Towed To Dealer after 2 weeks 351 miles

[Collimare]

Parked in the Cherry Creek Mall parking deck in Denver, CO for some shopping with my wife. Came out around 2:30 PM. It powered up normally, waited then put the car in reverse. Nothing but "condition not correct for shift". Then I cycled through and cleared the following errors; service battery charging system, service stabilitrak, service transmission, service parking brake. The battery stayed solid red, and the check engine, stabilitrak, abs and parking brake also stayed solid. The parking brake would not function. The car would not stay in neutral. Then after a few minutes it would go into power saving mode. Turned it off, got out, shut the doors waited and repeated several times with the same conditions but now the main center console will not come up as well. Contacted OnStar twice, then transferred to customer service, then transferred to Chevrolet road side assistance. Then told I would need to come back the next day to assist with removing my car from the parking deck because no service provider was available or I could leave the key in the car and the car unlocked if I did not want to come back. I asked why OnStar could not unlock the car tomorrow morning. Told they could not/would not.

When I had the 2012 Volt and I had issues I was connected with a dedicated Volt service line. OnStar did nothing but read back all the error codes after polling the diagnostics and could offer no help. I asked for the Bolt or EV service center and after awhile was disconnected. Was transferred on the second OnStar call to the regular customer service agent who knew absolutely nothing about the Bolt.

I was told to make my own arrangements at my own expense to get home since the tow truck could not get there till tomorrow morning.

Well no reason to go into my personal feelings about the severe disappointment in my brand new car (I have never in 30 years had a car towed to a dealer), the utter lack of knowledge regarding the Bolt and absolutely no concern for "customer" service.

 

[SeanNelson]

Wow, that experience sure isn't an endorsement for OnStar.

I was once on a flight that mishandled my baggage and it went astray. When my bags didn't show up on the carousel I went to the customer service desk - they were able to track where my bag was and offered to deliver it to my house the next morning. I was very impressed by that - they were able to turn a fumble into a touchdown.

That's the sort of thing OnStar should be able to do - but in your case it sounds like their mishandling of the play resulted in utter defeat.

I hope your problem is resolved quickly and with a lot better customer service than you've received so far.

 

[SparkE]

Parked in the Cherry Creek Mall parking deck in Denver, CO for some shopping with my wife. Came out around 2:30 PM. It powered up normally, waited then put the car in reverse. Nothing but "condition not correct for shift". Then I cycled through and cleared the following errors; service battery charging system, service stabilitrak, service transmission, service parking brake. The battery stayed solid red, and the check engine, stabilitrak, abs and parking brake also stayed solid. The parking brake would not function. The car would not stay in neutral. Then after a few minutes it would go into power saving mode. Turned it off, got out, shut the doors waited and repeated several times with the same conditions but now the main center console will not come up as well. Contacted OnStar twice, then transferred to customer service, then transferred to Chevrolet road side assistance. Then told I would need to come back the next day to assist with removing my car from the parking deck because no service provider was available or I could leave the key in the car and the car unlocked if I did not want to come back. I asked why OnStar could not unlock the car tomorrow morning. Told they could not/would not.

When I had the 2012 Volt and I had issues I was connected with a dedicated Volt service line. OnStar did nothing but read back all the error codes after polling the diagnostics and could offer no help. I asked for the Bolt or EV service center and after awhile was disconnected. Was transferred on the second OnStar call to the regular customer service agent who knew absolutely nothing about the Bolt.

I was told to make my own arrangements at my own expense to get home since the tow truck could not get there till tomorrow morning.

Well no reason to go into my personal feelings about the severe disappointment in my brand new car (I have never in 30 years had a car towed to a dealer), the utter lack of knowledge regarding the Bolt and absolutely no concern for "customer" service.

This thread : http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6053

report an error in the cluster saying roughly "Incorrect conditions to shift". He claims that GM indicated that the main battery needed to be replaced. No news since April. You might want to PM the OP (Original Poster) for an update.

This thread (on another forum) had : http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/178-2017-chevy-bolt-ev-issues-problems/17810-2-day-old-bolt-cannot-shift-gears-conditions-not-right-2.html

Just got my Bolt back from the dealer after one week . I was experiencing shift problems. Car had 8 error codes stored in memory 5 would not reset after service. Dealer contacted GM and was told there was an update for the TRCM Module but the module did not respond even after GM tried connecting to it remotely to update.

