The message popped up on my dashboard.
My 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier (“Lightning’s Girl”) messaged me that its charging system and 12v battery required service. This is serious stuff. Any problems with the charging system or the 12v battery could brick my car at any time – including possibly at the worst possible moments. And no, you can’t just ay, “Oh, honey, I ran out of gas here at this secluded location,” and have her say, “Oh, I get it, ‘ran out of gas’ means we should kiss in the car.”
Nopes. Can’t take a chance.
So a week ago, I dropped the car off at DeNooyer Chevrolet, so that it could get a look-over and maintenance from DeNooyer’s master VOLTEC technician, Brandon. And while the car was there anyway, I asked for an oil change and a tire rotation – see, DeNooyer will honor any other dealership maintenance and repair coupons, and DePaula Chevrolet (the dealership that mangled my previous car) kept sending me coupons, thinking I would bring the car they mangled back to DePaula for service.
The DeNooyer people said they would honor DePaula’s coupons, and I dropped off Lightning’s Girl and went to the day job.
Later that day, I received a message from DeNooyer. Good news and bad news.
The bad news was that the car needed a power module replaced.
The good news? That power module is covered under the Volt’s PZED warranty, which covers nearly everything in that chariot for the first 15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. Swank.
The bad news? That part comes from Michigan, and for some reason – it takes a few days to travel from Detroit to Albany.
The good news? DeNooyer offered me a free loaner car. So until Lightning’s Girl gets her lightning back, I’m tooling around in a ’69 candy-apple-red Chevy Camaro SS with mag wheels, a spoiler package and four on the floor a 2024 Chevy Malibu.
Yep, for the first time in two and a half years, Chuck is tooling around in a fully-gas-powered car. Well, at least it’s a Chevy.
And I have to say this … I definitely noticed the difference between my personal car and this car. The Malibu operated well enough, but it had some annoying features as far as I was concerned.
If you pull up to an intersection, the engine shuts off and restarts when you move forward – maybe that’s standard on modern cars, but that sure bugged the hell out of me. And this car had some very annoying blind spots – maybe they were just spots I hadn’t noticed before, but still … when I’m on the highway, I need to make sure I’m not crossing in anyone’s lane by accident, and those blind spots don’t make it any easier.
Yesterday, I received word from DeNooyer Chevrolet. Lightning’s Girl had her new power module, her tires were rotated, and there’s a new load of full synthetic in her bloodstream. And in addition to the repairs covered under the PZED warranty, DeNooyer honored DePaula’s coupons, so what could have been thousands of dollars in repair and maintenance turned into a $75 overall undertaking. Oh,and a week of driving a car that made me glad I own a Volt.
Again … if I haven’t stressed this enough … if you have a Chevrolet and need it maintained, DeNooyer Chevrolet is the place to go. If you own a Volt, either first generation or (like me) second generation, DeNooyer Chevrolet should be your maintenance destination.
Although … next time, can I please get that ’69 Camaro sportscar as the rental? Or maybe the black ’77 Pontiac Trans Am with the T-bar and the spoiler? I mean, I’d even settle for a ’91 Pontiac 6000 or an ’05 Saturn Ion or something along those lines … 😀
But yeah, it’s good to have Lightning’s Girl back in my possession.
Time for more road trips.
Chuck The Writer 
“Auto start” is a “feature” on many modern vehicles. My F150 has it and it’s annoying as hell since it generally shuts the engine down 1 second before the light turns green. Disabling it is possible, but has to be done every time you start the truck. Technically the Highlander has this as well, since the gas engine only “runs when it needs to” which is far more often than modern hybrids or especially your Volt. Which technically also has it, if you think about it.
Oh and the F150 has more blind spots than Stevie Wonder. Worst truck I’ve ever had for not being able to see around me. I fear I’m going to run over someone due to the poor visibility. Frankly the old IH Loadstar 1700 was easier to see around.
Good you got your Volt back so cheaply. I hope it lasts forever; they’re the best design GM has had in decades. That must be why they discontinued them.
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