NHTSA Complaint #11559182 — 2018 CHEVROLET VOLT

The Battery Energy Control Module needs to be replaced (BECM). The car is available to be inspected at Key Chevrolet in South Burlington, VT. The car was parked when it failed. The car wouldn't start (lights on the dashboard came on) and it wouldn't turn off. I got a "shift to park" error message, regardless of which gear I was in. The car wouldn't go into Drive to go forward with either the drive battery or the gas generator. I had the car was towed to the dealership. It was inspected and diagnosed by them. When they did the diagnosis, they said the BECM had failed and there were cells in the drive battery that needed to be replaced. The BECM failure is a common problem with Chevrolet Volts and is covered by the Voltec warranty. There were no warning lights or other warnings (e.g., reduced propulsion) whatsoever. The car had shut off like normal but would not start or turn completely off. I was fortunate to have had the BECM fail while the car was parked. My understanding is that BECMs can fail while the car is moving and the power will stop and you won't have any control.