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Glithcy Volt part 2 - Plus horrible service

8K views 35 replies 15 participants last post by  pgotthold 
#1 ·
Back to the dealer again. Charge door sticking, had to pry it open then it started opening while driving. We don't have ice or snow here - ever. So they couldn't use that excuse. The passenger side mirror keeps falling off while driving as well. And the last time they had to remove the carpet and seats to get to something and they didn't put the carpet back correctly so it keeps coming out from the door sill covers. Also, I started noticing condensation in the tail-lights in the morning. So I took a picture of it. We don't always have "dew" conditions, so it isn't everyday you see it. And of course by mid-morning it is gone.

Service did the following: charge door was re-aligned - we'll see if this works. Last time it was realigned it lasted a couple of weeks before it acted up again. This is charge door #2 as well.

Mirror they said "seemed" secure and unable to duplicate - but they never drove the car. How can you say unable to duplicate if the problem occurs while driving and you don't drive it? When the first mirror fell off it damaged the casing and off course they wouldn't fix that either. And I have a service invoice where they already paid once under warranty to try and fix it. And this is their repair that failed.

They don't believe my photos - said the lens didn't have condensation on them in the afternoon when they looked at the car. No kidding, bright sun and 90F heat index in the shade here right now. The dew burns off in the morning. That's why I took a picture. And explained it to the service advisor if they can't duplicate it, show them the picture... Dums Dums didn't want to look at it.

They did the same crappy job putting the carpet back, so once again after a few times of the kids getting in and out of the car that will pull out again. You have to actually REMOVE the plastic pieces that hold the carpet in and re-secure the carpet rather than just shoving it in underneath. I already did that once and it didn't hold. I didn't feel like actually removing everything to fix the dealers crappy job. It didn't work the first time they took a shortcut what makes them think it will work the second time they try it?

My wife picked up the car and then told me what happened. I wouldn't have accepted it back. But she did...

I called Chevrolet Customer Service they were too busy to answer my call - maybe they will answer the Florida Attorney Generals Office after I file my complaint. Overall we like the Volt, but I can't take service not fixing things. And these are relatively cheap things to fix. It is a lease and I bought a $5k damage insurance policy, so it isn't like I will ever pay to fix these things so it isn't about money, it is about SAFETY. Some of these are safety issues, because I can't safely drive the car with the passenger sideview mirror failing off. And I am worried about leaks with the rear tail-lights. And I can't get access to charge the vehicle, which was the whole point of spending more money to get an electric vehicle. (Fuel savings) My wife can charge for free at work, but only if you can get the door open. And then when the door opens on the highway by itself there is another safety issue. I am sure that the door cover could come off at highway speeds is a possibility and that could also cause an accident.

This is a $45k vehicle that isn't even a year old that has about 5100 miles on it.
 
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#2 ·
FWIW the lenses do fog up and then unfog.

They are not sealed, so I'd stick to your other issues and don't worry about the taillights.
 
#3 ·
The tail light condensation is normal for this car.

No excuse for the shoddy service though.

As far as the $45k price, it's irrelevant to the issues. No matter the price paid, you expect zero issues. However, all cars can have issues and dealer quality is regrettably at the heart of many of your car's issues, Also, I bought my car in 2011 and actually paid $34,500. How did you manage to pay more than me after a $5000 price cut in the car? Did you not qualify for the $7500 discount?
 
#4 ·
This is a $45k vehicle that isn't even a year old that has about 5100 miles on it.
First, it sounds like this dealer isn't able/willing/taught how to repair your concern. This of course has a simple answer....Go to a different dealer.


The quote I highlighted always bugs me and speaks to a mindset. The cost of the vehicle does not and shouldn't have any bearing on the reliablilty or qaulity of a product. Ferraris are very expensive but in my experiance find themselves getting repair or maintained much more often than a 14,000 dollar Spark.

Miles dont matter either...... New puppies sometimes die shortly after birth, and new machines sometimes break. Thats life, it happens.



Bottom line, find a different dealer and get it fixed. This isnt a big deal unless you make it a big deal.
 
#5 ·
As others have said, the taillights fogging is normal, they are not sealed.

The mirror sounds unacceptable, if the dealer won't fix it, get your Volt advisor involved.

The charge port door can be flaky. Probably why the 2014's did away with the electric actuation. If you reach your hand in it when it's open, you'll be able to feel the little pin that comes down to lock it in place. You can push the pin up with your finger, and then it will come back down. I believe lubricating this pin with some WD-40 may also alleviate your problems.
 
#6 ·
Dealers are variable. I've had excellent service at Curry Auto Center in Bloomington, Indiana. My 2012 Volt had a couple of rattles when I picked it up. The dealer made adjustments and rattles were gone.

The charge door got sticky and dry silicone spray wasn't a fix. The dealer changed parts, no more sticking charge door. (The remotely activated opening of the charge door is a "gee whiz" item but added complexity; removing that in the 2014 model was a better engineering design.)

Find a good dealer who provides quality service, and get in touch with your Volt advisor about the mirror issue.
 
#7 ·
Not my first new car and actually isn't near the most expensive car I've bought. I leased, the leasing company was charged $45k and then a few rebates were added in later. I am sure they took the 7,500 rebate, my lease is $450 a month which includes 7% sales tax.

The repeated non-repairs and dodges by the dealer are what really ticks me off. I did have a $9500 new car years ago that I had for 6 years and it only saw the dealer for oil changes... I accept things break, I even accept that this car is more persnickety because of all the technology in it. I have a warranty, I expect the dealer to fix it. Now it is going to be hard to get another dealer to fix what the first one was already paid to fix, which is why I need Corporate GM to step in. (Either the Volt Adviser, Customer Service, or if I have to file for arbitration - I will)

Thanks for the info on the tailights, I'll check that one off the list. Since I am going from hot and humid to cold, frozen, and below zero temps and was worried it would break the tail-lights. But if they are open and vented this shouldn't be an issue. Plus the mold that forms down here when water is trapped is nasty stuff. This also tells me this dealer doesn't have good techs, because the response would have been, it is designed to do that -not- I didn't witness it.
 
#8 ·
It would be helpful if you posted or provided your exact location, Florida doesn't help us. If we knew where you lived maybe other Volt owner's could recommend a better dealer. I can HIGHLY recommend Jack Schmitt Chevrolet but that's in O' Fallon IL.

So you can help us help you of your willing.

BTW the headlights in my $55K 2006 Corvette and $73K 2007 Z06 fogged up from time to time. It's normal, they are exposed to the climate (humidity/mositure) and hot/cold cycles.
 
#9 ·
Welcome to the glitchy volt club. I think they hired a temp to build mine - front to back.

Hope they get you fixed up.
 
#13 ·
Hi all
Question one did you get your Volt advisor involved and don't say that wont do any good cause it will those people work hard and they will take care of your problem if you give them the chance a bad dealer is not GMs fault.
Second question what kind of attitude did you go in with did you go in with the attitude like in your post did you yell and scream. Or did you go in with a pleasant attitude a little kindness will go along way to get your problems solved.
After the first time you got bad service why did you go back there are plenty of Chevrolet dealers out there find one there are more good ones than bad.
The charge port door was sticking I read about a post awhile back about the UL label around the charge port he removed it so I did it too and sprayed with some CRC silicone spray have not had anymore problems.
Third call your volt advisor and tell them every thing the mirror and so forth threats of a lawyer will not get you anywhere.

Now that said I have a had a couple of minor issues and each time my Volt advisor handled everything remmber things like this don't happen over night give them some time to investigate and solve you're problem mine was taken care of and I could not be happier with my volt advisor , GM for a great car and my dealership Best Chevrolet in Louisiana.

Thanks
Don
 
#11 ·
The dealer incompetence would upset me too. Get your Volt Advisor involved and consider seeing another dealer. In general, your problems don't sound massive, but the inability for the dealer to fix them, resulting in repeat problems, is enough to raise anyone's blood pressure.
 
#12 ·
The dealer incompetence would upset me too. Get your Volt Advisor involved and consider seeing another dealer. In general, your problems don't sound massive, but the inability for the dealer to fix them, resulting in repeat problems, is enough to raise anyone's blood pressure.
The scary part is what if I had a big issue... I agree these should be easy fixes and they are screwing it up. I sent an email to the Customer Service person on the forum with my info... If not, Motor Vehicle Defect Form goes in and that will usually get you at least a phone call from the regional manager.
 
#15 ·
Actually I was very polite - they even asked for me to come back another day because they were too busy and we did. I was even nice about bringing the things they messed up on to their attention and I didn't bang them on the survey for it. I will be giving them low marks for the work performed this time. The things they did correct will still get the usual high marks.

