(8,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
8-8 Climate Controls
Sensors
Solar Sensor
The solar sensor is on top of the
instrument panel, near the
windshield, where it monitors solar
intensity.
The climate control system uses the
sensor information to adjust the
temperature, fan speed,
recirculation, and air delivery mode
for best comfort.
Do not cover the sensor; otherwise
the automatic climate control system
may not work properly.Humidity Sensor
The humidity sensor is near the
base of the inside rearview mirror.
The climate control system uses the
sensor information to adjust the
temperature and recirculation for
best comfort.
Outside Air Temperature Sensor
The outside air temperature sensor
is located behind the front grille of
the vehicle. The vehicle uses the
sensor information to display
outside air temperature. The climate
control system uses the information
to adjust the climate system
operation.
Air Vents
Use the louvers on the air vents to
change the direction of the airflow.
Use the thumbwheels near each
vent to open and close off the
airflow.
Operation Tips
.Keep all outlets open whenever
possible for best system
performance.
.Keep the path under all seats
clear of objects to help circulate
the air inside the vehicle more
effectively.
.Use of non-GM approved hood
deflectors can adversely affect
the performance of the system.
.Do not attach any devices to the
air vent slats, this restricts
airflow and may cause damage
to the air vents.
(3,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
Driving and Operating 9-3
Drive Mode and PRNDL Selection
Use Normal Mode when possible.
Sport Mode provides more
responsive acceleration than
Normal Mode but can reduce
efficiency.
Use Mountain Mode prior to
climbing long, steep grades in
mountainous areas. Be sure to
engage Mountain Mode before
starting to climb. Mountain Mode
reduces electric range and power
but may be needed to maintain
speeds above 96 km/h (60 mph)
when climbing grades of 5% or
greater.
Use Hold Mode on a trip where all
or most of the electric charge will be
depleted. Use Hold Mode mainly
during highway or high speed
driving to maximize both EV miles
and fuel efficiency.
Use L (Low) in heavy stop-and-go
traffic or when traveling downhill.
L (Low) requires less brake pedalapplication and provides a
controlled, efficient way to slow the
vehicle down.
Climate Setting
Using the heat and air conditioning
systems decreases the energy
available for electric driving.
Optimal energy efficiency is
achieved with the heat, air
conditioning, and fan turned off.
Less energy is used at low fan
speeds. When using the fan:
.Fan Only is the most energy
efficient climate setting as long
as
0is not selected.
.ECO is for moderate air
conditioning and heater
operation and is the next most
energy efficient setting as long
as
0is not selected.
.Comfort provides the most
comfort but is the least energy
efficient.Use the auto heated seat feature
instead of climate settings. Heating
the seat uses less energy than
heating the vehicle interior.
Use remote start to heat or cool the
interior when the vehicle is plugged
in to maximize the electric range by
utilizing electricity from the electrical
outlet.
Engine Assisted Heating operation,
if equipped, can be personalized.
In hot weather, avoid parking in
direct sunlight or use sunshades
inside the vehicle.
Turn off the front and rear window
defog/defrost when they are no
longer needed.
Avoid driving with the windows open
at highway speeds.
See
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5-54.
(4,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
9-4 Driving and Operating
Vehicle Charging/Maintenance
Charging
Keep the vehicle plugged in, even
when fully charged, to keep the
battery temperature ready for the
next drive. This is important when
outside temperatures are extremely
hot or cold.
Maintenance
Always keep the tires properly
inflated and the vehicle properly
aligned.
The weight of excess cargo in the
vehicle affects efficiency and range.
Avoid carrying more than is needed.
If fuel is not regularly used, consider
keeping the fuel tank only one-third
full. Excess fuel weight impacts
efficiency and range.
For fuel recommendations, seeFuel
on page 9-55
Avoid unnecessary use of electrical
accessories. Power used for
functions other than propelling the
vehicle will reduce EV range. Using a rooftop carrier will reduce
efficiency due to additional weight
and drag.
Distracted Driving
Distraction comes in many forms
and can take your focus from the
task of driving. Exercise good
judgment and do not let other
activities divert your attention away
from the road. Many local
governments have enacted laws
regarding driver distraction. Become
familiar with the local laws in
your area.
To avoid distracted driving, always
keep your eyes on the road, hands
on the wheel, and mind on the drive.
.Do not use a phone in
demanding driving situations.
Use a hands-free method to
place or receive necessary
phone calls.
