Page 9 of 454

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-3
A.Air Vents on page 8‑8.
B. Turn and Lane‐Change Lever. See Turn and Lane-Change
Signals on page 6‑4.
Exterior Lamp Controls on
page 6‑1.
Pedestrian Friendly Alert on
page 5‑6.
C. Instrument Cluster on page 5‑9.
Driver Information Center (DIC)
Display. See Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑45.
D. Windshield Wiper/Washer on
page 5‑6.
E. Heated Front Seats on page 3‑6
(If Equipped).
F. Center Stack Display on
page 5‑29.
G. Charging Status Indicator. See Charging Status Feedback on
page 9‑52. H. Light Sensor. See
Daytime
Running Lamps (DRL) on
page 6‑2.
I. Instrument Panel Storage on
page 4‑1.
J. Automatic Climate Control
System on page 8‑1.
K. Driver Information Center (DIC) Controls. See Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑45.
L. Instrument Panel Illumination
Control on page 6‑4.
M. Data Link Connector (DLC) (Out of View). See Malfunction
Indicator Lamp on page 5‑19.
N. Cruise Control on page 9‑40.
O. Steering Wheel Adjustment on
page 5‑5.
P. Horn on page 5‑6. Q.
Steering Wheel Controls on
page 5‑5 (If Equipped).
R. Leaf Button. See Center Stack
Display on page 5‑29.
S. DRIVE MODE Button. See Driver Selected Operating
Modes on page 9‑25.
T. Power Button on page 9‑18.
U. Shift Lever. See Electric Drive
Unit on page 9‑31.
V. Infotainment on page 7‑1.
Navigation System. See the
separate navigation system
manual.
W. Electric Parking Brake on
page 9‑34.
X. Power Door Locks on
page 2‑12.
Y. Hazard Warning Flashers on
page 6‑3.
Page 10 of 454

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
1-4 In Brief
Initial Drive
Information
This section provides a brief
overview about some of the
important features that may or may
not be on your specific vehicle.
For more detailed information, refer
to each of the features which can be
found later in this owner manual.
Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System
The Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter will work up to 60 m
(195 ft) away from the vehicle.
Press the key release button to
extend the key. The key can be
used for all locks.
K:Press once to unlock the driver
door. Press a second time within
five seconds to unlock all doors.
Q: Press to lock all doors.
Lock and unlock feedback can be
personalized. See Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑56.
7: Press and release to locate the
vehicle. Press and hold for
three seconds to sound the panic
alarm. Press again to cancel the
panic alarm.
B: PressQand then press and
hold
Bwithin five seconds to start
the vehicle's heating or air
conditioning systems and rear
window defogger from outside the
vehicle using the RKE transmitter.
See Remote Start on page 2‑8 for
more information.
A: Press to open the charge port
door. See Plug-In Charging on
page 9‑48 for more information.
See Keys on page 2‑2 andRemote
Keyless Entry (RKE) System
Operation on page 2‑3.
Page 11 of 454

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-5
Remote Start
Use remote start to heat or cool the
interior when the vehicle is plugged
in to maximize electric range by
utilizing electricity from the wall
outlet. The engine may start to
support the climate control
operation. Normal operation of the
system will return after the vehicle
has been turned on.
Activating the Remote Start
1. Aim the RKE transmitter at thevehicle.
2. Press
Qon the RKE transmitter;
the doors will lock.
3. Within five seconds, press and hold
Buntil the turn signal
lamps flash, or for approximately
four seconds. Pressing
Bagain
during a remote start will turn the
feature off. After entering the vehicle during a
remote start, press the POWER
O
button on the center stack with the
brake pedal applied to operate as
normal.
Canceling Remote Start
To cancel a remote start, do any of
the following:
.Aim the RKE transmitter at the
vehicle and press and hold
B
until the parking lamps turn off.
.Turn on the hazard warning
flashers.
.Press the POWERObutton on
the center stack, with the brake
pedal applied, then press the
POWER
Obutton again to turn
the vehicle off.
See Remote Start on page 2‑8.
Door Locks
Keyless Access
The RKE transmitter must be within
1 m (3 ft) of the door being opened.
To unlock the door from the driver
door, press the lock/unlock button
on the door handle. Press again
within five seconds to unlock all
passenger doors.
Page 12 of 454

