2018 Chevrolet Volt Engine Problems

Your car's EGR valve is drawing too much electrical current and blowing a fuse that controls multiple engine systems, causing a 'Reduced propulsion' warning and eventual engine overheating. When this happens, the engine shuts down completely and your car loses all power. Additionally, your EV battery has failed components and you've been waiting months for replacement parts, which means you can't rely on electric-only driving. The combination of these two issues leaves your car unable to operate reliably.

During a 200-mile trip, your engine entered reduced power mode about 150 miles in. When you switched back to engine power after using battery, the engine went into complete failure mode. You were able to coast off the highway using remaining battery power before the car lost all propulsion. The dealer found that your EGR valve and cooler had failed and replaced them at a cost of $4,000, which was not covered under the emissions warranty. The fix involved replacing the failed EGR valve and cooler assembly.

Your EGR valve became clogged, which caused a servo to blow the F3 fuse and shut down your engine while you were driving on a busy road. Just before the engine cut off, you noticed the car jolting, but there were no warning lights or error codes. The engine would only restart for less than a minute at a time until the battery drained. Chevrolet confirmed the clogged EGR valve was the cause, and the fix will involve cleaning or replacing the EGR valve and replacing the blown fuse.

Your car still reports emissions leak fault codes even after the dealer completed a recall repair for a fuel vapor leak. You discovered through your own inspection that the dealer installed the emissions repair parts in the wrong location compared to GM's service specifications, meaning the repair was either not performed or performed incorrectly. The dealer refused to re-inspect their work without charging you a fee, and has not responded to your attempts to contact them about the problem.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 60 MPH, the message “Power Reduced” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the failure was due to the EGR valve. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

EGR valve failure at highway speed of 70mpg on busy road with passenger and service dog in vehicle on a road trip (on ICE not electric). This produces a reduced propulsion in the vehicle and it becomes unsafe to drive. The EGR failure blew the 15A #3 fuse known as the "no walk home" fuse, so I needed to be towed to a parts store then unplug the EGR valve to make it somewhere safe. It was a Sunday, so every dealership (in the VA area at least) was closed. It is a well known/documented issue and the warranties have been extended, but only in a few states with the CARB protections. There are no warnings, if I was not an adept driver, we could all be dead. I also became stranded ~six hours from my home and only ~eight thousand miles outside of warranty. The replacement part costs ~$1800 without labor - the most expensive EGR valve the 60yr old parts employee at the dealership had ever seen, on a hybrid car which doesn't even truly require the part to operate or to pass emissions in some states. I think GM will help me with a goodwill repair in this case, as I have been a loyal Chevy customer my entire life and Volt owner since 2013 - but that is not the norm, so please take action and extend warranty protection to all Volt owners like the BECM issue.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power. The check engine warning light illuminated. Shortly afterward, the message "Reduce Propulsion, Engine will not Start" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective EGR valve. The contact was informed that the EGR valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost and lack of parts availability. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact believed that the cause of the failure was related to high temperatures. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

I was driving and a message "engine popuslison reduce" appeared and i was not able to drive at the speed of traffics which was unsafe.

On 8/30/2024 I had driven my 2018 Volt (purchased new on 3/27/2019), with about 45,000 miles on it, on a normally 5 hour trip. About 3 hours into my trip on I-94 my car suddenly slowed down with a "Reduced Propulsion" message and a check engine light that came on. (The engine probably has run less than 25,000 miles of the total miles I have driven it, with the rest being purely on battery.) I was extremely fortunate to have been in the slow lane when the car suddenly stopped accelerating. This could have easily turned out very, very bad. The next day I had a dealer diagnose the car for a little over $400 - they told me there was a problem with my engines EGR valve and that the parts were back ordered so they couldn't give me an indication of when it could be repaired. I got the car back to my home dealer and they charged me another $200 to re-diagnose the problem and came the same conclusion of a bad EGR valve. They too have been unable to get a valve from GM. They have quoted me about $4,000 to have a new valve installed when they can get one. Heck, the car only has 45,000 miles on it!!

lost power when battery power used up and gas engine would not switch over on highway. car would not re-start and died in the middle of highway

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) value has failed after only 20,000 miles of engine usage in my hybrid car. This is a highly-common part that fails and when it fails it shuts the engine down while driving; which leaves the driver stranded. General Motors does not have the part available to purchase and has been on backorder for nearly 4 years. They do not have a resolution and they are not recognizing the GM Service Bulletin that was released 21-NA-116 in Feburary 2023. This is unacceptable. The dealership wants thousands of dollars for a $150 part (that you can't purchase).

