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KLUNK
KLUNK

2011 Chevrolet Volt

The Verdict

88 Smooth Ride

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt has 48 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (27 complaints) and body (8 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 88/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Chevrolet Volt, consider the 2019 model year which has 29% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2019 has 29% fewer complaints

View the 2019 Chevrolet Volt dashboard →

88

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Recalls 1

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

15V145000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Volt vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, to June 26, 2013. If the driver exits the vehicle without turning off the electrical s...

Risk

If the engine runs for an extended period of time in an enclosed space, there may be a build up of carbon monoxide, increasing the risk of personal injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the engine management software to limit the time that the stationary vehicle can be left in the ON position, free of charge. The recall began April 15...

Reported Apr 10, 2026

Get notified if a recall hits this car.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2011832782
201224191364914
20132615186727
201412650241
20156515143
2016154268736
20177220132333133
2018289259656
2019826513

By Category

Electrical
27
Body
8
Engine
8
Brakes
3
Transmission
2

By Severity

1
28
2
18
4
2

Worst Problems

Complaints

Electrical 1

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that water was accumulating inside the driver's side taillight assembly. The contact stated that the water caused a short circuit in the taillight, and the passenger’s side turn signal became inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and determined that the wiring harness for the driver's side taillight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

9mo ago
Brakes 4

I was stopped at a red light with my foot on the brake. When the light turned green, I released the brake and the car suddenly accelerated forward on its own, without me touching the accelerator. As soon as the car surged forward, I immediately pressed the brake pedal hard to stop it but instead of slowing down, the car continued to accelerate. It felt like pressing the brake was making it worse. The car was totally out of my control. The vehicle collided with tow truck and even after the impact, the engine was still revving as if it was trying to keep going. I had to shut the car off to stop it completely. There were no warning lights or error messages before or during the malfunction. The front end of my car was damaged in the crash. No one was injured, but the malfunction could have easily caused serious harm or death. This was not user error it was a terrifying mechanical and electronic failure. The car accelerated on its own and the brakes failed or possibly triggered more acceleration. I have never experienced anything like this. After looking online, I found other Volt owners reporting similar problems involving brake assist failure, unintended acceleration, and stuck revving. This looks like a serious pattern that deserves urgent attention. I’m asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and General Motors to immediately investigate this issue. I want to know if there are any recalls, technical service bulletins (TSBs), or known defects related to brake failure or unintended acceleration in the 2011 Chevy Volt. Please contact me with next steps. This is a major safety risk that could easily result in fatalities if not addressed.

11mo ago
Electrical 1

Driver display is blank (no speed, gear position, odometer, gas tank, etc), with the exception of some warning icons like tire pressure and passenger seat belt status. Does no return after turning off power.

27mo ago
Engine 2

'11 Chevy Volt hybrid was daily driver of 100+ miles, multiple trips both highway and city for last 2 1/2 months. Breaks and rotors have been replaced all the way around, fresh oil changes as needed and filters. Warning on dash "Service High Voltage Charging System", ”Service Airbag" and check engine light have been on since I've owned it (Oct. 23). When plug car in it doesn't charge, but the EV charges while driving. Car generally switches back and forth from EV to ICE without issues. No other issues have been noted. 1/18/24 Start car and drive all day for work. Total of 129 miles between 22 trips. Last trip car sat for 30 minutes after running deliveries all day. Started as normal, turned off at gas station, filled tank with premium, restarted and drive to freeway. Drove 20 miles, pulled over to text, put car in park. 5 mins later took out of park and car wouldn't move. Inside had complete power, radio, windows, ect. Only noticable difference was car would get no acceleration, power steering went out, and heat started blowing cooler air. Absolutely no warning and car just cuts off engines. Thankfully I was parked safe. Towed home, replaced 12v. Started and drove no problem on 1/19/24. No new warnings or anything different. Started up 1/20/24 drove 7 miles and the engines cut off in the middle of a main road while accelerating, once again no warning. Luckily got into turn lane before almost getting hit. Still not sure what's wrong with car. Same codes. No battery warning or loss of power indication at all. Just up and cuts off. This is very very dangerous and needs to be looked into please. When my volt died today the truck behind me had to slam on his brakes and came inches from hitting me. If this would've happen on the freeway, I'd likely been hit.

30mo ago
Engine 2

The car quit running when my wife was driving the car when the mileage range went down to 4 miles range remaining. The car was towed to the local Chevrolet dealership who charged over $1,000 to reset the electronics so car would run. I was advised that if battery range was run down to a low mileage range that car would quit running again and that it would have to be towed back to the dealership for the electronics to be reset. I was concerned about liability if anyone drove car and it stopped on highway. It was clear to me that the only way out of potential liability, associated with the car stopping on the highway was to sell the car for salvage. I purchased this Chevrolet Volt Premier new. It was never in a collision or damaged in any way. The car was sold for with approximately 81,000 miles for $2,013.

