations either - since I never change radio stations from NPR). Only stopping and starting the car will get it out of this mode.
e) occasionally i get strange behavior when I shut down - the car beeps several times but there is nothing wrong - no key left, no door or shifter left int he wrong position (or at least no report on the screens).
f) Very occasionally the light dimmer won't - usually when the center screen in grey, I think.
g) About once a month the backup camera stays on for al ong time - I am used to the fact that it stays on even after I have shifted out of reverse as long as the vheicle has not moved forward a bit, but on these occasions I can watch the road disappearing behind for for quite a while. Pushing a button "radio," "Climate," the leaf, will always get out of this mode and go to the proper screen, but if left it seems to take up to a minute
g) Twice it has refused to lock (with either remote or with a handle button) - I guess this is much preferred to refusing to unlock.
There are no diagnostic codes or anything even when I call On-Star, etc.
I will not take the car to the dealer for this - since every one except the screen (which I can live with, its only the top 10% at the bottom now) all the other glitches are intermitant - I don't have any confidence they would fix these problems.

Popping noise is completely predictable now. It will be interesting to see if it occurs even in hot weather (it really happens alot when cold and I drive into the sun). Pretty sure it is the rear spoiler and the passenger's side front fender doing it: different expansion rates when heating in sunlight and "pop." Not critical in any sense, but no other car I have ever had did it so regularly and often, and loud - my wife hates the sound, she says it is like acormns are falling on the car.

OMG, take your car in. You are the only with a set of experiences like this, no question. The dealer need not reproduce anything, they just need to replace and rebuild. Something definitely is FUBAR with your center stack.

That is definitely a long list of oddball problems. Abnormalities associated with electronics can be near impossible to track or reproduce on demand. I can see the mechanics work sheet now......"Unable to duplicate, no action taken". Hopefully you will see "Removed and replaced, checks normal ! "

Anomolies in software. None are constant, all are occsionally, which means my confidence in the dealer being able to reproduce and "fix" them is nil. None are fatal, however. The car has never let me down, or failed to charge. Still these are disconcerting:
...
I will not take the car to the dealer for this - since every one except the screen (which I can live with, its only the top 10% at the bottom now) all the other glitches are intermitant - I don't have any confidence they would fix these problems.


I have to say, you have encountered quite a few bugs!

Given that it seems that most people haven't encountered such a large list, I would recommend at least calling your dealer. Remember, there was a software update around 6 months ago. I didn't bother to get it, but if I was experiencing the problems you are, I certainly would (unless I felt that the bother of bringing the car in outweighed the benefit of getting the glitches fixed).

As a software engineer, I've fixed many intermittent bugs that were not reproducible. What that means is that if GM gets reports of a bug from enough people, they *will* work on fixing it. For example, if I wrote a program to display the image from a camera in real-time, and I kept getting reports of the top 10% of the screen showed up on the bottom, I could look at the code and make educated guesses as to what might cause it. Once I find was I think causes it, I may be able to reproduce it (a guaranteed fix); otherwise, I can make the fix and check with the customers to see if the fix really fixes the problem.

Anomolies in software. None are constant, all are occsionally, which means my confidence in the dealer being able to reproduce and "fix" them is nil. None are fatal, however. The car has never let me down, or failed to charge. Still these are disconcerting:
a) the aforementioned split screen, that occured only about 50% of the time but anymore it is about all the time
b) sometimes the center screen is in black and white, not color, no matter what it is showing (even backup). It stays there until I stop the car and restart it.
c) sometimes the climate control does not work, the whole screen is grayed out. Simply pushing a button to another screen and back does not fix it, but shifting to another screen, doing something (like shifting from FM to AM) and then back does. Stopping and restarting does fix it always, too.
d) About once a week the XM radio refuses to give all but one station - it will not shift or change stations no matter how much I rotate the tuning knob. (I have never tried to change and see if at those times it will not change radio stations either - since I never change radio stations from NPR). Only stopping and starting the car will get it out of this mode.
e) occasionally i get strange behavior when I shut down - the car beeps several times but there is nothing wrong - no key left, no door or shifter left int he wrong position (or at least no report on the screens).
f) Very occasionally the light dimmer won't - usually when the center screen in grey, I think.
g) About once a month the backup camera stays on for al ong time - I am used to the fact that it stays on even after I have shifted out of reverse as long as the vheicle has not moved forward a bit, but on these occasions I can watch the road disappearing behind for for quite a while. Pushing a button "radio," "Climate," the leaf, will always get out of this mode and go to the proper screen, but if left it seems to take up to a minute
g) Twice it has refused to lock (with either remote or with a handle button) - I guess this is much preferred to refusing to unlock.
There are no diagnostic codes or anything even when I call On-Star, etc.
I will not take the car to the dealer for this - since every one except the screen (which I can live with, its only the top 10% at the bottom now) all the other glitches are intermitant - I don't have any confidence they would fix these problems.

Popping noise is completely predictable now. It will be interesting to see if it occurs even in hot weather (it really happens alot when cold and I drive into the sun). Pretty sure it is the rear spoiler and the passenger's side front fender doing it: different expansion rates when heating in sunlight and "pop." Not critical in any sense, but no other car I have ever had did it so regularly and often, and loud - my wife hates the sound, she says it is like acormns are falling on the car.


That is way to many semi-random glitches for it to be software problem. This sounds very much like its a memory fault, or a timing problem, in your center stack. Either memory or timing can produce all types of wierd errors on a computer.
Think of it as the loaded program having a few bits that will fail to be set/reset properly and it may depend on temp, and/or humidity and/or the loading/calling sequence.

Memory problems rarely "fix" themselves, and usually get worse. If its memory it could get to be a serious issue (e.g. refusing to unlock), saying on and draining the battery. Sounds like the dealer needs to replaces the computer components in the center console. There is no way to reproduce them easily, might be best to snap a pick of these wierd states to document them.