Trakker
I don't know what a TRCM is but apparently Dealer replaced the TRCM and reprogrammed. Everything has been working fine since i got the vehicle back. Will update if any further issues arise.


...and...
surgeonFWW
I have seen that message when I shift too quickly and don’t have the button pushed in exactly when I move the lever. However, it has never gotten stuck in this status. I simply carefully, and fully, press the side button and shift again. It has always worked (and reminded me not to try to do things too fast)!



And, finally, this post (the first one - there's not much useful info for you in the 7 page thread) : http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/4-2017-chevy-bolt-news/14202-around-100-bolts-may-experience-battery-issues.html

 

[SparkE]

This thread : http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/178-2017-chevy-bolt-ev-issues-problems/20385-shifter-order-ideas-how-long-get-part.html#post258657

talks about "Well, after a couple of incidents of "Conditions not correct for shifting" and one where I got a yellow SVS light and a one-word message "Transmission", my Bolt is in the shop, waiting for a new shifter assembly."

 

[paulgipe]

Mike Brigham had the same experience with Onstar just last week when his car wouldn't release theDCFC cable. Fortunately there was a motel nearby.

 

[Anonymous]

My wife had the "transmission" message and the bolt wouldnt shift out of park after that. For her, OnStar did well and got a tow truck in under an hour. This was on Friday and I hope to get an update from the dealer Monday.

 

[Collimare]

Update and what a total disaster:

Chevy Road Side Assistance called and told me that the towing service would be there in 35 to 50 minutes. I said the service was to call 30 minutes ahead and she said no they were on the way. I headed down and by the time I got there 30 minutes later the service called to say they were leaving and they would be there in 30 minutes. The towing service guy shows up with a boost box but no truck. I asked where is the truck? He said it is too big. I said that the whole reason I waited till this morning was because they were to send the low profile front wheel dolly truck. He said no just me.

The car is completely dead so he used the mechanical key to unlock the door and pop the hood. With the jump box in place he was finally able to get it in neutral but it would not start. So he and I pushed it across the parking deck to the down ramp. He pulled the truck around but could no get the car to go into neutral now. His jump box was dead. He tried to take the tow eye cover off and the decorative cover which is held on by double back tape just popped off but the main cover was still in place. He had no tools so I got a screw driver and carefully pried it out and installed the tow eye (left hand thread). Since he could not get the car in neutral he hammered small plastic skids under the wheels and proceeded to drag the car hopping and jumping across the lot and up the ramp as the skids kept popping out from under the wheels. Lots of very strange noises going on. He said he had to go by the tow lot to get another jump box and would deliver it to the dealer.

He was in and out of the car several times with grimy work clothes on and no protective plastic on the white/light blue seat which is now filthy. There is a big grease smudge and scratch on the front of the hood now.

I have a good service adviser at the dealership so I emailed him this afternoon and will see about the loner EV and how long it is going to take to diagnose and repair the Bolt first thing in the morning.

I am beyond disappointed in the car but more so at GM at this point. This is my 6th GM product since 2010 and represents well north of $250,000 and this is the service I get. It is time to replace my service truck (2015.5 Chevrolet Silverado HD Crew Cab Diesel fully loaded LTZ) and I am not sure it will be another GM product.

Counting on the service adviser and the dealer to make this right. No real faith in GM at this point.

 

[geobrian]

Any diagnostic updates from the dealer?

 

[SmokingRubber]

That doesn't say a lot for GM but it sounds like the tow yard you dealt with were a bunch of tweakers. I would complain to GM and get them to clean the grease off the seats and fix the scratch, AND request they never send that tow service to you ever again. You've got a lot of GM product in your garage so I'd lay it on GM to step up and make it right or your next purchase will be a Ford. I'm sure you can do better than Ford, but it's a nice threat lol.

 

[Collimare]

No updates for the dealer. I did chat with them twice this morning and just sent them an email asking about the Bolt and EV Loaner.

My statement was a bit off. It is $256,000 worth of GM vehicles since 2007. In any other industry I would have a Platinum status with a direct hotline and all the other benefits. Here I am just another poor captive consumer at the end of a long line of other helpless consumers.

I did just get this email though!:

Dear HOWARD THOMAS,
A critical issue with the engine and transmission system in your 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been detected. Please service your vehicle immediately.
Please disregard this message if your vehicle is already in for service. Inaccurate notifications can be generated during service.
Please see your dealer for service.

