YearsTell

all vehicles · every Volt year · method

Chevrolet Volt 2017

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

3.46 per 1,000

4.4 times this nameplate’s own median · from 78 complaints filed in the first three years, of 700 ever. 95% lower bound 2.69.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model yearPer 1,000Complaints
20110.786
20121.2830
20131.4233
20140.7616
20150.7012
20160.459
20173.4678
20181.9738
20190.607

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Electrical System 312 complaints

propulsion9229%
becm7724%
energy4514%
energy control3912%
battery energy3712%
egr3311%

Fuel/Propulsion System 236 complaints

propulsion14059%
becm7431%
egr7030%
propulsion power6226%
egr valve6126%
energy4820%

Power Train 221 complaints

becm4219%
action required3717%
required shift3315%
propulsion power2411%
energy2311%
battery energy2110%

When it breaks

40% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 36,000 miles, from 250 complaints that recorded one).

No clear early or late pattern.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Pedestrian alert sounds

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

10853130 · 10873994 · 10894474 · 10904526 · 10904889 · 10905516

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.