Second generation
2016 Chevrolet Volt
The most reported problem on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is shift to park warning, with 42 complaints, usually around 42,000 miles.
- 169owner complaints
- 1recalls
- 2involved a crash
- 49,000median miles at failure
Newest report Jun 30, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
What is your Volt doing?
Each one opens a sheet built from the owner reports of that problem on the 2016 model year.
Is the 2016 Chevrolet Volt reliable?
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt has 169 owner complaints on file with NHTSA, close to the median of 195 for 2016 hatchbacks on this site. Of the 6 Volt model years since 2014, it has the 3rd most complaints. Complaint counts rise with sales as well as faults, so read what owners report below before deciding.
At a glance
- Next to the 2017
- At 15 complaints for each year on the road, the 2016 runs well under the 2017 (70). That's the only adjacent model year with enough complaints to set beside it.
- Top problem
- Shift to park warning leads with 42 of the 169 complaints (25%), ahead of stalling at 33. A quarter of the 25 owners who gave a mileage for shift to park warning saw it by about 30,000 miles, and half by about 42,000.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- Only 3 of the 169 complaints (2%) report a crash, a fire or an injury, well under the 6% typical of vehicles on this site. Counted separately (one report can carry more than one), 2 reports mention a crash, 1 mentions a fire and 1 person was hurt.
- Recalls behind the top problems
- No recall on file is on the same system as shift to park warning, stalling and dead battery. For those, the complaints are all there is.
- When owners filed
- Filings peaked in 2024 at 51 (full calendar years only). In 2025 there were 11. So far in 2026, 13 more have come in.
When each problem shows up
Each bar covers the middle half of the mileages owners reported for that problem. A quarter saw it earlier, a quarter later. The tick is the median. Most reported: "shift to park" or "service shifter" warning comes on, 42 complaints.
middle half of reports, median tick. The heavier grey bars have 75 or more reports.
Behind you
Around your mileage
Ahead of you
How this compares
169 complaints is 1.5 times fewer than the median 2016 model on this site and about the median for a 2016 hatchback. Among the 3 Volt model years here it ranks 3rd for complaints. Counts follow sales volume as much as reliability, so a truck that sells 700,000 a year draws more reports than a sedan that sells 200,000.
Service bulletins for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet filed 1,335 bulletins and other notices with NHTSA that list the 2016 Chevrolet Volt. 137 of them deal with a problem owners have reported on this car. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
"Shift to Park" or "Service Shifter" warning comes on 4 bulletins · 42 complaints
This service bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed while vehicle is in Park.
This technical bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed while vehicle is in park.
2 more on this problem
This technical bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of message displaying shift to park when in park.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have a Shift to Park message on the Driver Information Center. Technician will find Diagnostic Trouble Codes P1AEE, P1AEF, P1AF0, P1AF2, and P1E22.
Engine stalls or loses power while driving 5 bulletins · 33 complaints
This Preliminary information communicatesIn ambient temperatures 100F (37.7 C)degrees or higher, DTCs P2635 and/or P018B may set.The vehicle may also exhibit a hesitation or stalling condition.Excessively Hot and sustained ambient temperatures over 100F (37.7 ...
27660 - Service Update. The engine may stall, followed by a Driver Information Center (DIC) message ?Action Required-Engine Not Available?.
3 more on this problem
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION ADVISES THE TECHNICIAN TO CONTACT GM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER TO REPORT THE CONCERN AND OBTAIN A CASE NUMBER WHEN A CUSTOMER MAY COMMENT THAT THEY WILL HAVE THE RADIO SHUT OFF, AND WHEN RESTARTING THE VEHICLE THE ...
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION IS TO CONTACT GM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER TO REPORT THE CONCERN AND OBTAIN A CASE NUMBER.
This Preliminary Information communication advises the technician that some vehicles may have a radio that turns on unwanted at start up.
Battery dies or the car will not start 12 bulletins · 33 complaints
Customer Satisfaction program - certain vehicles may have a condition related to the high voltage battery which could gradually lose the ability to maintain voltage.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have the high voltage battery the tabs on X3 could become damaged during service.
10 more on this problem
This Preliminary Information communication provides information for the technician to check for an open 15 Amp fuse in the High Voltage Battery Disconnect Relay Assembly when the vehicle is unable to charge a 12 volt or High Voltage battery.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to help the dealership technicians perform a parasitic drain test for the OnStar module.
16017 - Service Update. The battery positive cable terminal is misaligned to the auxiliary under hood fuse block preventing the terminal from being fully seated on the block. A loose connection may result in electrical arcing.
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION PROVIDES INFORMATION TO THE TECHNICIAN FOR VEHICLES THAT MAY HAVE A SERVICE ENGINE SOON LAMP AND A CURRENT OR HISTORY DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0A7F.
