2012 Chevrolet Volt: Reliability Data

355
Total Complaints
76,500mi
Median Mileage
Air Bags
Top Issue
11
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

35,000 25th Percentile
76,500 Median Mileage
105,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Air Bags
84
Electrical System
78
Fuel/Propulsion System
35
Engine
26
Service Brakes
23
Power Train
21
Unknown Or Other
17
Seats
14
Vehicle Speed Control
11
Steering
6

Severity Assessment

11
Crashes
2
Fires
15
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I WAS SLOWING DOWN AT A MERGE POINT, WHEN VEHICLE "STALLED". I AND DEALER WORKER COULD NOT RESTART FOR 45 MINUTES, AT WHICH TIME IT FINALLY STARTED. DROVE TO DEALERSHIP, CHECKED OUT BRIEFLY, SEEMED OK. DROVE IT AGAIN LESS THAN A MILE, AND FOR 2ND TIME, AGAIN STALLED FOR APPROX. 45 MIN. CAR COULDN..."
"I WAS SLOWING DOWN AT A MERGE POINT, WHEN VEHICLE "STALLED". I AND DEALER WORKER COULD NOT RESTART FOR 45 MINUTES, AT WHICH TIME IT FINALLY STARTED. DROVE TO DEALERSHIP, CHECKED OUT BRIEFLY, SEEMED OK. DROVE IT AGAIN LESS THAN A MILE, AND FOR 2ND TIME, AGAIN STALLED FOR APPROX. 45 MIN. CAR COULDN..."
"TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET VOLT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR REVERSE LIGHT WOULD NOT ILLUMINATE BRIGHT ENOUGH TO DETERMINE HOW CLOSE THE VEHICLE WAS TO A WALL OR A PERSON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE CAUSED THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO AND INJURE TWO PEDESTRIANS WHILE REVERSIN..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Air Bags 84 complaints
25th: 83,608 mi Median: 98,000 mi 75th: 120,000 mi
Electrical System 78 complaints
25th: 45,000 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 109,000 mi
Fuel/Propulsion System 35 complaints
25th: 53,500 mi Median: 78,000 mi 75th: 101,200 mi
Engine 26 complaints
25th: 18,000 mi Median: 57,000 mi 75th: 96,000 mi
Service Brakes 23 complaints
25th: 20,000 mi Median: 62,000 mi 75th: 98,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 62 TX: 29 FL: 29 VA: 21 NC: 19 WI: 17 OH: 15 PA: 14 NY: 11 MA: 11

Chevrolet Volt — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2011644
201344517
201412711
2015701
20162816
2017118318
20183417
2019486

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28