 

[Collimare]

I just got the worst phone call from the dealer that I can imagine. They got the key out of the night box, unlocked it, started it up and drove it around the building into the service bay. Then later the service manager gets in it and drives around the block a couple of times. They are running diagnostics.

The car was totally dead and inoperable yesterday morning. Door would not unlock from fob or door handle. I watched the tow truck driver take the cap off the handle and open the door with the hard key. Once inside he tried to operate the car and it was dead. With his jumper box attached it would not start. He was only able to get it to go into neutral. When he was ready to pull it up onto the flat bed ramp he could no longer get it to go into neutral and had to drag it onto the truck.

The dealer goes out, starts it and drives it like nothing ever happened. I cannot own/drive a car that intermittently for no apparent reason yet is going to leave me stranded or worse leaves me with the fear of it every time I drive it.

This is just stupidly unbelievable. I am absolutely livid at this point. They had better find a real, substantiated and documented problem that they can fix with actual replacement parts.

 

[LeftieBiker]

This could be a 12 volt battery failure that isn't total. In the world of the Leaf, that would be called "Tuesday."

 

[paulgipe]

This is exactly what happened to me a week ago. Even less miles. I will post my experience on a separate thread. Even had the problem with the skids. The guy showed up w/o the dolly.

Is your battery Korean or German? Mine is Korean. It was 3.7V when I measured it.

No problem found.

 

[SeanNelson]

Is your battery Korean or German? Mine is Korean. It was 3.7V when I measured it.

No problem found.

Was that a typo and meant to be "13.7V"? Because if it was really 3.7V then it would definitely be a "problem found"...

 

[Collimare]

This is exactly what happened to me a week ago. Even less miles. I will post my experience on a separate thread. Even had the problem with the skids. The guy showed up w/o the dolly.

Is your battery Korean or German? Mine is Korean. It was 3.7V when I measured it.

No problem found.

Paul,

So they gave it back, "no problem found" and you are driving it??

I never really looked at the battery. I just can't believe this with a brand new car. So if two out of us on this forum have had the exact same thing how many others are having the same?

It just seamed like more than a mere defective battery. If the battery is truly defective and it is low enough to not operate the locks I don't think in 24 hours it is all of a sudden perfectly normal. Sounds more like a thermal interlock kicked in and then cooled to a reset or something along that line. We have such a feature in our product but it will tell you when it happens. Perhaps they should keep mine to give to one of the engineers to drive as a research project and give me a new one.

 

[devbolt]

You are right to be pissed that OnStar and the tow company they sent gave you subpar service. And that the dealer is not being as informative as to what is going on with car. But you are not going to get a new Bolt to drive while they use yours to diagnose a what appears to be a problem with the 12V system. It’s not practical from a logistical or financial point of view, for either the dealer or the manufacturer. No lemon law in any state would support a buyback of the car at this time. Certainly not for a failed 12V battery.

 

[Collimare]

You are right to be pissed that OnStar and the tow company they sent gave you subpar service. And that the dealer is not being as informative as to what is going on with car. But you are not going to get a new Bolt to drive while they use yours to diagnose a what appears to be a problem with the 12V system. It’s not practical from a logistical or financial point of view, for either the dealer or the manufacturer. No lemon law in any state would support a buyback of the car at this time. Certainly not for a failed 12V battery.

You are absolutely right. Why would they when they have willing customers to do it for them. The issue(s) is more than a simply bad 12V battery. I truly hope they find the actual cause so I can have piece of mind driving my new Bolt.

I did get a new Volt loaner this morning. I am jealous that it has a nice lit charging compartment when you open the charge door. My 2013 did not and I have already been thinking of how to add some type of light to the Bolt charge compartment. A timed LED that comes on for a 5 seconds and goes off each time the door is opened.

 

[devbolt]

You are right to be pissed that OnStar and the tow company they sent gave you subpar service. And that the dealer is not being as informative as to what is going on with car. But you are not going to get a new Bolt to drive while they use yours to diagnose a what appears to be a problem with the 12V system. It’s not practical from a logistical or financial point of view, for either the dealer or the manufacturer. No lemon law in any state would support a buyback of the car at this time. Certainly not for a failed 12V battery.

You are absolutely right. Why would they when they have willing customers to do it for them. The issue(s) is more than a simply bad 12V battery. I truly hope they find the actual cause so I can have piece of mind driving my new Bolt.

