2013 CHEVROLET VOLT — Complaint #1906829
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:CHARGING:CABLE/CORD:ACCESSORY filed July 3, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1906829 (ODI reference 11530200) concerns a 2013 CHEVROLET VOLT and was filed on July 3, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 26, 2023. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electrical system:propulsion system:charging:cable/cord:accessory, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same CHEVROLET VOLT cohort independently describe similar electrical system:propulsion system:charging:cable/cord:accessory failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2013 CHEVROLET VOLT shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
I arrived at the charging station and plugged the charging handle into the charge port. At this time an audible shorting sound was heard coming from inside the handle followed by a burst of flames and white smoke. This flame immediately went out and the smoke subsided slightly before building back up and darkening. By the time that the fire department arrived, the car's engine had caught fire resulting in a total loss. Additionally, the charging handle of the station had melted, alongside the side mirror of a neighboring vehicle. It appears that there was a failure to detect the initial fault or at least a lack of protections for shorts. The parts are no longer available upon inspection, unless you have contact with the EVSE manufacturer, ChargePoint. My safety was put directly at risk. The charging handle shorted in my hand. In the unlucky case that the short made contact with me, I likely would've died on the spot or been at risk of burns from the subsequent fire. Additionally, s
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1906829 |
| ODI Number | 11530200 |
| Date Filed | July 3, 2023 |
| Failure Date | April 26, 2023 |
| VIN | 1G1RF6E40DU |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.