GM says 'couple dozen' Volt owners seek repurchase after fire tests

Crash testing of Chevy Volt

General Motors Co. said Monday a "couple dozen" Chevrolet Volt owners have asked the Detroit automaker to repurchase their extended-range electric vehicles in the face of a federal safety investigation into fires after crash-testing.

GM spokesman Greg Martin said the company was talking to owners about their concerns. He reiterated that the company will buy back the vehicles if customers aren't happy. He also emphasized the Volt is safe.

"Our actions will be guided by our customers' satisfaction," Martin said.

The company is working with Volt owners individually to understand their concerns. GM's preference is to give Volt owners loaner vehicles until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration completes its investigation.

"We continue to find Volt owners by and large some of the most intensely loyal customers in the industry," Martin said.

"For those few who have requested repurchase, we're going to move fast" if their concerns can't be met any other way, he added.

On May 12, NHTSA crash tested a Chevy Volt in a side-collision impact in Wisconsin. The Volt battery caught fire three weeks later. NHTSA said the fire was caused by damage to the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack and a coolant line that was ruptured.

As a result of that fire, NHTSA conducted tests on three more Volt battery packs last month at a Defense Department facility in Hampton Roads, Va. The tests intentionally damaged the Volts' lithium-ion battery packs and ruptured the vehicle coolant line.

One of those tests sparked a fire seven days after the test on Thanksgiving. Another of the tests resulted in smoke and sparking that lasted less than a second.

GM and NHTSA both say they have no complaints or reports of fires tied to real-world Volts. NHTSA's preliminary investigation could take six months or more.

More than 230 Volt owners, including former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, have signed an open letter defending the vehicle.

"We are keeping the keys to our Volts. We love our Volts and we feel safe driving our Volts," the owners wrote. "Volt owners feel assured knowing that government and industry are working together to define and communicate this process for electric vehicles, just as they have done for gasoline-powered cars in years past."

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source: Detroit News (Shepardson, 12/5)