This technical bulletin provides a procedure on how to take the vehicles out of transport mode for vehicles with the condition of Transport Mode On Message Displayed in Driver Information Center (DIC) and/or Battery Light is Flashing
00540A SERVICE UPDATE (REVISED). A SERVICE PROCEDURE TO REPROGRAM THE POWER INVERTER MODULE WITH AN ACTIVE DAMPING CALIBRATION ON CERTAIN 2016 MODEL YEAR CHEVROLET VOLT VEHICLES IS PROVIDED.
During service of the high voltage battery the tabs on X3 could be damaged. Please review SI procedures for proper handling of all high voltage connections.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the new updated 4 GB USB drive that is used to update the software on the EL-50332 EV Battery Service Tool.
16001 - Service Update. This bulletin provides a service procedure to reprogram the power inverter module with an active damping calibration on certain 2016 model year Chevrolet Volt vehicles.
This technical bulletin provides repair procedure information to correct a customer concern of Transport Mode On message displayed in Driver Information Center (DIC) and/or battery light is flashing.
Check engine light or misfire 34 bulletins · 29 complaints
This service bulletin advises the tech to check the wiring harness to validate that the harness is not the cause of the check engine light and to replace the EGR to correct a customer concern of MIL Illuminated.
This Preliminary information communicates information that will need to be provided to TAC to aid in diagnosing if a vehicle comes in with misfire and DTC Codes P0300 - P0308 and/or P050D
32 more on this problem
This service bulletin provides diagnostic tips/steps on testing for possible EVAP leaks in the system to correct a customer concern of an MIL Illuminated with DTCs P0442 and/or P0455 Set.
This service bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of a Check Engine Light Illuminated, No Start/ No Propulsion, DTC P0A0C.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about engine block of possible cylinder bore damage, scoring or out of round as the possible cause of engine oil consumption, misfire, cylinder leakage or blow by.
This informational bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how Top Tier fuels should be used to ...
This Preliminary information communicates the possibility of a misfire occuring due to a broken center insulator on the spark plug.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician related to vehicles that have a Malfunction Indicator Lamp on. A technician may find Diagnostic Trouble Code P050D set as current or history.
This Preliminary information communicates the possibility of the PCV orifice in the valve cover being plugged and causing the check engine lamp to illuminate and set dtc P00C7 and P0106.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the difficulty in detecting internal combustion engine misfires with a fully charged high voltage battery.
This Preliminary information communicates the possibility of the timing chain tesnioner gasket being improperly installed or mis-positioned after major engine repairs causing a low engine oil pressure and dtc p06DE.
This Bulletin provides ECM reprogramming information to Correct DTC P3260 and P0AC4.
Plus 22 older ones not listed here.
Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 56 bulletins · 28 complaints
This service bulletin provides diagnostic information to correct customer concerns of Speed Limited Message or Reduced Propulsion Power Message Displayed on Driver Information Center (DIC) with no DTCs Set.
This technical bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed while vehicle is in park.
54 more on this problem
This technical bulletin provides a procedure to correct a condition of a Side Detection Message Being Displayed on DIC.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the Navigation radio does not have a global positioning system location but OnStar is able to accurately locate the vehicle.
This Preliminary Information communication advises the technician what affects electric range and provides driving tips for better energy efficiency.
This Preliminary Information communication advises the technician on the steps to diagnose the concern and the steps to repair the concern. Customer states that they are unable to select delayed or delayed/rate based charging.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have an issue when using Bluetooth voice recognition with an iPhone.
This informational bulletin provides information to the customer on the radio display "info pages" being blank and to make sure to select in the "active info pages" menu.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the radio will not retain the previous settings and will go to the Home Icon screen when the vehicle is restarted.
This informational bulletin provides information for the technicians on multi-media infotainment tester (MIT), does not function properly when diagnosing infotainment complaints, which may lead to mis-diagnosis.
This technical bulletin provides a procedure to clear the codes and re-evaluate the XM radio channels to correct a condition of audio muting when listening to some Sirius XM channels but if they change channels they will find others that experience normal ...
This technical bulletin provides multiple fixes for a condition of a waiting for update screen appearing on the display, due to either a reprogramming of the hmi module or due to a fuse that needs to be pulled and restarting of the module.
Plus 44 older ones not listed here.
Hybrid or EV system warning, loss of power 7 bulletins · 11 complaints
This Bulletin provides T6 Power Inverter Module reprogramming information to correct DTC P3260.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician related to vehicles that have a Malfunction Indicator Lamp on. A technician may find Diagnostic Trouble Code P2097 set as current or history.
5 more on this problem
This Preliminary Information communication provides the technician with inspection and repair instructions for vehicles with a no start/no propulsion condition that is setting a DTC P0A0C for the high voltage interlock circuit.Technician will reprogram the ...
17058 - Service Update. The post O2 trim diagnostic may falsely fail causing DTC P2097 to set, commanding a Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) to illuminate. The vehicle runs and functions as normal with no other symptoms.