31mo ago
Engine 1

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

34mo ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the defroster failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer replaced the heating system module; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

43mo ago
Brakes 1

Several times over the 2 years I have owned this vehicle while driving an almost complete loss of braking occurs with a service notice for the ABS system. If you turn off the ignition and restart it the braking works fine. I am in the process of having the Electronic Brake Control Module - GM (84070136) and the Brake Pressure Modulator Valve - GM (23283683) replaced. i believe that there is a design flaw in this system in that a problem of the ABS should not eliminating the ability to stop the vehicle. This is costing me $3500, but the point is that loss of braking is a serious safety issue and should be addressed by the manufacturer. Thank you.

49mo ago
Electrical 1

Driver instrument panel went blank. Speedometer, fuel/battery gauge, odometer, etc are all gone. The screen display light lit on and off in the background without any information.

58mo ago
Electrical 1

FOR UNKNOWN REASON CHECK AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. NO ONE SITS IN PASSENGER SEAT AND THE SEAT HAS NOT BEEN WET.

59mo ago
Electrical 1

Charging station over heated and the plug burnt my wall plug

61mo ago
Electrical 1

SINCE THE SPRING OF 2020, "SERVICE AIR BAG" WARNING COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY, RELATED TO PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG. WARNING GENERALLY COMES ON AT STARTUP, IF IT APPEARS. NO FLUIDS HAVE BEEN SPILLED ON THE SEAT, AND NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE SEAT. I AM THE SECOND OWNER, PURCHASED FROM FRIEND, CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GARAGED AND SERVICED REGULARLY. ONLINE SEARCH SUGGESTS THAT OTHER OWNERS HAVE SAME ISSUE, AND THAT DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR CAN BE $500 TO $1000. I HAVE NOT HAD A CHEVROLET DEALER DIAGNOSE THIS ISSUE SINCE IT IS INTERMITTENT. CURRENT MARKET VALUE OF VEHICLE (55K MILES, OTHERWISE EXCELLENT CONDITION, A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE) MAKES COST OF REPAIR DIFFICULT TO JUSTIFY, ESPECIALLY IF IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING.

69mo ago
Electrical 1

THE HEAT WILL NOT WORK IN THE CAR WHEN THE CAR IS USING THE BATTERY - HEAT WILL ONLY WORK WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING.

70mo ago
Electrical 2

THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS TURNED AND AIRBAG SENSOR IS BAD. PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT ILLUMINATE AND WORK FOR SOMEONE SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT.

70mo ago
Electrical 2

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, WHICH DISPLAYS SPEED, ODOMETER AND FUEL LEVER AMONG OTHER SAFETY INFORMATION, STARTED TO GLITCH TOWARDS THAT END OF A TRIP OF ABOUT TWO HOURS. AT FIRST THE SCREEN WOULD FLICKER BUT WOULD EVENTUALLY REBOOT AND THE INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE SHORTLY AFTER. NEXT MORNING THE SCREEN WOULD TURN ON SLOWLY AT FIRST, BUT THEN IT WENT OUT AGAIN AND NEVER STARTED AGAIN EVER SINCE.

71mo ago
Body 2

DRIVER INSTRUMENT CLUSTER TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING. CAN NOT SEE SPEED, BATTERY CHARGE, FUEL LEVEL, TIRE PRESSURE, OR ANY OTHER WARNING. NOT SAFE TO DRIVE WITH OUT SPEED AND FUEL REMAINING.

72mo ago
Electrical 1

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BECAME INOPERABLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 117,000.*BF*JB

74mo ago
Electrical 2

WHEN BELOW FREEZING OUT MAIN DISPLAY CONTAINING SPEED, DIRECTIONAL, GEAR SELECT, TIRE PRESSURE AND FUEL IS BLACK. ONLY AFTER TEMP GOES ABOVE FREEZING DOES DISPLAY GO BACK TO NORMAL.

79mo ago
Electrical 2

'SERVICE AIRBAG' CHIME AND LIGHT COMING ON, ROUTINELY, EVEN WITH OR WITH ANYBODY IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR TO A DEALER YET SINCE I HAVE BEEN READING FORUM INPUT ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND SEEING HUGE COST TO REPAIR. CAR HAS ONLY 81K MILES AND HAS NEVER BEEN FLOODED OR HAD WATER ON THE SEAT(PASSENGER).

81mo ago
Electrical 2

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED DUE TO A FAILED SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. HAD TO REPLACE WITH A USED SEAT.

82mo ago

48 total

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