Chevy has had nothing but trouble with its Volt line. Now another massive recall in in the works.
Apparently the car is so quiet that some owners are leaving the car and forgetting to shut it off! This could leave owners with a problem as the car shifts to its regual gas engine as it sits idle in a garage by leaving dangerous fumes.
It doesn’t happen a lot, but General Motors is aware of two incidents when carbon monoxide buildup caused problems. It issued a recall Thursday of 64,186 Volts from model years 2011-2013.
Owners can bring the car in for a software update that will ensure that it automatically shuts off after idling for an hour and a half. Newer models already have that fix, a spokesman said.
All the Volts already sound warnings if the car is left running. It even honks at you. But apparently it’s not enough of a warning sometimes.
The danger comes when the battery eventually drains. That triggers the gas engine to turn on, and if it runs for a long enough period of time in a garage, for example, carbon monoxide can build up. The gasoline engine generates electricity to drive car after the initial battery charge runs out.