GM Makes Changes to Chevy Volt Battery
In an effort to reduce the risk of electrical fire after a severe accident, Chevrolet has issued what it calls a customer satisfaction initiative on the Volt. General Motors is voluntarily recalling nearly 8,000 Volts to re-engineer the battery coolant system. GM is also making structural enhancements to the vehicle to protect the battery in the event of a crash.
The modifications are an answer to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s findings that severe-impact crashes could lead to a coolant leak and electrical fire. Lab tests late last year on the battery pack led to an electrical fire six days later. A similar occurrence happened after the Volt was involved in a major crash in summer 2011.
The enhancements include strengthening the structural elements that protect the battery in a side collision, adding a new sensor to the coolant system reservoir to monitor the coolant level and installing a tamper-resistant bracket to the coolant reservoir to prevent overfilling.
GM ran several successful tests on modified Volts and reported that the coolant did not leak. The modified Volt also passed NHTSA’s tests. GM is asking owners to return to their dealership so these modifications can be installed. The automaker contends that the Volt has always been safe to drive, but it’s adding these enhancements to give drivers peace of mind after an accident.
News of the Volt’s electrical fire issues hasn’t hampered its sales. GM reported that it sold 7,671 Volts in 2011, off from its 10,000-unit sales target. However, December was the Volt’s best-ever month with just over 1,500 Volts sold.
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@JG,
I read from other news that this is NOT a recall of any sort. In fact, GM has invented a new term call "csi" - the other news report said that there is a different.
In addition, NHTSA doesn't seem to agree with GM's conclusion at this point (maybe in the future, it will).
Finally, the sales figure is extremely fleet heavy for a $40K plus vehicle. More than 33% is on fleet, up from 10% in Nov. Essentially, there is no increase in Volt sales at all to the retail level since Oct, when full production had begun and Volt is available nationwide.
Something wrong with posting GM's press release?
This is so stupid. the Volts caught fire weeks after the crash test, and after the NHTSA stored them improperly and did not follow discharging procedures. its their own fault, not GM's.
Amuro
No one wants to pay $40K for a car that doesn't really save them that much money over what they currently drive.