.Watch the road. Do not read,
take notes, or look up
information on phones or other
electronic devices.
.Designate a front seat
passenger to handle potential
distractions.
.Become familiar with vehicle
features before driving, such as
programming favorite radio
stations and adjusting climate
control and seat settings.
Program all trip information into
any navigation device prior to
driving.
.Wait until the vehicle is parked
to retrieve items that have fallen
to the floor.
.Stop or park the vehicle to tend
to children.
.Keep pets in an appropriate
carrier or restraint.
.Avoid stressful conversations
while driving, whether with a
passenger or on a cell phone.
(11,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
Driving and Operating 9-11
Warning (Continued)
.Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
.Adjust the climate control
system to a setting that
circulates the air inside the
vehicle and set the fan speed
to the highest setting. See
“Climate Control Systems”in
the Index.
For more information about
carbon monoxide, see Engine
Exhaust on page 9-27.
To conserve energy, run the vehicle
for only short periods as needed to
warm the vehicle and then shut the
vehicle off and close the window
most of the way to save heat.
Repeat this until help arrives but
only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. Moving
about to keep warm also helps. If it takes some time for help to
arrive, start the vehicle. The engine
may start to charge the 12-volt
battery. Turn off unnecessary
accessories to conserve energy.If the Vehicle Is Stuck
Slowly and cautiously spin the
wheels to free the vehicle when
stuck in sand, mud, ice, or snow.
The Traction Control System (TCS)
must be turned off by pressing the
TCS/ESC button. Traction control is
not completely off, but will only
engage if the maneuver can cause
damage to the electric drive unit.
{Warning
If the vehicle's tires spin at high
speed, they can explode, and you
or others could be injured. The
vehicle can overheat, causing an
engine compartment fire or other
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
damage. Spin the wheels as little
as possible and avoid going
above 56 km/h (35 mph).
Rocking the Vehicle to Get
it Out
Turn the steering wheel left and
right to clear the area around the
front wheels. Shift back and forth
between R (Reverse) and a forward
gear, spinning the wheels as little as
possible. The Traction Control
System prevents the tires from
spinning at high speeds. To prevent
electric drive unit wear, wait until the
wheels stop spinning before shifting
gears. Release the accelerator
pedal while shifting, and press
lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the electric drive unit is
in gear. Slowly spinning the wheels
in the forward and reverse
directions causes a rocking
motion that could free the vehicle.
(58,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
10-58 Vehicle Care
nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on
General Motors passenger cars
and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they
must also conform to federal
safety requirements and
additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.
All Passenger Car Tires Must
Conform to Federal Safety
Requirements In Addition To
These Grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a
specified government test
course. For example, a tiregraded 150 would wear one and
one-half (1½) times as well on
the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of
their use, however, and may
depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road
characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from
highest to lowest, are AA, A, B,
and C. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under
controlled conditions on
specified government test
surfaces of asphalt and
concrete. A tire marked C may
have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based onstraight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include
acceleration, cornering,
hydroplaning, or peak traction
characteristics.
Temperature
The temperature grades are A
(the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire's resistance
to the generation of heat and its
ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled
conditions on a specified indoor
laboratory test wheel. Sustained
high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate
and reduce tire life, and
excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure. The grade
C corresponds to a level of
performance which all
passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Safety
Standard No. 109. Grades B and
A represent higher levels of
(1,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Additional Information
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-13
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-18 Airbags
Adding Equipment to the
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-17
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Alert
Pedestrian Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-85
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
Automatic
Climate Control System . . . . . . . . 8-1
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
High Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Battery and Charging
Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-26
Brake Parking, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Regenerative Braking . . . . . . . . . 9-32
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30 Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-29
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
(2,1)Chevrolet VOLT Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-6014139) -
2014 - CRC - 9/16/13
i-2 INDEX
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
CaliforniaFuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Camera Rear Vision (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60
Charge Cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53 Charging
Delay Override . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Electrical Requirements . . . . . . 9-54
Plug-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Programmable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Utility Interruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Charging Status Screens . . . . . . 9-49
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-18
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Child Restraints
Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44, 3-47
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-85
Climate Control Systems Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . 13-9 Compartments
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Compressor Kit, Tire Sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Connections OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3
Control Traction and ElectronicStability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Coolant
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Engine TemperatureWarning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Cooling System . . . . . . . . 10-14–10-16 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Cover
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47