I have sent an email to the Volt Adviser and waiting for them to return my message before I do anything. I have dealt with them before and they have helped before with the dealer. Even tried calling them and I got they are too busy to answer the phone right now, please try again later. NO biggie I left messages. The OnStar button gets me to a non-volt person and they try to send me to customer service, which is "too busy".

I don't yell, scream, get upset, jump up and down. First, I am extremely weak and sick so I don't have the energy to do that, but that isn't my style anyways. My profession demanded that I not lose my cool during high stress situations and this is nothing compared to those.

All the stuff regarding the UL Label and CRC spray has been done by the dealer. The door keeps getting out of alignment and jamming. Why it moves I don't know, but that was the diagnoses twice. When it Jams and you have to coax it open the pin that holds it quits working.

Why did I go back to the same dealer? Another dealer won't fix there mistake. They don't get paid to refix something. They did fix all of our other problems with software updates and replaced some sort of module under the center console that was beeping. We haven't been locked into Park again and the check engine lights haven't returned. My normal service adviser was great, but he was out when I came back and got someone else... Normally I would have just come back later, but since this was my second trip to the dealer and as sick as I am, I really didn't have the energy. Now of course I have this to deal with... As it is my wife had to pick it up without me because I was too sick to ride with her to pick it back up.

My attitude is, I will bring it to Chevrolet's attention. They can help or not. I do give corporate a chance to fix things when their representative, which is independent of them, doesn't do what they are supposed to. I am even a big believer in chain of command when it comes to this. I have not talked to the service manager at the dealer yet. I will let Chevrolet deal with my service adviser first. When I get ignored or things not fixed, then yes, I let them know that this is what my only other option is, you didn't leave me a choice... What would you do? This car is under warranty, it needs to be fixed, so fix it. If you don't my other options are limited.

Right now I am afraid the mirror or charge door will fly off and kill someone. And yet no one seems to care. I guess if it happens and the mechanic gets arrested for culpable negligence, the dealership, and Chevrolet get that multi-million dollar civil lawsuit from the victims family, maybe they will look back and say gee, was saying everything was OK without actually checking worth this? Was ignoring what the customer said was a safety issue worth this? I can only get lucky catching this stuff for so long and so many times. I've already popped the mirror back into place since I got the car back.

Mainly I was posting about this so the volt community knows what is going on. Maybe someone had a similar issue with these things and could guide me - and you have - I know that the taillight is a non-issue.
 
#16 ·
Hello
Then like we said you need to go to another dealer since it was not really fixed in the first place. If your volt advisor isn't doing the job then its time to find another one of those to just call the 1-877-486-5846. A mirror falling off should be fixed and the casing also replaced since it was a manufacture defect,a mirror assambley would not even require a volt tech. I know you were probley just venting.and angry. But really give the system another chance call the volt advisor team again mabe ask for a supervisor and explain in detail what you said in your last post I can promise GM and the rest of the team want you satisfied with your volt. I am really amazed be cause with my couple of problems it was handled very quickly and I was called almost every other day by my volt advisor and the dealership and after it was all over I recived another email and call from the volt advisor to make sure I was happy with the service and repairs. So please call the volt team and find another dealer they get paid by the job because they get paid for the service from GM. I did not intend to hurt your feelings but I have seen others at the service department ranting that they will be talking to their lawyer. Or you can check and see what the lemon laws are in your state and get a arbitration.

Thanks
Don
 
#17 ·
I think my VA dumped me after I requested to be swapped into another volt or have this one bought back. Haven't heard from them since before the last repair.


Yes, a dealer can fix another dealer's screw up. I've got 2 years maintenance on my van. Usually do oil changes myself but said hey, it's free I'll take it in. First dealer screwed up an oil change. Took it to the dealer I bought the volt from and they fixed it. No $ from my pocket.
 
#18 ·
I wouldn't request it from the VA - there is only one area of GM that is capable from a customers request that can swap or buy something back. The VA, Service Manager, and district rep/manager, are not those people. Having said that, neither one of those groups wants to see you file for it, because it could look bad on them for not being able to resolve the complaint.

Yes, I am just venting... And I know I could go to another dealer and probably that is what the VA will have me do when they call me back. At this time I would rather go with the VA setting it up, because it will create less issues and hassles. I'll be back to explaining why it looks like a 3 year old attempted a repair.

