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[frankydude]

Thanks Francois.. Since I'm working on software for the VOLT which may include a full DTC lookup/display I was curious if there was more things people were discussing. I had seen winair's thread.

tboult, you are working on something that would be very useful!
I am confident that an eventual software upgrade would permit the Volt to display DTCs with the accompanying
explanation text.

I work in IT and I think I envy you to work on such a challenging project (the Volt)

Have one on me,

Francois

[voltage692]

Yea, if you go back to my post, you will see that I said, "I agree it would not only be nice, but make total sense." So no need to convince me.

And realistically, if you can afford a 40K+ car, you shouldn't be too hard up that you can't afford $50. And if you are, you should reconsider buying a Volt. But if you are just cheap, then go to eBay and buy a dirt cheap one that will do the job. Don't forget, you can use the one you buy for the Volt on your other cars, or even rent it out to friends and family and make a profit.

Also, you may not be able to use OnStar to get the codes, but I wouldn't be surprised if you have the codes from a reader that you couldn't call OnStar on the phone to get them to look up the description for the Volt.

Hi, voltage692!

Yes, we can go to autozone, or carry with us an OBD II reader, but wouldn't be nice that instead we press on "diagnostics" on the
center screen of the car and get the info right now and there?
This $40 000+ marvelous car can well have the $50 scan code reader included with it, no?

Moreover, the OBD II codes are all stored into the various controllers of the car, and they have a communnication bus
to exchange information in between. Displaying those codes is just a matter of a little software. (not much added production costs)
Another point to know is that on the Volt there is a bunch of brand new DTC codes that are most probably not
into off the shelf OBD II readers. (Check the thread on HAL's siesta error codes, to be convinced about that. Even on
the internet, I did not find what the heck the DTC P1E1C or P1E22 means or stand for? I just got a .pdf file on the extra
service of gm for mode 6 OBD II that has the 3 first digits matching and they were related to the electric engine inverter on
a 2010 hybrid Yukon...)

About your suggestion of the OnStar diagnostic, unfortunately for me, I read on the forums that the OnStar diagnostic is not available in Canada. (I am not 100% certain of this last information, please correct me if I am wrong). Another point for having the on board diagnostic.

I think that on such a technologically advanced car, having the diagnosis option on hand would be quite
nice and handy!

My suggestion to GM!

Francois

[frankydude]

voltage692,

I already own (and since 2004) an OBD II code reader.
The trouble is that it cannot (for the time being) give me any useful indication about
the new DTCs that are in the Volt, because these DTCs were created in 2011...

This is the reason why I challenge you to get me the meaning of the two following DTCs
of winair's HAL: P1E1C and P1E22

IMHO, the autozone solution or the $50 OBD II reader will simply not work for now.

What do you think ?

Francois

[voltage692]

When you say useful indication, do you mean a description of the code?

If so, then it's a matter of finding that information online (we have a guy here that goes by WOT that knows all this stuff), or calling OnStar on the phone for help (1-888-667-8279).

It won't be long before someone posts a full list of codes like they have done for just about every other car. WOT probably has access to a PDF file with all of them.

voltage692,

I already own (and since 2004) an OBD II code reader.
The trouble is that it cannot (for the time being) give me any useful indication about
the new DTCs that are in the Volt, because these DTCs were created in 2011...

This is the reason why I challenge you to get me the meaning of the two following DTCs
of winair's HAL: P1E1C and P1E22

IMHO, the autozone solution or the $50 OBD II reader will simply not work for now.

What do you think ?

Francois

[frankydude]

When you say useful indication, do you mean a description of the code?

Yes, since we already have the code on hand.
I already checked on the internet, and didn't find anything about those 2 DTCs. And google is my friend ;-)

Good luck to find them!

Francois

[voltage692]

I won't be looking for them personally. But I did suggest a couple of good leads for you,so I hope you appreciate that. So good luck to you. I am confident you will find them eventually. The car is new now, but soon all this information will flow freely. Since I have always been an early adopter, I often buy the first gen of cars, so I have been through this many times.

Yes, since we already have the code on hand.
I already checked on the internet, and didn't find anything about those 2 DTCs. And google is my friend ;-)

Good luck to find them!

Francois

[frankydude]

Ok, I understand you don't want to go look for the codes, I don't have any use for them either.
It's winair's HAL Volt that has this problem, and is stuck at the dealership for repair.
The discussion was all about getting (or not getting) the auto diadnostic DTCs directly from the car.
Right now, the only people who can decipher those new DTCs are GM insiders. We both guess that
WOT is certainly one of them.

I also agree with you that in some time in the futur, this information will surely be accessible, and since
all the Volts are on full manufacturer warranty, there is no emergency to put our hands (I mean volt owners, here)
on the information. That situation will evoluate a bit after the end of the 3 years full warranty and go to another
level at the end of the 5 years powertrain warranty.

With the volt, unfortunately, your suggestion of using a simple OBD II for diagnosis is right now impraticable because
of this lack of information. I would love that it could be useful, though. For an owner, knowing what is going on
in it's car is a reassuring thing. We can then take better decisions because we have a good information.
This goes all back to my suggestion: feed the driver with a Diagnosis button on the screen, so we can get DTCs
codes and their translation in english...

I understand that GM might already be developping a user display of DTC - well if it's true, i can only applause to that!

Francois

[DJWilson2]

I can save you the money of a blind spot indicator (which just rewards bad behaviour) and the terrible functionality of a convex mirror, and make you a much less dangerous driver all at the same time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwzUE6PHk4U

Please pass this along to your friends. And keep in mind that just because you've been doing something for 20 years, it may just mean you've been doing it wrong for 20 years.

There is a old saying that you learn something new everyday...

After watching this video and then testing it out I have to say that I am both impressed and embarrassed.

Impressed at how this simple action can improve my situational awareness while driving and embarrassed that I never knew this before.

I will still keep my 'head on a swivel' (something I learned when I became a pilot) since it is second nature now as I am forcing myself to rely more upon my side mirrors to check my blind spots.

The only issue I have is that when cars pass me they literally come out of nowhere since I am looking beside me and not behind me.

[rmay635703]

Wish List
ECO Mode Button
GM Volt EV1 eco version with an ultra light steel body dropping overall weight to 2500lbs and EV1 aerodynamics to improve fuel economy
Option for a smaller battery pack on the EV1 ECO to reduce cost.

[Tpfairbanks]

Nice wishlist! The same person who designed the infopainment system probably took out the grid lines from the rear camera! You think if you pay $800 for a camera they could throw in a couple grid lines! Hmmm