I did get a new Volt loaner this morning. I am jealous that it has a nice lit charging compartment when you open the charge door. My 2013 did not and I have already been thinking of how to add some type of light to the Bolt charge compartment. A timed LED that comes on for a 5 seconds and goes off each time the door is opened.

I’ve had the battery in my Highlander Hybrid go flat twice in the last two years. In one of the cases it was because the car sat unused in the driveway for 4 weeks, and we kept walking past it with the key fob which kept “waking it up”, which probably caused a larger than expected vampiric drain on the battery. Did I take the car to Toyota and demand a replacement Highlander while they figured out why the battery drained? No, I charged the battery up and made sure to be a little more careful with how long I let the car sit in between uses. Haven’t had a dead battery in quite some time.

You and I don’t know what the problem is with your Bolt’s 12V system. Could be a bad battery. Could be a bad line of code that is failing wake up the 12V charging system periodically. Could be some subsystem that isn’t properly powering down when you turn off the car. GM doesn’t have the engineering resources to dedicate to find out the problem for your specific Bolt. They just can’t take it and drive it around and hope to replicate the problem. What they do have resources to do is to collect data from trouble reports from owners and dealers and start drawing correlations and possibly setup test cases to replicate the problem using their test fleet. There’s nothing more frustrating to engineers and end-users alike as an intermittent problem that is hard to replicate.

I, too, am jealous of the Volt’s lit charging port. Rumors are that the Bolt is supposed to get a similar lit port and that a retrofit kit will be made available for early Bolts. Supposed to be a $250 part/kit.

 

[Collimare]

GM doesn’t have the engineering resources to dedicate to find out the problem for your specific Bolt.

That is the most interesting statement I have read in a long time. So GM has no responsibility to repair my "specific" intermittent problem until they are able to identify the problem through crowd sourced statistics. Really??

If GM ultimately cant find the specific problem(s) for my new Bolt in a timely manner then they can replace it.

I am curious about the potential safety/liability of the car being found dead and inoperable by the tow truck company and then without any external intervention the car all of a sudden is found by the dealer the next day to have full power restored.

 

[devbolt]

That is the most interesting statement I have read in a long time. So GM has no responsibility to repair my "specific" intermittent problem until they are able to identify the problem through crowd sourced statistics. Really??

If GM ultimately cant find the specific problem(s) for my new Bolt in a timely manner then they can replace it.

I am curious about the potential safety/liability of the car being found dead and inoperable by the tow truck company and then without any external intervention the car all of a sudden is found by the dealer the next day to have full power restored.

I take it that in your 30 years of owning cars you’ve never had a 12V battery suddenly die? Never accidentally left an interior light on in the car? Forgot to turn the headlights off? Because so far what it sounds like happened is your 12V battery did just that. The computers in these cars don’t like it when the 12V battery gets low. Makes them throw all sorts of erroneous error codes that have nothing to do with what is actually wrong with the car.

GM has a responsibility to make a good faith effort to fix your vehicle in a timely manner. That timely manner varies from state to state. The number of attempts to repair the specific problem also varies from state to state. In California, they have three attempts to fix the same specific problem. They also have a 30-day clock. Which means that the car can’t be out of service (i.e in the shop) cumulatively more than 30 days. Once the car has been in the shop for more than 30 days, it’s buyback time. Same with failing to fix the same specific problem three times. You are just at attempt number 1. I wouldn’t start contemplating a buyback situation until the second time it happens, especially if they end up replacing the original 12V battery as a precaution.

You seem to be getting all bent out of shape and ready to force the dealer and GM to buyback the car before they’ve had a chance to really examine things. The original tone of your post made it sound like you wanted them to give you a replacement Bolt right then and there and a GM engineer had to come out to Colorado and take your Bolt and drive it around until the problem happened again so they could figure out what was the specific problem. You are also insisting that they better find a real problem and fix it with replacement parts or else. What happens if it turns out to be a one-off glitch and it never happens again? Will you still insist that they have to fix or replace the car?

I totally get that you are upset that the car is having problems after only 350 miles. It doesn’t help that OnStar was unhelpful/clueless and that the tow truck driver was a moron. And you have have every right to be upset because of all that. I would be livid, too. But before you start contemplating the nuclear option (buyback), take a step back, breathe, and give the dealership and GM a chance to make things right.