2016 Chevrolet Volt problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (47) · Fuel/Propulsion System (47) · Electrical System (19)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Volt model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
60 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Air Bags:frontal 2017-10-05 · campaign 17V621000 · 16 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, and 2016 Chevrolet Volt vehicles. The driver's frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.
Risk: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17387.
Service bulletins (1,334)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,334 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-14 · Fuel/Propulsion System“becm failed reducing propulsion. known issue with several volts. yes. propulsion reduced. no start. stuck in middle of street. yes. confirmed by dealership service department that becm is bad. check engine, propulsion reduced, shift to park. started appearing intermittently around 84000 miles. …”
2026-06-30 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the battery energy control module (becm) on my 2016 chevrolet volt has failed. the vehicle and the component are currently located at my home address and are available for inspection upon request. as of writing this now. this failure caused the vehicle to enter a "reduced power mode" and subsequently resulted in a no-start and no-charge condition.…”
2026-06-22 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i purchased the above-listed 2016 chevrolet volt through carvana, relying on the contractual promise that the becm was covered under special coverage n232432680 for up to 15yrs or 150k miles. the vehicle has suffered persistent, severe mechanical and electrical issues resulting in a prolonged loss of use: 1. initial breakdown and delivery: the veh…”
2026-05-11 · Fuel/Propulsion System“my 2016 chevy volt started experiencing the "propulsion power is reduced" issues associated with a faulty bcem unit. i brought my vehicle in for service at a chevy dealer and they confirmed that the bcem needed to be replaced. this is a known issue resulting in special coverage under n232432680. chevy is not honoring the special coverage for my …”
2026-03-20 · Power Train“i have a 2016 chevy volt. it had to be towed to a chevy dealership because it will not drive. the becm module has failed, as is apparently the case with so many volt owners. gm, as a result of lawsuits about this car, extended the warrantee to fix the issue, but my vin number is not included in the case. the gar is a brick, and there is no way …”
2026-03-19 · Fuel/Propulsion System“vehicle displayed reduced propulsion and shift to park while driving on highway then suddenly stopped. dealer said battery failed after a year of diagnosing issue. issue may be becm which has extended warranty service but dealer not addressing the issue of car stalling but instead other costly minor issues leaving the vehicle a safety concern. repl…”
2026-03-11 · Fuel/Propulsion System“after experiencing loss of power and loss of propulsion on the highway, took the car to tropical chevrolet in miami shores, fl. after diagnosing the car for $287.37 (credited to the estimate total of $3101.20), the dealership replaced the battery energy control module and bled the battery pack cooling system. we paid the bill ($2665.89). on januar…”
2026-02-10 · Engine“the engine light came on, but the car would run and so took it to the dealer. they determined that the egr valve had failed and would cost $2400 to repair. apparently, this is a common failure point for generation 2 chevy volts. if it might trigger a forced recall, i'd like to add this to the list.…”
2026-01-29 · Fuel/Propulsion System“in may 2025, the egr (exhaust gas recirculation) valve failed on my 2016 chevy volt with approx. 60,000 kms / 40,000 miles on it - that cost me approximately $3,000 to fix. in my opinion that should have been covered under warranty given that it is a common failure point on second generation volts. note that the egr value (oem - original equipmen…”
2026-01-27 · Unknown Or Other“gm is not honoring coverage from n232432680 for carb vehicles in non-carb states. they have failed to tie carb vehicle vins to the coverage in n232432680.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.