
Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
11-4 Service and Maintenance
.Exhaust system and nearby heat
shields inspection for loose or
damaged components.
.SeePropulsion System Start
Check on page 10‑29.
.See Electrical Drive Unit Shift
Lock Control Function Check on
page 10‑30.
.See Park Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check on
page 10‑30.
.Cooling systems check.
See Cooling System (Engine) on
page 10‑18 orCooling System
(High Voltage Battery) on
page 10‑19 orCooling System
(Power Electronics and Charger
Modules) on page 10‑20.
.Accelerator pedal check for
damage, high effort, or binding.
Replace if needed.
.Check the sealant expiration
date printed on the instruction
label of the tire sealant and
compressor kit. See Tire
Sealant and Compressor
Kit on page 10‑71.
.Hood/Decklid/Liftgate Support
Gas Strut Service: Visually
inspect gas strut, if equipped, for
signs of wear, cracks, or other
damage. Check the hold open
ability of the gas strut. Contact
your dealer if service is required. Every 24 Months or When the
Change Engine Oil Soon Message
Displays
.Every 24 months or when the
CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
message displays, change the
engine oil and filter as soon
as possible, within the next
1 000 km/600 mi. The engine oil
and filter must be changed at
least once every 24 months.
After each oil and filter change,
the oil life system must be reset.
See
Engine Oil Life System on
page 10‑15. More frequent
changes may be required when
the vehicle is exposed to a
corrosive environment, such as
areas of high humidity, along an
ocean coast, and/or areas that
apply road salt during winter.

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
11-6 Service and Maintenance
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil The engine requires engine oil approved to the dexos specification.
Oils meeting this specification can be identified with the dexos certification
mark. Look for and use only an engine oil that displays the dexos
certification mark of the proper viscosity grade. See
Engine Oil on
page 10‑12.
Engine Cooling System 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑21.
High Voltage Battery Cooling System Always use the pre‐mixed 50/50 mixture of deionized water and
DEX-COOL Coolant available at your dealer.
Power Electronics Cooling System Always use the pre‐mixed 50/50 mixture of deionized water and
DEX-COOL Coolant available at your dealer.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 88863461,
in Canada 88863462).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Parking Brake Cable Guides Chassis Lubricant (GM Part No. 12377985, in Canada 88901242) or
lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC‐LB.
Electric Drive Unit DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
13-12 Customer Information
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends
that you take an active role in its
repair. If you have a pre-determined
repair facility of choice, take the
vehicle there, or have it towed
there. Specify to the facility that any
required replacement collision parts
be original equipment parts, either
new Genuine GM parts or recycled
original GM parts. Remember,
recycled parts will not be covered
by the GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair,
but you must live with the repair.
Depending on your policy limits,
your insurance company mayinitially value the repair using
aftermarket parts. Discuss this with
the repair professional, and insist
on Genuine GM parts. Remember,
if the vehicle is leased, you may
be obligated to have the vehicle
repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage
does not pay the full cost.
If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept
a repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision
policy repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits.
Service Publications
Ordering Information
Service Manuals
Service Manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engines, electric drive unit, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical,
steering, body, etc.
Service Bulletins
Service Bulletins give additional
technical service information
needed to knowledgeably service
General Motors cars and trucks.
Each bulletin contains instructions
to assist in the diagnosis and
service of the vehicle.

Black plate (26,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
13-26 Customer Information
Vehicle Data
Recording and
Privacy
This GM vehicle has a number of
sophisticated computers that record
information about the vehicle’s
performance and how it is driven.
For example, the vehicle uses
computer modules to monitor and
control engine and electric drive
unit performance, to monitor the
conditions for airbag deployment
and to deploy airbags in a crash,
and to provide antilock braking to
help the driver control the vehicle.
These modules may store data to
help your dealer technician service
the vehicle. Some modules may
also store data about how you
operate the vehicle, such as rate of
fuel consumption or average speed.
These modules may also retain the
owner’s personal preferences, such
as radio pre-sets, seat positions,
and temperature settings.
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle has an Event Data
Recorder (EDR). The main purpose
of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations,
such as an airbag deployment or
hitting a road obstacle, data that
will assist in understanding how
a vehicle's systems performed.
The EDR is designed to record data
related to vehicle dynamics and
safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed
to record such data as:
.How various systems in the
vehicle were operating.
.Whether or not the driver and
passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened.
.How far, if at all, the driver was
pressing the accelerator and/or
brake pedal.
.How fast the vehicle was
traveling. This data can help provide a better
understanding of the circumstances
in which crashes and injuries occur.
Important:
EDR data is recorded
by the vehicle only if a non-trivial
crash situation occurs; no data is
recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal
data (e.g., name, gender, age,
and crash location) is recorded.
However, other parties, such as
law enforcement, could combine
the EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data
routinely acquired during a
crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR,
special equipment is required, and
access to the vehicle or the EDR is
needed. In addition to the vehicle
manufacturer, other parties, such
as law enforcement, that have the
special equipment, can read the
information if they have access to
the vehicle or the EDR.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-16
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
Airbag Adding Equipment to the
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-27 Airbags
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-20
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Servicing Airbag-Equipped
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Alarm System
Anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Alert Pedestrian Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Antenna
Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-51
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6 Audio Players
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Audio System Hard Drive Device (HDD) . . . . . 7-26
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-3
Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . 8-1
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-38
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
High Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Battery and Charging Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-31
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-85
Brake Parking, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-24
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Regenerative Braking . . . . . . . . . 9-37
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-36
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3 Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Charge Cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33 Delay Override . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Electrical Requirements . . . . . . 9-56
Plug-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Charging Status Screens . . . . . . 9-52
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21 Child Restraints
Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57, 3-60
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Climate Control Systems Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-10
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Compressor Kit, Tire Sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Configure Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-66
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
E
Electric Drive Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Electric Drive UnitMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Electric Drive Unit Shift Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Electric Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . 5-25
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Electrical Requirements for Battery Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Electrical System Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 10-42, 10-43
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Rear Compartment Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
Electronic Stability Control . . . . . 9-39
Energy Efficiency Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25, 9-2
Energy Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41 Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Compartment Overview . . . . . 10-10
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Cooling System . . . . . . 10-18, 10-20
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-47
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-31
Engine Oil
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Engine Unavailable Out of Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-26
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Extended Range Mode . . . . . . . . 9-25
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
F
Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Floor Console Storage . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-96
Fluid Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-58
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-58
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
i-6 INDEX
I
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Infants and Young Children,Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
Information Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Open Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-24
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-48
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-49
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Lamps Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-3
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-21
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Lifting the Vehicle, Tires . . . . . . . 10-5
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-24
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 5-25
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 5-27
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Hood, Door, Hatch Open . . . . . 5-30
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Mountain Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-18
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Service Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Sport Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-27