How are second-gen Chevy Volts holding up long-term?

Now that I have a Porsche as my fun car I'm looking to replace the 850R with something more practical and economical as a DD, and I keep coming back to the second-gen Volt.

I make a 45 mile (each way) commute with EV chargers at work, so I'd be within the EV-only range. They are amazingly cheap relative to a lot of the competition, thanks to Chevy depreciation. And despite my disdain for GM products, everything I've heard indicates that the Volts were a surprisingly well-executed vehicle that represented GM getting it mostly right for once.

So, what's not to love? How do these hold up long-term? Now that the newest ones are 5 years old, is there a reason to avoid them?

The first Gen Volt is overall good. The second Gen has some unresolved issue that plagues a lot of them and GM either won't fix or doesn't have a fix for. This is from my vague recollection.

I was and still sort of am eyeing a Honda Clarity. 

We have a 2018 Volt, which replaced a 2012 Volt that was written off in an accident. Both have been extremely reliable. The only issues we've had with the 2018 have been replacing the front sway bar end links, and an airbag warning light caused by a wire chafing in the steering column. This car is insanely cheap to run, and not terrible to drive. We bought it second hand at 3 years old with 50,000 km on it (about 30,000 miles) for less than half the new price. I'm definitely a fan. As a car, it's nothing special; as a transportation appliance it is unbeatable.

Funny enough the Clarity is on my radar too but I've heard that apples to apples they aren't as great of a car, and they're tougher to find cheap.

Looking for "the best appliance" is what got me here. How does the 2nd gen experience compare to the 1st gen overall?

I know little of the Volt but a lot about the Bolt.  We looked seriously at adding a Bolt to the stable as a kid car (we already have an e Golf and Lightning both of which are fabulous).

Bolts are stupid cheap, huge inside while tiny outside, and outside of the battery issue which GM replaced they have a great track record.  With a range of about 250 miles it could be a good option.

On a related note, Hertz continue to liquidate its evs and you can buy a 2023 Bolt EUV (the small suv version) in the 17s which is a steal or a 2023 Tesla Model 3 in the 23s (which I believe to be an even bigger steal).  If you qualify, either of those could land you the $4000 Federal tax credit too.

Don't discount the longer-range e Golf either.  Ours is the 124 mile range and every time I drive it I marvel at the feel of the car and laugh like a kid.  This car shouldn't be so much fin.

Good luck in your search!

Unfortunately a pure EV is just not on the table due to my current living situation (Tesla is also just a hard no though I do acknowledge how much car a used Model 3 is for the price). Whatever I buy will possibly be the final daily driver I pursue that drinks gasoline, though.

The 2nd gen vs 1st gen comparison isn't startling. The 2nd gen fixed a few things I found annoying about the 1st gen, but overall they are pretty similar. The 1st gen cars had touch screen menus for the HVAC, the 2nd gen uses knobs. I prefer the styling of the 2nd gen, but it's not a big deal. The 2nd gen has a larger battery, and under good conditions we get 80 km electric range, and about 50 km when it's -30C.  One odd thing is that the two cars have differing bolt patterns, so I had to buy new wheels for my snow tires, which was annoying.

We run 95% electrically, and only burn gas on out of town trips. Even then, it is very economical, and only uses about 2/3 the fuel on the highway that our 2011 Fit did. The paddles for regen braking are quite effective, and can add materially to the range on long trips. If an economical transportation appliance is your goal, a Volt is hard to beat.

pointofdeparture said:

Now that I have a Porsche as my fun car I'm looking to replace the 850R with something more practical and economical as a DD, and I keep coming back to the second-gen Volt.

I make a 45 mile (each way) commute with EV chargers at work, so I'd be within the EV-only range. They are amazingly cheap relative to a lot of the competition, thanks to Chevy depreciation. And despite my disdain for GM products, everything I've heard indicates that the Volts were a surprisingly well-executed vehicle that represented GM getting it mostly right for once.

So, what's not to love? How do these hold up long-term? Now that the newest ones are 5 years old, is there a reason to avoid them?

IIRC, if you're in Cali, you're warrantied till 10 years/150k on battery bits as it's considered part of the emissions devices. 

To wit

For Mercedes, Plug-in Hybrid Electric High Voltage Battery The High Voltage Battery warranty coverage period for new Plug-in Hybrid Electric vehicles which are first sold by an authorized MercedesBenz Dealership in CA, CT, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NY, RI and VT is 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

And for clarity, that's for plug in hybrids, not full on BEVs.

Loweguy5 said:

On a related note, Hertz continue to liquidate its evs and you can buy a 2023 Bolt EUV (the small suv version) in the 17s which is a steal or a 2023 Tesla Model 3 in the 23s (which I believe to be an even bigger steal).  If you qualify, either of those could land you the $4000 Federal tax credit too.

Unfortunately I don't believe the 2023 model year is eligible for the used EV tax credit. From the IRS vehicle eligibility reqs:
"Have a model year at least 2 years earlier than the calendar year when you buy it. For example, a vehicle purchased in 2023 would need a model year of 2021 or older."

How's the on-line Do-It-Yourself Repair community for these Chevy Volts? (first or second gen)

I may need to expand out beyond the Toyota Prius at some point.  The DIY support for Prius is amazing.

