It will affect almost 73,000 cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on November 29 began investigating 72,926 second-generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid vehicles for a variety of issues including loss of power, reduced energy consumption and inability to restart.
The US auto safety regulator said a preliminary assessment of 2016-2019 Chevrolet Volts was conducted after receiving 61 complaints. They report a loss of driving force associated with the vehicle’s battery energy management module.
According to NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), the suspected failure “may cause loss of motive power, including stalling, a reduced power condition, or failure to start.” Loss of motive power can occur at various speeds, and “the vehicle may not be able to subsequently restart.” Some complaints allege that blackouts or blackouts occurred with little or no warning.
Loss of power, reduced energy consumption and inability to restart make Chevrolet Volt a “moving target”.
According to Reuters, a Los Angeles owner said his Volt “suddenly and unexpectedly lost power while driving. The vehicle can no longer start or move.” Another owner complained that the Volt couldn’t go faster than 60 km/h on the highway and would “stop driving on electric.”
“ODI is beginning a preliminary assessment (PE) to determine the scope and severity of the potential problem and to fully evaluate potential safety concerns,” the agency said in a document.
“A stalled vehicle, along with its operator and passengers, becomes a stationary target,” the ODI document states.
GM told Reuters it was cooperating with NHTSA’s investigation and said it believed it had “taken appropriate actions to address customer concerns related to the battery energy monitoring module.” The automaker added that it “will continue to support the agency’s review of this matter.”
