I’ve owned my 2017 Chevrolet Volt (“Lightning’s Girl”) for two years, and it’s a dream car. None one single stitch of trouble. Maybe a couple of check-engine lights, but nothing that wasn’t covered under the car’s PZED warranty.
So … I decided it was time to add a little glow to my car.
And by “glow,” I mean this device.
See the green ring that encircles the charger? That’s an illuminated charge port. It was a GM add-on for first-gen and second-gen Volts (Lightning’s Girl is a second-generation Volt). The light will flash or glow depending on the car’s charge level, and it just looks kinda swank. A little glam-up, if you know what I mean.
I mean … check out the specs on this little treat.
Product Information
- Designed and engineered specifically for your electric vehicle
- Helps you locate your vehicle’s charging port at night or in low-light situations
- The illuminated bezel provides a soft glow around your vehicle’s charging port
- Charging light will blink to indicate current charging level
- Charging light complements the dashboard indicator, giving you the convenience of multiple indicators for real-time charge levels at a quick glance
- Installation by an authorized dealership is recommended
- Includes illuminated bezel, wire harness and installation hardware.
Over the years, I’ve accumulated plenty of GM rewards points – heck, some of them go all the way back to repairs two cars ago – and you know what? I feel like it’s okay to treat myself to something like this.
I mean … here’s what I’m dealing with when I plug a charger into my access port.
Yeah, that’s just kinda . BOH-ring… Saying the charge port looks glamorous now is like saying your favorite color is beige.
But honestly, there’s only so much “customization” I can do with a Volt. It’s not like I can add a spoiler to the hatchback door. I can’t drop the frame and create a Chevrolet Volt low rider. The sound system already has Bose speakers, I don’t need to improve from that. And I’m not repainting the car flame orange or neon purple or something garish like that. You do what you can do, and you don’t do more than that.
So I ordered the part – for the curious, it’s GM part #84334825, specific for 2016-2019 Volt Generation 2 models – and paid additional for it to be delivered to my dealer of choice, DeNooyer Chevrolet. Once the part arrives, I can schedule an appointment to drop Lightning’s Girl off at the dealership, and they’ll install the new charge port bezel and harness.
Now the crazy thing is … the last time I “treated myself” to a Chevrolet Volt accessory, it involved branded floor mats. The part was back-ordered, and I waited for at least a month before the mats arrived.
This time, however … the part showed up at the dealership in less than 48 hours. Aces.
I set up an appointment to drop Lightning’s Girl off at the dealership, and hopefully the part can be installed and ready to glow by the end of the day.
Saturday morning … running my morning errands … and I decided to treat myself for some brunch at Bud’s on the Hudson in Green Island. It’s a decent breakfast place, and they have car chargers available. It’s 25c/kilowatt hour, but that’s still a decent price.
I got out of the car, opened up the door to my car’s charging port, and …
Well, isn’t that a nice little glowing treat.
A few moments later, I plugged in the quick-charger, and … yeah, you can see that sweet green glow around the charge port, even on a sunshiny day.
Yeah, I know this might seem like a tiny little modification … but for me, it feels nice. It’s a mod that, like my Volt-branded floor mats and Volt-branded license plate frames, ads a nice little sense of brand identity to my car.
I’m definitely good with that.
Chuck The Writer 
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