Last week, we took our long term 2011 Chevrolet Volt to fix its cracked shifter. There isn't a Chevrolet dealership in Santa Monica and the Infiniti dealer we usually go to (which used to be a Chevy dealer but still works on the cars) cannot perform warranty work. Our next option was to take it to a nearby Cadillac/GMC dealer that works on all GM models.
Our Volt was probably one of the first they had seen. I got a few "What's this car doing here?" looks from some of the employees and customers. While the service advisor was writing the repair order, he checked with his manager to verify if the cracked shifter would qualify for a warranty claim. The manager signed off on the repairs and the advisor said they would overnight the part.
It took a bit longer than expected because we dropped it off on a Thursday afternoon past the cutoff point for overnight orders. The part arrived on Monday, but it was damaged and another one had to be ordered. The second part arrived the following day.
In addition to the shifter, the Volt needed a software update as part of "Recall Campaign 11137." Our service advisor didn’t know what this was beyond the name "Customer Satisfaction Program."
I took a quick look at the Volt forums and found this out:
From WVhybrid: "Bulletin No. 11137, called the 'Customer Satisfaction program.' This is a software update that changes operation of the HVAC blower motor, fixes "intermittent navigation radio issues", and addresses "reduced fuel economy under certain conditions," It also added a new label to the fuse box in the back driver's side compartment. A total of 7 modules were reprogrammed."
The repairs were performed at no cost to us, and the Volt was back in the fleet on Thursday.
Total Cost: $0
Days out of Service: 3
Ron Montoya, Consumer Advice Associate @ 14,847 Miles
ed124c says:
08:56 AM, 02/ 2/12
The hazards of buying not only a first year model, but an experimental model to boot. Some of those "fixes" should be apparent in the driving. I look forward to reading about this.
legacygt says:
09:03 AM, 02/ 2/12
From this angle the shifter, the shifter's base, and the "cave" in front of it look just awful. I guess this is an angle you never really see as the driver. But still. It's amazing how this aspect (like the rest of the Volt) was designed specifically for this vehicle yet it looks like it was lifted from another car.
mfennell says:
09:17 AM, 02/ 2/12
The driving experience is unchanged. There was a big cry that the update "reduced EV range!!" but it didn't - the estimator is reset (looks like you have less range) and a lot of people coincidentally got the update just before temps dropped significantly in their area. I got the update just before a fall season warm spell and my range went UP.
Placebos are a powerful thing, BTW. I had it in my head that the regen algorithm was going to be changed and briefly convinced myself that braking behavior was different. It was not. :)
stovt001 says:
09:23 AM, 02/ 2/12
So the first replacement shifter was damaged? Maybe they should be taking a long hard look at that parts supplier.
bimmerjay says:
09:27 AM, 02/ 2/12
Is Edmunds' car going to have the battery reinforcement "customer satisfaction" retrofit done?
fordson1 says:
09:27 AM, 02/ 2/12
"There isn't a Chevrolet dealership in Santa Monica..."
Well, of COURSE not. There probably isn't a Chevrolet in Santa Monica.
The Volt has got to be an odd duck in SoCal. On the one hand, it's obvously an alternative-fuel-type vehicle - one that can use the HOV lanes. On the other hand, it's an...American car...a Chevy, even.
Huge cognitive dissonance.
The people at the dealership were probably giving it a double-take because it DOESN'T have out-of-state plates on it.
tomslick2 says:
09:33 AM, 02/ 2/12
Only three days out of service? You dropped it of Thursday and Picked it up the next Thursday.
bimmerjay says:
09:47 AM, 02/ 2/12
"On the one hand, it's obvously an alternative-fuel-type vehicle - one that can use the HOV lanes."
Current Volts don't qualify for the HOV lane, only the new enhanced AT-PZEV version does, but I don't know if those have even hit dealers yet.
cjasis says:
10:04 AM, 02/ 2/12
One week out of service to have a simple part fixed and a warranty campaign addressed seems unreasonably long to me.
I'm not hating on the Volt or Chevy but honestly... one week? You guys at IL are ok with that?
throwback says:
10:12 AM, 02/ 2/12
"reduced fuel economy under certain conditions"
mm, I wonder if this will improve the mpg when using the gas engine.
rm2008 says:
10:13 AM, 02/ 2/12
The dealer let us take the Volt over the weekend, so it was only out of service from Monday to Wednesday.
-Ron
kplacer says:
07:12 AM, 02/ 3/12
This time, put a label on the dash telling your crew not to hit the shifter knob with a brick again.