Buyer Research

2015 Chevrolet Volt — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,000–$12,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 9 Chevrolet Volt years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The last year of the first-generation Volt, and the quietest year of it: 44 complaints across eleven years of filings. That is a thin record, which tells you few people filed — not that the car is sound. What is in the record points one direction: two out of every five complaints describe the car shutting down or losing propulsion while it is moving, several at freeway speed. There is also a steering-gear recall that covers 2015 Volts built on a single day in April 2014, so run the VIN through NHTSA's free lookup before anything else. Drive one long enough to deplete the battery and hand over to the engine, and get a dealer capacity test on the pack. Priced right, a healthy one is still one of the cheapest ways to drive mostly electric.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 44 owner complaints for the 2015 Chevrolet Volt, and 1 recall campaign.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 41% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

One recall campaign covers this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2015 Chevrolet Volt

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Inner tie rod may not be tightened, and a separated tie rod means no steering (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 15V442000 covers 2015 Volts built on April 11, 2014: the inner tie rod may not have been torqued to specification, and if the tie rod separates from the steering gear the driver loses steering. Chevrolet dealers replace the whole steering gear assembly free. The build window is a single day, so most 2015 Volts are not affected — but this is a two-minute check on the VIN and the consequence if you skip it is losing the wheel while moving.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 1 NHTSA recall campaign on this model year.

Total electrical blackout while driving — dash goes dark, then the car restarts itselfHigh — wallet impact

The largest cluster in the record, at 41 percent of it. Owners describe the instrument cluster going blank on the highway, taking speed, warnings, charge level and turn-signal indicators with it; one had everything cut out at 75 mph with cruise control set, followed by a Service Theft Deterrent message. At least one dealer traced it to a wiring harness fault. One filing in this cluster reports a fire. Have the car scanned for stored codes before you buy, and ask whether the harness has ever been repaired.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,800 for a wiring-harness repair; $500–$1,100 for an instrument cluster

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (18).

Charge port overheating, cracking, and refusing to charge at allHigh — wallet impact

One owner reports the charge port becoming hot to the touch within seconds of plugging in, the connector cracking from the heat, and the wall charger itself melting; another has had a car that will not charge at all since the receptacle failed, with the dealer quoting $200 an hour just to diagnose. The same cluster carries the loss-of-propulsion filings. Plug the car in at the seller's house and put your hand on the port after two minutes — it should be barely warm, never hot.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$900 for the charge port receptacle; $900–$2,200 if the on-board charger module has failed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (11).

Range-extender engine quits or throws a check-engine light with no obvious causeMedium

Eight owners report losing the gas engine while driving or a check-engine light that comes and goes; one dealer diagnosis in this group was a wiring harness rather than the engine itself. On a car that mostly runs on battery, a sick generator is easy to miss until the day you need it on a long trip. Force the engine on using Hold or Mountain mode on the test drive and leave it running for several miles, watching for warning lights and listening for a rough, uneven idle.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$1,500

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (8).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Instrument cluster that flickers, blanks or reboots on the road
✗Charge port that is hot to the touch a couple of minutes into charging
✗A loss-of-propulsion or reduced-power message at any point on the drive
✗Check-engine light on with the seller waving it off as the gas engine "needing a run"

Good Signs

✓Recall 15V442000 shown complete, or the VIN confirmed outside the build date
✓A dealer high-voltage battery capacity test on paper
✓Charge port and charging cord in clean, unmelted condition with an undamaged latch
✓Full charge showing 35-plus miles of estimated electric range
✓Service records showing the engine has been run and oil changed on schedule