I really hope I don't have to put everything together to file - I can - but it really isn't where I want to go or what I want to do. I also hope I don't have to get the various state and federal auto safety agencies involved, but again, I know how and I will if needed. All the dealer, the VA, and corp. Chevy needs to do is FIX the problem and I go away. I plug the Volt to people all the time. I boast about it on other forums too. Not a lot of people know just how good having one can be. I feel we have the best of both worlds. You will always have zero range anxiety because of the ICE, but everyday driving and errands are all on battery anyways. I leased the car, my average number of miles shows I will be way under miles when I turn it in.
 
#19 ·
Hello Dakster
You are in the volt family and we all care about you and your problems please call and email your VA untill they answer on this and please tell them that your mirror has a defect already fell off a couple of times and was damaged and everything should be replaced because it is a factory defect send a pm to Ian on this site he will help you.please let us know how things work out again I am sorry for bashing you about a possible attitude I have seen so many post bashing the volt and the post from that other guy about his volt and must have been put together by incompetent personal kinda set me off. To tell you the truth I don't know what happened to me I have never felt like this about a car I think I must be sick . I wish you well and good luck and hope you fell better soon.

Thanks
Don
 
#20 ·
It is all good. Is spoke to the VA group. Appointment set for Monday Morning. The VA is going to work with the dealer to get the mirror assembly replaced as the dealer was still refusing to replace. They agreed to look at the door again - rather than just repeat the service they did the last time which didn't last. He needs to wait until the car is there in order to address the mirror.

I like the volt a lot too... and I want to see it continue to be a great car. I want this platform to go to different styles of vehicles as well.
 
#23 ·
I'm having problems with Lorenzo Bomnin Chevrolet too. The salesman was very polite and professional, I expected the same treatment from their service department but it hasn't worked out. There's been a lack of communication and professionalism from both reps I have dealt with, I wont be returning to this dealership for service.
 
#24 ·
Jabster2010 - It's a shame you had that experience, because it is a brand new building with fairly new owners. And it very modern looking. It gives the appearance of state of the art repair work being done there. I did get a chance to look a some new corvettes that just came in while I was waiting. Gotta let the little kid in me out every once in a while, before the reality of not ever being able to get one sets in.

Update: I just picked up the Volt today. They replaced the entire mirror assembly, the "Volt" Driver's side decal was falling off which was replaced, the piece they lost the first time was replaced, and this time at least they tested the charge door. One person came in with a missing charge door because it opened on the highway and flew off.

I want to publicly thank the Volt Advisers - because I know that without them being involved this wouldn't have happened as easily.
 
#26 ·
I had a similar problem with my charge port door. It would open on its own or not open after repeated tries. I lost track of how many times I took my Volt to the dealer about it. They replaced the charge door once but every other time just adjusted it. I too contacted my VA. She got the corporate team to work with my dealer's mechanic. After a couple of weeks they eventually figured out that corporate knew the door had a faulty design and had a replacement available. The problem was the mechanic skipped the troubleshooting step that said to replace the door since he had already done it previously. Corporate had my mechanic send them the door and they confirmed it was the defective model. It turned out my door was replaced before the new door was available.
 
#27 ·
I will add that so far, knock on wood, the phantom door opening or not opening issue is resolved. The last visit back in March took care of it.

Thanks for posting back about it. Maybe some other frustrated people that have had their door already replaced once and still continue to have issues will be able to articulate why they should get the door checked out again.
 
#28 ·
Another member of the glitch club, welcome! Sucks to be here doesn't it? I too had my charge door replaced, and it took two tries to get it right but the 2nd time seems to have worked which probably means I got the new design. Interesting how they moved away from an electric popper to a gas tank push style for the 14 isn't it?

I pray you have no further issues with your car, and you may just be fine until the end of your lease, but for gods sake don't keep it past the warranty or you may be sorry. I have a 39 month lease myself and will promptly dump it at 36, if not before. My case was escalated to legal, which probably means absolutely nothing but here's hoping.
 
#29 ·
Depending on who you leased thru (and even then) if you trade in on another car they will usually let the last 3 months slide. at least I always seem to get offers when my lease is that close...

Legal = they track you closer and look for any way to avoid paying you out should YOU ACTUALLY file something.
 
#31 ·
Filed 5 weeks ago.
No news yet.
Last Onstar monthly report I put a whole 40 miles on the Volt.
Meanwhile I'm driving my cargo van almost everywhere and I get thank you letters in the mail from the local gas stations every time I start it.
 
#32 ·
Meanwhile I'm driving my cargo van

Lucky!


I'm not allowed to do that anymore after............. Let's say a "Misunderstanding".

Also, I cant be within 200 feet of a school.
 
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