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION PROVIDES INFORMATION TO THE TECHNICIAN TO REPROGRAM THE HYBRID POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE 2 WHEN THE VEHICLE WILL NOT CHARGE AT A 240 VOLT PANASONIC PUBLIC CHARGE STATIONS WHEN GENERATION 1 VEHICLES CHARGE AT THE SAME ...
This Preliminary Information communication advises the technician if a vehicle has a Service Engine Soon lamp with Diagnostic Trouble Code P0AE3 current or history.
00540 - Service Update (revised bulletin number - 16001 converted to 00540 and Service Procedure revised). This bulletin provides a service procedure to reprogram the power inverter module with an active damping calibration on certain 2016 model year ...
Car won't start 13 bulletins · 7 complaints
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on.
Special Coverage. On some vehicles, a malfunction involving the battery energy control module (BECM) may cause a reduced power mode, a no start condition, or a no charge condition. Dealers are to replace the battery energy control module.
11 more on this problem
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about a no start or another concern after swapping an Engine Control Module or other modules from one vehicle to another.
This service bulletin provides a procedure to install a battery energy control module to correct customer concerns of No Start or MIL Illuminated with DTCs.
This Bulletin provides information to diagnose a Loss of Propulsion or No Start with the MIL ON and DTC P0A3F or P1B03 set.
This Bulletin provides information to diagnose a Loss of Propulsion or No Start with the MIL ON and DTC P0A45 or P1B04 set.
This Bulletin provides information to diagnose a MIL Illuminated and/or a No Start condition caused by the Battery Sections 1, 2 or 3 with a total possibility of 96 separate DTCs being set depending on the Cells involved.
This technical bulletin provides a procedure on checking the fuse and other multiple concerns that could cause the vehicle to lose propulsion and no start conditions usually caused by a fuse not being tightened down properly.
This technical bulletin provides a procedure on checking the fuse and other multiple concerns that could cause the vehicle to loose propulsion and no start conditions usually caused by a fuse not being tightened down properly.
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION PROVIDES THE TECHNICIAN WITH INSPECTION AND REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS FOR VEHICLES WITH A NO START OR NO PROPULSION CONDITION. TECHNICIAN WILL FIND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0A0C FOR THE HIGH VOLTAGE INTERLOCK CIRCUIT.
THIS TECHNICAL BULLETIN PROVIDES A PROCEDURE TO CHECK THE GROUND CONNECTION ON A FUSE BOX CABLE THAT COULD BE CAUSING A LOSS OF PROPULSION, NO START AND/OR MULTIPLE DTC'S.
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ON, No Start, Blown Fuses, Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM) Body Wiring Harness Chafing on Transmission Mounting Bolt
Plus 1 older ones not listed here.
Engine overheats or leaks coolant 6 bulletins · 6 complaints
This technical bulletin provides a procedure for checking and testing the cooling system first before replacing the Auxiliary Coolant Pump for a noise.
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have no heat in EV electric mode Technician will find a Diagnostic Trouble Code B048E in the Coolant Heater Control Module.
4 more on this problem
THIS TECHNICAL BULLETIN PROVIDES A PROCEDURE TO REPLACE THE HEATER WATER AUXILIARY PUMP HOSE TO CORRECT A CUSTOMER CONCERN OF A COOLANT LEAK, TEMPERATURE LIGHT ON, OR MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED DUE TO THE HOSE RUBBING AGAINST THE TRANSMISSION ...
This informational bulletin provides Information on the Use of Stop Leak Additives in the Coolant System and If a dealership or customer installs a stop leak product or any type of additive to the cooling systems the cost to repair the vehicle will be the ...
This technical bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of a coolant smell or coolant leaking on the ground.
This informational bulletin provides information to dealership personnel regarding the use of stop leak additives in the coolant systems of particular GM models.
Complaints filed by year
51 complaints came in 2024, 3.2 times the year before. Owners file in waves when a problem gets press or an investigation, so a spike measures attention as much as failures.
NHTSA investigations
Loss of motive power due to the battery energy control module. Closed mar 3, 2025.
NHTSA summary
Pedestrian alert sounds. Closed aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V-063.
NHTSA summary
Recalls that include the 2016 Chevrolet Volt
Whether your car is included depends on its VIN. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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 and remedy
Remedy: 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.
The recall on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
Guide Buying one used? How to research one car’s history before you pay
Questions
What is the most common problem on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
Shift to park warning, with 42 of the 169 complaints. Owners who gave a mileage for it put the median at about 42,000 miles.
At what mileage do 2016 Chevrolet Volt problems start?
Of the 76 complaints that give a mileage, a quarter came by about 36,000 miles and half by about 49,000.
Is the 2016 Chevrolet Volt better or worse than the 2017?
Counted per year on the road, the 2016 has fewer complaints than the 2017: 15 a year against 70.
How many 2016 Chevrolet Volt complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
3 of them (2%). The typical vehicle on this site is at 6%.
Is there a recall for shift to park warning on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt?
No recall on file for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is on the same system as shift to park warning. Another recall may still cover your car, so check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.