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
1-6 In Brief
To lock the doors, press the lock/
unlock button if:
.More than five seconds have
passed.
.The lock/unlock button was used
to unlock all doors.
.All doors are closed.
To unlock all doors from the
passenger door, press the lock/
unlock button on the door handle.
To lock the doors, press the lock/
unlock button if:
.The lock/unlock button was used
to unlock all doors.
.All doors are closed.
The Keyless Access can be
programmed to unlock all doors on
the first lock/unlock press from the
driver door. See Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑56. Remote Keyless Entry (RKE):
The RKE transmitter must be within
60 m (195 ft) of the vehicle.
K:
Press to unlock.
Q:Press to lock.
See Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑3.
Key: To unlock or lock the door,
turn the key left or right.
Inside the Vehicle: Use the door
lock knob, the door handle, or the
power door switch. See Door Locks
on page 2‑11.
Power Door Locks
The power door lock switches are
on the center stack.
K: Press to unlock.
Q:Press to lock.
See Power Door Locks on
page 2‑12.
Page 13 of 454

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-7
Hatch
Keyless Access with Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE):To open the
hatch with the doors locked, the
RKE transmitter must be within
1 m (3 ft) of the trunk. Press the
button on the underside of the hatch
and lift up. Remote Keyless Entry (RKE):
To
open the hatch with the doors
locked, the RKE transmitter must be
within 60 m (195 ft) of the vehicle.
Unlock the doors with the RKE
transmitter, then press the button on
the underside of the hatch and lift
up. Always close the hatch before
driving. Do not press the button
while closing the hatch; it will
unlatch again. See Hatch on
page 2‑14.
Windows
The power window switches are on
the driver door armrest. Each
passenger door has a switch that
controls only that window.
Press the front of the switch to lower
the window. Pull the switch up to
raise it.
The driver and passenger windows
have an express-down feature and
the driver window has express-up.
See Power Windows on page 2‑19.
Page 14 of 454
Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
1-8 In Brief
Remote Window Operation
The vehicle may have remote
operating windows that will open all
the windows from outside the
vehicle by pressing and holding
K
on the Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter.
This feature can be disabled by a
dealer technician.
SeePower Windows on page 2‑19.
Seat Adjustment
Seat Position
To adjust the seat position:
1. Pull the handle at the front of the
seat cushion to unlock it.
2. Move the seat forward or rearward and release the
handle.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure it is locked in
place.
See Seat Adjustment on page 3‑4.
Height Adjustment
Move the lever up or down to raise
or lower the seat.
See“Seat Height Adjuster” under
Seat Adjustment on page 3‑4.
Page 15 of 454
Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-9
Reclining Seatbacks
To recline the seatback:
1. Lift the lever.
2. Move the seatback to thedesired position, and then
release the lever to lock the
seatback in place.
3. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked. To return the seatback to the upright
position:
1. Lift the lever fully without
applying pressure to the
seatback, and the seatback will
return to the upright position.
2. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked.
See Reclining Seatbacks on
page 3‑5.
Heated Seats
If available, the controls are on the
center stack. To operate, the vehicle
must be on.
Press
MorLto heat the driver or
passenger seat cushion and
seatback.
Page 16 of 454

Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2012
1-10 In Brief
Press the button once for the
highest setting. With each press of
the button, the heated seat will
change to the next lower setting,
and then the off setting. Three lights
indicate the highest setting and one
light the lowest.
SeeHeated Front Seats on
page 3‑6 for more information.
Auto Heated Seats
If available, the controls can be
accessed while the vehicle is on by
pressing the CLIMATE button on the
center stack. Press the touch screen
MAUTO or
LAUTO button. The button color
will change to green when this
feature is on.
When the vehicle is on, this feature
will automatically activate the
heated seats at the level required by
the vehicle's interior temperature.
The active high, medium, low, or off
heated seat level will be indicated
by the manual heated seat button
lights on the center stack. Use the
touch screen buttons or the manual
heated seat buttons on the center
stack to turn auto heated seats off.
See Heated Front Seats on
page 3‑6 for more information.
The heated seats can also be
programmed to come on during a
remote start. See Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑56 for
more information.
Head Restraint
Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints
for all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating
position, change the seatback
recline angle as little as necessary
while keeping the seat and the head
restraint height in the proper
position.
For more information see Head
Restraints on page 3‑2 andSeat
Adjustment on page 3‑4.