NHTSA Complaint #11405578 — 2012 CHEVROLET VOLT

DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT WHEEL BEGAN MAKING EXTREMELY LOUD WHINING-LIKE SOUND WHILE HIGHWAY DRIVING. PARKED THE CAR UNTIL IT COULD BE ACCEPTED AT THE CERTIFIED CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP. TECHNICIAN IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AND EXPRESSED IT AS "COMMON." THE ISSUE IS A SEPARATION OF THE "ELECTRIC DRIVER MOTOR B ROTOR BEARING CAGE" REQUIRING A REVISED BEARING INSTALLATION. THIS IS CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW AS GM REQUIRES A NEW/REVISED BEARING INSTALLATION, AND IS LIKELY PROGRESSED WITH THE VEHICLES REGENERATIVE BRAKING. GEN1 MODELS DO NOT HAVE A CUSTOMIZABLE REGENERATIVE BRAKING OPTION TO ALLEVIATE THIS STRESS ON THE ROTOR BEARINGS. IN RESEARCHING THE ISSUE, THE SERVICE BULLETIN PROVIDED BY GM IS HAS PROGRESSED TO AN APPENDED LETTER L (BULLETIN NO. PIP5081L). A LARGE NUMBER OF VOLT OWNERS SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE, MANY OF WHICH QUALIFY FOR WARRANTY REPAIR. MY VEHICLE'S WARRANTY PERIOD EXPIRED BY LESS THAN ONE YEAR AND 11,000 MILES.