Dismayed by GM's response....

[MTN Ranger]

None of these items listed are really problems - just two disappointments (not knowing the full info) and one mess up.

The OnStar glitch sounds like a rare mess up on the OnStar's account. It's hard to say exactly what caused this (human error at OnStar, computer problem, even the dealership could have entered the info wrong for the account).

I personally knew about the gridlines before I purchased the Volt. While it is a bummer that the lines only come with the nav version; this is hardly a deal breaker. The dealer should have told you this information.

I understand why the front sensors are not active in drive mode - they would be constantly going off anytime something gets a few feet in front of the bumpers. I have never had a car with constantly active front sensors - so I just habitually hit the sensor button when I need it (like in my garage or confined space).

Sorry to hear you are dissatisfied; hopefully you will get over it and enjoy the car. If the OnStar thing really bugs you, call OnStar customer service (not GM's) and ask for a few months of free OnStar service.

[VoltageDrop]

The onstar thing just needs to be sorted out and hopefully will work for you...its a very good tool to have.

The backup camera thing without gridlines.....I knew this when I bought the car as well....it really doesn't bother me at all......I use the sharp horizontal line of the rear bumper to tell me if I am way to DARN close to anything.....(and in combination with the rear parking sensors)....never had a problem.....I was not going to pay the premium for the nav I didn't like just to have "guidelines" I really didn't need.

As far as the parking sensors....I think your rant is just that...A RANT.....it really is no big deal...just push the parking sensor button on the headliner.......I personally favor this setup....I understand your point though.....a "normal-read good" driver should not be so close to the car in front of them to activate the sensors anyway........

Fix the onstar issue and enjoy the Volt.....Guidelines or not....With the Volts visibility issues....I would not buy this car without a rear camera.......just my $0.02 as always......

[techtom]

Have you tried your Volt Advisor? Surprised you didn't mention them.

[DonC]

Sorry to hear about the OnStar problem. Hopefully they'll sort it out. I think techtom's suggestion of contacting a Volt Advisor is a good one. When doing that, you might consider a calmer approach. I think it will get you further.

I have the grid lines since I have the NAV. It's nice but no big deal. I agree with you that it would be nice if the park assist automatically turned on but I see their point as well. In all honestly it has never bothered me because the only time I park without putting it into reverse I'm pulling into my garage, and when I do that the lights come on at just the right point. They come on and I stop! That works for me but it might just be a coincidence that it works out this way.

[bonaire]

Then there is always this: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chevy-...125806048.html

[awm]

OnStar: account was obviously messed up by whoever was trying to resolve the problem. When I tried to fix small problems with BMW, Infiniti, Lexus and Mercedes. When humans are involved, mistakes happen.

Gridlines: I understand the disappointment but that's what test drives are for with the model of your choice.

Parking sensors: I agree that the implementation could be better. BMW and Mercedes do it right. In our Mercedes, you not only have the sound but also the visual guidance for the front and back sensors. On top of that, both front and back sensors come on automatically when the speed is below approx. 5 mph. When you are in stop and go traffic and get too close to the car in front of you, the visual warning may come on but once the audible warning engages, you are definitely too close to another car. The audible warning may also go off when people walk in front or the back of the car. Naturally, if a circumstance creates a lot of annoying beeps, you can turn the sensors off and they will come back on automatically.

While the Mercedes' system does a great job, I would give the award for best parking guidance to Infiniti. I recently drove in a friend's Infiniti QX which was equipped with not only the sensors but also with 4 cameras. When you engage reverse, the center screen displays a bird's view of all sides around your car and it could not be easier to maneuver in tight quarters.

Now, while I would like visual guidance for the front sensors on the Volt, it is not a deal breaker; we do not park in such tight quarters where every inch counts. I agree, that the "automatic on" should be permanent as soon as the speed drops below 5 mph but it is not really such a big deal to press the button. But it surprises me that GM engineers missed small items like this all the while building one of the most sophisticated cars on the road...

[tknarr3]

Sounds like a lack of information and education from the dealer to the customer

[ShannonVolt]

Don't get your panties in a bunch. We don't don't live in a perfect world, if we did you would have researched the backup camera lines before you purchased the car. Also ALL companies will make a mistake including OnStar or whoever. Concentrate on the important stuff in life.

RELAX Frankie

[Steverino]

Sounds like a lack of information and education from the dealer to the customer

Or vice versa. "I want the backup camera" is not the same as "I want the backup camera with the grid lines".

Also, the owners manual is available online in PDF. Self education is often superior to relying solely on a dealer sales rep. That's how I found out the car had no spare, something that surprised some buyers. It surprised me too, but that was before I bought rather than on delivery.

Knowing what you are buying may take more than looking at paint color chips, or a car commercial (with fine print no one reads). Buyer beware still holds true today.

The front collision alert not beeping at me in the garage is no big deal. I've been able to park cars in my garage for over 30 years without that feature and never once did I crash through the wall. Nice to have? Sure. Need to have, or enough for me to blast GM about? No.

OnStar is good, but not perfect. Took them 2 years to get mileage and efficiency stats working for the Volt, their "send maps to car area" needs work, and the people—though uniformly friendly to me—are sometimes not as knowledgeable as I'd like.

[Fulgerite]

I pretty much agree with 2 out of three issues you mention.

1. The backup camera has additional issues. If you have a light colored Volt the reflection off the bumper causes the camera to darken to the point it becomes useless. My backup camera shows an image thats too dark to use 90% of the time. There is no adjustment for the camera brightness so it can't be fixed either. It's just a poorly performing design.

2. I don't see how the parking sensors would work while you are driving. Every time you pull up behind someone they would be going off. It would drive me nuts. I think having the default that switches the system on for reverse + a button is a good solution. I will give GM the credit here. The only thing I wish was they could add a visual display that showed a top view map with the proximity displayed for the sensors. (Like many other cars do...)

3. I agree with you about OnStar. OnStar is a sad broken thing. The digital OnStar features on the Volt are really nice... If they actually worked. (But they seldom do.) It takes forever to even check your battery status. About 50% of the time the servers are too busy or down... and you can't actually even check status or perform any of the digital features. The MyVolt web site works about 50% of the time when I try to check status. (While my car is parked in my garage with 5 bar 100% Verizon coverage.) At least the basic blue button phone call works.

The Volt is a very nice car. In fact, it's my favorite car that I have ever owned. But no car is perfect.