NHTSA Complaint #10574774 — 2012 CHEVROLET VOLT

CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT THE SPEED LIMIT, APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES FROM HOME. AS THE DRIVE BATTERY'S CHARGE ENDS,THE VEHICLE SHOULD START THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE TO TAKE OVER PROPULSION FROM THE BATTERY. DID NOT HAPPEN. WHAT DID HAPPEN WAS A MIL ILLUMINATION,AND SEVERAL MESSAGES ON THE DRIVERS DISPLAY ABOUT THE "PROPULSION SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE" OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT.(SPOUSE WAS DRIVING CAR, NOT SUBMITTER.)THE DRIVER WAS IMMEDIATELY FORCED TO NEGOTIATE THROUGH SEVERAL LANES OF VERY BUSY INTERSTATE TRAFFIC TO GET TO THE ROAD SHOULDER ALL WHILE DEALING WITH WHAT WAS EVENTUALLY A COMPLETE LOSS OF DRIVE POWER. DEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO START THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.NO SUCCESS.ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE NOTIFIED.I HEAD TOWARDS LOCATION TO OFFER HELP (1 HOUR AWAY FROM HOME) AND ARRIVE BEFORE TOW DOES. MANAGE TO START INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE THIS TIME, AND CRIPPLE CAR 7 MILES INTO DEALERSHIP,WHERE MECHANIC PULLS DTC'S P0AC4,P1E00,C12FE AND UPDATES VEHICLE SOFTWARE WITH GM TSB PIC5803C-"CHARGE INCOMPLETE-CHARGE INTERRUPTED AND MIL WITH DTCS P0D3E OR P0D3F WITH P1E00" FIXING PROBLEM.MY MAIN COMPLAINT WITH GM ON THIS ISSUE IS THAT THIS SOFTWARE UPDATE WAS RELEASED 6/7/2013 AND I HAD JUST HAD THIS VEHICLE IN DEALERSHIP FOR ANOTHER SOFTWARE UPDATE 3 MONTHS AGO-12/2/13.WHY DIDN'T GM PROVIDE THE PIC5803C UPDATE AT THE SAME TIME AS THAT ONE, AVOIDING A DANGEROUS ENGINE FAILURE THAT OCCURRED IN TRAFFIC AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS?CONTACT WITH GM ONLY REVEALS THAT SOFTWARE PATCHES ARE APPLIED IF A FAILURE OCCURS-LIKE OURS-AND NOT PROACTIVELY.I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A POTENTIALLY NEGLIGENT POLICY IN LIGHT OF THE DANGEROUS EVENT THAT HAPPENED TO US.UPDATES LIKE THESE SHOULD BE PUSHED TO THE CONSUMER AS A RECALL OR WHENEVER A VOLT IS AT A DEALER FOR ANY SERVICE.CAN GM LEARN ANYTHING FROM THEIR IGNITION SWITCH DEBACLE? I HOPE SO... *TR