In reply to Indy - Guy :

I've read there a LOT of GM dealerships that refuse to work on the Volt because you need specially trained techs and it's not worth the hassle to them.

In reply to clutchsmoke :

Well, that's both discouraging and yet reveals a great business opportunity.

Edit: that's what a ton of people initially thought about the Prius, but it turns out its actually very DIY friendly to work on.

In reply to Indy - Guy :

one of the biggest differences is that the prius hasn't has monstrous battery packs. They had a single pack that was fairly easy to access.

first gen Volts have packs in multiple PITA places in them. I'm not sure how GM did with the 2nd gen.

In reply to enginenerd :

My apologies.  You make a good point.  On the Hertz website it says something to the degree that their EVs under $25k qualify for the tax credit, but there may be fine print that I didn't see.

I still kind of want an ELR because I find the shape pleasing.

In reply to fatallightning :

The ELR is a total weirdo dark horse in the best way, for sure. I just really want four doors in a daily.

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Indy - Guy :

first gen Volts have packs in multiple PITA places in them. I'm not sure how GM did with the 2nd gen.

The multiple packs in the first gen volts are installed in a single housing.

https://www.gm-volt.com/threads/a-guide-to-swapping-your-gen-1-volt-battery-at-home.321946/

Loweguy5 said:

In reply to enginenerd :

My apologies.  You make a good point.  On the Hertz website it says something to the degree that their EVs under $25k qualify for the tax credit, but there may be fine print that I didn't see.A

 Yeah I found that line on the Hertz site misleading as well. I got excited and started Bolt shopping and eventually noticed it when digging into the IRS notes on it. Better believe I will be checking back in 2025!

I've rebuilt one 1st gen Volt battery pack and it was easy. Went from zero battery health to full battery health using junkyard cells. The battery is a single unit that drops out the bottom so i unhooked it then unbolted it with a custom cart up to the battery and lifted the car off. Easy peasy. 
 

I don't know anything about second gen volt specifically but we love our first gen. 

My wife has a 2017 Volt that we bought just before Covid with 22k miles, it has about 70k now.

Overall, we really like the car, and it has been fine except for one major issue that left us stranded on a road trip. But if it happened again, I think we would not be stranded if we unplugged the EGR and replaced the "non walk home" fuse. We did stop depleting the battery on road trips so that we always have electric drive to drive a short distance if the gas engine becomes unavailable. We just set it to "hold mode" where it switches to gas and maintains the current battery state of charge.

Only other issue it's had has been an intermittent issue where the the car doesn't know it's in park, and so it won't turn off. Shifting in and out of park a few times or even just pressing the button on the gear selector a few times will resolve it. It's likely an issue with the microswitch. Dealers replace the whole shifter assembly for $$, but DIY'ers have been able to just fix the switch.

Other quick thoughts:

It's a fantastic commuter in urban traffic. It's not really quick, but it drives like it is because 100% torque always available and never needs to downshift.

In mild weather, my wife can get 50+ miles of range on battery locally (almost all sub 50mph). On the coldest days of our mild NC winters, battery range drops into the upper 30's. Partly because my wife blasts the heat.

It only gets about 40 miles of range at interstate speeds. You mention trying to stay all electric with a 45 mile commute each way. That could be tough if you have much interstate. It also doesn't charge that quickly. With a 240V plug, you need 5.5 hours for a full charge. On a 120V charger at 12 amps, it takes 11 hours. And the default setting is 8 amps, which takes ~15 hours. There was an option only for the 2019 model year for a faster charger that I think is twice as fast. I believe you'll only find that on 2019 cars with the top trim level, and I want to say it was still a standalone option? Can't recall the details.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

My wife bought one new right before we got together. Sold it in 22. Put 140k on it. Early on it did have to make 5 or 6 trips for warranty repair or recalls which was a pain because only one guy worked on them at the local GM house, so they'd always have it for a week or two for something like an update or really simple. 

It had pretty low running cost and the only reoccurring problem was when we would get our snow storms and shed drive it to work the 12v battery would always die. After the 2nd year I put a new agm battery in it every winter. Didn't care enough to figure out if it was abnormal.

As a car I wasn't a fan. Back seats are small and the roofline sucks. Really the interior seems small for the cars size a Prius seems to make better use of space. Fuel tank was too small so if you take it on a trip and couldn't charge it, range was low.

My take was if you wanted it for what it was designed to do, essentially an EV with an ICE engine that's a range extender for rare instances when you need it, and you don't worry about repairs, it's great. If you want it to be more versatile there are better options.

PS it made multiple 1/4 and 1/8 mile passes and it will hole shot legit performance cars. I can cut a pretty good light and I enjoyed getting a car or two on C7 and mustangs at the track and then watching them fly by me like a threw an anchor out the window like 30 feet later.

In reply to Opti :

The rear seat and headroom on the first Gen put me off of these. 
 

Someone told me there are technically 3 generations. The first one having the black hatch, the second looks the same but has body colored hatch.

In reply to spandak :

Wife loved the car, and was an EV proponent, she changed her mind the first time she put a car seat in it.