Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Great news: Chevy Volt almost gets its owner -- and I quote -- "seriously injured (or killed)"

Maybe the "green jobs" the president was planning on are related to Volt repairs. Or mortuary services.

...This past Sunday marked 10 weeks that we've had the 2012 Chevy Volt. In that amount of time, it's been back to the dealership four times due to problems. One of the issues we were told was definitely fixed (a problem with the tire pressure monitor system) came right back two days after it was repaired. Another time the car simply would no longer charge, or rather, would start and stop charging very quickly, as if it was being plugged in and unplugged and plugged back in every few seconds... None of the trips were quick fixes either, requiring at least a few days before we'd have the car back.

These were all annoyances and inconveniences, though. It sucked having a new vehicle that we saw as the future and having it in for service three times over the course of the first few weeks, but we weren't in any danger. That changed with the latest issue that cropped up with the Volt.


I took a quick trip to the store, about a mile or so from Gear Live HQ, with no problem. On the drive back, things seemed fine as well. I stopped in a turn lane to wait for traffic to pass before I made my left across 2 lanes of highway traffic. Once it was good, I hit the gas to complete my turn... and the car stopped going mid-turn. The cars that were coming towards me slammed on their brakes once they realized that I was no longer in motion (if I had been, their speed wouldn't have been an issue.) Two cars narrowly avoided hitting me at 45-50 MPH, which would have resulted in injuries to me, and the drivers of the other vehicles. Unexpected high speed collisions are just bad all around. Thankfully, there was no contact. One driver was able to stop just a few feet from me, while the other swerved to the side to avoid hitting me.

This all happened without warning from the Volt. No check engine light or chime alerted me that anything was wrong. I continued to step on the gas, and the car would only go a maximum of 3 MPH. It would stall out, and start back again going a couple of miles per hour, but never more than 3 MPH. Because of this, it took me about 30 seconds to cross the two lanes that typically takes 2 seconds to do.

After that turn, my final destination was 3 blocks away with no stop signs or traffic, and it took minutes to get there. There's a slight incline--two small hills--and the Volt continued to stall, slide backwards down the hill, then move forward again at a snail's pace. The car was going to need it's fourth trip to the dealership to be serviced in the two months that we'd had it…but this time, the problems with the car put us directly in danger.

It's so weird that central planning doesn't seem to be working out for GM's Volt product line. After all, it was so successful for the Soviet-era automotive classic known as the Volga.

Thanks anyhow, eco-tards, but I'll stick with my gas-guzzling internal combustion engine.


6 comments:

Dapandico said...

The new Cheby Voltron program comes with a Yugo as a backup car.

Anonymous said...

Interesting picture. This is the Volt that was parked and was hit by a person who lost control of her Camry. Now why would someone use this picture when telling a story about his/her unrelated, supposed problems?

Unknown said...

What you need is A Two-Gallon Compact Car that takes 7 hours to fill the tank. http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/29/a-two-gallon-compact-car/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

@BobbleHeadGuru said...

Just in case anyone does not think this is a propaganda piece and is valid...

I have personally interacted with the author of the original piece.

He read the piece and stated on Twitter that he was taken out of context.

Also and "Interesting Picture" that is also taken out of context and is actually a result of a high speed collision by a Camry (that caught on fire) to a Volt (which did not).

Name virtually any production car. I can produce a car-b-que picture (via a quick Google search) where the car in question caused a fire. I cannot do this for the Volt because there have been ZERO reports of any car fire in the real world started by a Chevy Volt.

directorblue said...

@BobbleHead

Dude, I quoted the damn author.

I've driven a million or more miles in dozens of cars since I was 16.

NEVER have I accelerated from a stoplight to have my car decelerate to 3MPH.

NOT ONCE.

Excusing this is just as ludicrous as supporting a nationalized GM that still owes taxpayers $35-40 billion (and claims to be profitable).

Dennis from Ohio said...

I had a Honda accord that would stall out going 50Mph on the freeway. Had to scramble to get to the side and wait 5-10 minutes then it would run fine. Dealer wasn't able to fix so I ended up trading it in for a Toyota. Every vehicle has problems. Sounds like he got a lemon. They should give him a new car. I now own a Volt and have had no problems. Reviews indicate that the Volt is the Highest rated in customer satisfaction.