Broken Volt / Battery

[Solarwind]

One week ago I got a email from onstar stating we had a problem with our car. The engine light was on but i had learned to ignore that as it had happened numerous time before and usually would go out in a few day. The car had no visible problems, ran and drove fine, charged fine. I tried to make a appointment for monday but they could not get it in until tuesday. I wanted the car by this weekend for a planned trip, but I was sure it was just low coolant for the battery and would only take minutes to fix. After three days they were still not sure but it appeared a temp sensor in the battery was out of limits. The solution is to replace the battery and this will not be completed for at least another week as the battery will need to be land freighted in.
The dealer has loaned us a 2010 or 11 Toyota Camry, while this is a nice car it is no Volt. We took the trip to Lincoln MT in the Toyota a trip we had done several times in the Volt. It is 170 miles round trip, good 2 lane road with a lot of up and down some steep hills and one mountain pass. In the Volt I would set the speed at 70 mph and the speed will never very more the 1 mph up or down hill. In the Camry set the speed at 70 and you will see 63 to 85 mph with constant jerking as the car shifts up and down. Those of you that never traveled in your Volt don't know what you are missing. We are missing our Volt.

[tfford]

Those of you that never traveled in your Volt don't know what you are missing. We are missing our Volt.

So TRUE! We just got back from a 2,300 mile road trip through New Mexico and Colorado and I was simply amazed at the performance of the Volt up grades and over passes. One long stretch on I-25 headed west towards Santa Fe it's an uphill grade (not like mountain passes but the kind that truckers struggle to keep 50 - 55mph) that I had the cruise set on 80 and it simply never budged off that. Like it was no effort whatsoever, and 11,000ft. mountain passes, just a breeze.

The Volt is a truly worthy road car, anywhere.

[DonC]

Sorry to hear about the temp sensor issue. Seems odd that they'd replace an entire battery because of one sensor, but maybe it's just not easy to replace one.

The Camry comparison is interesting. I've been impressed with how well the Volt does on a longer trip, though I've been told the back seat can be a little rough.

[larry4pyro]

It's amazing how the Volt will cruise at speeds up to 80 mph and not feel like you are really going very fast, and while the fuel consumption goes down it's still in the high 30's.

[Solarwind]

Update to the original post. We got our car back several days before expected. Everything electrical seem to be working properly. I have been happy with my repair dealership (City Motors) and pleased with the mechanic that has worked on the electrical part of the car. Both the battery upgrade and this repair (battery replacement) seem to have gone without a hitch. I think this mechanic takes his time and researches things before diving in, and has pride in his work.
The car has been in for two other things, collision damage with a dear and front end suspension noise. The damage was also repaired quickly and with quality. The suspension noise is a whole different experience. The front springs and shocks were replaced. When I got home I noticed one of the plastic parts holding the air dam under the hood missing and the steering wheel not straight. I went back and had them replace the missing part which they had to substitute, didn't have the correct one. Then after driving a week or two with the steering wheel cocked, it started to bug me, and I went back to have that fixed. The original problem is still there and I will have to learn to live with it, or maybe aftermarket parts. I don't think the same pride in workmanship is present in this department and can reflect on the dealership.