Failed EGR Valve. While I was driving, I got a "Propulsion Power Reduced" message and "Engine Unavailable." My car slowly began losing power, leaving me with about 30 seconds to safely pull over. I had it towed to the dealer and they diagnosed a faulty EGR valve. This seems to be a widespread problem with the Chevrolet Volts. To make matters worse, the replacement part is extremely hard to find, with many people waiting on backorder for over a year.

While driving on the highway, the EGR valve in my car malfunctioned, initially causing my dashboard to read "Propulsion Power is Reduced". After continuing to drive the car, the dashboard read 'Engine not available, service soon', where it stalled and we had to restart the car. After restarting, the car went into EV mode with significantly reduced speed. Our safety was put at risk due to the initial stalling and subsequent reduced speed on the highway. The problem has been reproduced since the initial incident and our dealership confirmed the problem relating to the EGR valve which continues to blow fuses when the engine is over-exerted while using gas. The dealership said that this is covered under warranty however, there has been a 5-year back-order on the part and they are refusing to offer any loaner car or compensation for a rental car.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted each time, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the EGR valve needed to be replaced and 40 unknown DTC codes had been retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

......car totally stopped on road in traffic and would not restart. I felt the car losign propulsion so I got off the Intestate and on to a local street. Message in dash was that engine was unavailable. I got out of the car and several cars almost hit my car. Car was flat bedded to Chevy dealer and diagonosed. EGR valve needs to be replaced and is covered under warrenty. HOWEVER, have been waiting 4days and t old that valve not available. This is on a vacation trip and 300 miles away from home.. I can ask for the EGR valve from the car. I am on the GM-Volt listserve and other Generation 2 Volt owners have identified this problem previously. You should initiate a recall since the engine just cuts off and the battery propulsion is unavailable.

General: When I would shift to Park, the display would indicate I was in park, but the car would not turn off. I sometimes had to spend 10 minutes trying. The safety issue was if the car is left on it because the engine system would not recognize park, it could run from gas and create deadly fumes. 1. Shift stick and harness. I do not have the part. 2. Confirmed by dealer and part replaced. $491.33 3. Unsure if it was inspected. Google search has multiple listings for this issue 4. No warnings, no lamps prior to. Warning message when shifted to park and trying to turn off.

CAR IS CONSISTENTLY MAKING A BURNING SMELL AND THE DEALER IS REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. I WENT THERE 2000 MILES AGO, THEY CLAIMED IT WAS A BREAK IN SMELL. THE SMELL IS STILL THERE AND ONCE AGAIN THEY ARE CALLING IT A BREAK IN SMELL. I MEAN THE CAR HAS 8400 MILES. HOW LONG DOES IT HAVE TO BREAK IN FOR? NHTSA, PLEASE STEP IN AND HELP US. GM IS CREATING THIS POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD AND THEIR FRANCHISES ARE NOT HELPING.

WHEN MY GAS ENGINE IS WARMED UP AND UP TO OPERATING TEMPERATURE, THERE WOULD BE THIS BURNT PLASTIC SMELL COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING LIKE THIS FOR THE PAST 3000 MILES OR SO. IT'S A CLEAR BURNT PLASTIC SMELL FROM UNDER THE HOOD, AND IT IS ALWAYS AFTER THE ENGINE IS COMPLETELY WARMED UP. I USE MY GAS ENGINE ALL THE TIME. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS IT IS NORMAL FOR HYBRID TO BURN STUFF OFF AS IT ISN'T RUN ALL THE TIME, BUT THE CAR HAS 6700 MILES. IT'S A STRETCH TO BLAME IT ON BREAK IN OIL. SOME OF THE SMELL GETS INTO THE CABIN WHEN I AM STOPPED, BUT IT IS VERY STRONG WHEN I GET OUT THE CAR AND WALK BY. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW.