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2016 Chevrolet Volt problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2016 Chevrolet Volt has been recalled for and what owners report, from official government data. Updated October 25, 2026.
- 1safety recall
- 170owner complaints
- 2crash reports
- 1fire report
- 1injury reported
170 complaints, against an average of 236 for the other 7 Chevrolet Volt model years.
Every Chevrolet Volt model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
The components named most often in the 170 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2016 Chevrolet Volt owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 170 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
- Why is the check engine light on in my 2016 Chevrolet Volt?28 owners · 16.5%
- Does the 2016 Chevrolet Volt have emissions system or DPF problems?23 owners · 13.5%
- Why does my 2016 Chevrolet Volt stall, lose power or shut off while driving?21 owners · 12.4%
- Why won't my 2016 Chevrolet Volt start?13 owners · 7.6%
- Why does my 2016 Chevrolet Volt overheat?7 owners · 4.1%
Has the 2016 Chevrolet Volt been recalled?
1 U.S. safety recall. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Air Bags: Frontal 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.
What do 2016 Chevrolet Volt owners report?
12 of the 170 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
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.
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. The sudden loss of propulsion power presents a severe safety and crash risk, as the vehicle can lose motive power and stall unexpectedly while in transit. Prior to the complete failure, the vehicle displayed a Check Engine Light and a "Reduced…
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 vehicle originally had a Reduced Propulsion Power Alert on Monday [XXX] around 8pm and nearly caused me to be rear ended on a major road due to accelration issues. It then officially broke down on Tuesday, [XXX]. It was then delivered to Vic Koenig…
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 to fix it now. GM doen't even replace these batteries any more, and most often just buys back the bad vehicles. I still owe 9k on this car and it is useless now. I need help. These are the codes is is throwing. B101D P1EOO P1EAC POAFA B3111 U3001 U2401…
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.
This vehicle has had multiple incidents of surging of the propulsion system both on battery power and when powered by the internal combustion engine, causing loss of propulsion and sudden acceleration almost causing collisions multiple times. We have paid for over $4,000 in repairs that are not covered under the propulsion system warranty, and these repairs have not remedied the issue.
Battery Energy Control Module Malfunction. It is a known issue with this system failing on the chevy volt. There is a service bulletin on this problem. 18-NA-261 is the service bulletin. The car will not start and when it does start it has loss of power while driving. Chevy is only fixing certain VIN numbers even thou it pulls up the same codes in their bulletin. Chevy only gave extended warranties to certain VIN numbers also. Extra warranty bulletin N232432680. This is a major component for the high voltage battery which drives the vehicle. The dealership wants $5000.00 to repair this.
While I driving in the past week, a warning that "propulsion power reduced" appeared on my dashboard several times. The last time that I had driven the car, the heater would not turn off, and the smell of burnt rubber filled the car and then dissipated soon after. The car would only run in it's gas engine mode, and not switch over to electric mode, as it usually would. The next morning, the car would not start. The dash board would light up as if the car started, but when I shifted into drive, a warning appeared on the dash, "Shift to park", as it would when the car is not running. I could not…
Component/System Failed: The engine of my 2016 Chevrolet Volt experienced a sudden internal crack, leading to complete engine failure. The engine is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: The engine failure rendered the vehicle completely inoperable, posing potential risk if it had occurred while driving. Sudden loss of engine power could have caused a crash or left me stranded in traffic, endangering myself and others. Problem Reproduction / Confirmation: The failure was confirmed by a GM dealership, which performed a full inspection and documented the engine crack. The…
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while the daughter was driving in reverse the warning message "Reduced Propulsion" had displayed and suddenly the power steering failed and the vehicle lurched backward and crashed into a utility pole. During the incident, the driver pressed the brake pedal but the vehicle did not stop. No injuries were reported and no police report was taken. The daughter was able to drive the vehicle home in "Limp" Mode. The contact later examined the vehicle and diagnosed that the engine battery ECM had failed. The vehicle was not yet repaired…
Front passenger airbag sensor is off even when there is no person sitting in the front passenger seat. It is off also when adult passenger is seating in the seat. It looks by pages of manual folded that previous owner had similar problem. That could possibly impact non-deployment of air-bag in a case of collision. My google search shows there was a recall of Volt 2013 models for that problem.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE MESSAGE SERVICE STABILITRAK SUDDENLY DISPLAYED. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS STILL AND THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO RESPOND WHEN TURNED AS A RESULT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WAS LOST AND THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A BLUFF. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED A SORE BODY DUE TO THE IMPACT AND MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT SOUGHT. NO POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AWAY. THE LOCAL DEALER (UNKNOWN) WAS CALLED AND INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED BUT THE FAILURE EXPERIENCED…
2016 Chevrolet Volt: questions owners ask
Is the 2016 Chevrolet Volt reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 170 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Volt; the most common categories were electrical system (77, 45.3%), fuel/propulsion system (64, 37.6%), power train (51, 30%). There is 1 safety recall. 2 complaints mention a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 1 injury was reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
Across 170 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are electrical system (45.3% of complaints), fuel/propulsion system (37.6% of complaints), power train (30% of complaints), engine (28.2% of complaints), vehicle speed control (3.5% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2016 Chevrolet Volt have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 1 recall for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt; the most recent (campaign 17V621000, 2017-10-05) concerns Air Bags: Frontal. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Why is the check engine light on in my 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
28 of the 170 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (16.5%) describe the check engine light coming on. One owner wrote: "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." (NHTSA complaint 11717029, February 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Does the 2016 Chevrolet Volt have emissions system or DPF problems?
23 of the 170 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (13.5%) describe emissions faults such as DPF, EGR, catalytic converter, AdBlue/DEF or NOx sensor problems. One owner wrote: "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." (NHTSA complaint 11717029, February 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does my 2016 Chevrolet Volt stall, lose power or shut off while driving?
21 of the 170 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (12.4%) describe the engine stalling, losing power or shutting off while driving. One owner wrote: "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." (NHTSA complaint 11725573, March 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why won't my 2016 Chevrolet Volt start?
13 of the 170 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (7.6%) describe the car failing to start. One owner wrote: "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." (NHTSA complaint 11771130, October 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does my 2016 Chevrolet Volt overheat?
7 of the 170 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (4.1%) describe the engine overheating or coolant loss. One owner wrote: "The EGR valve failed, blew up a fuse, and the internal combustion engine started to overheat and run very roughly and unsteady. I almost lost control" (NHTSA complaint 11605328, July 2024). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Check your own Volt
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), retrieved October 25, 2026. Model year 2016 only.