GM to change charging cords on Chevrolet Volt amid problems

General Motors will replace the 120-volt power cords on the most of the Chevrolet Volt models that the manufacturer has sold since 2010 in the United States.

According to The Detroit News, the new charging cords will provide “more consistent” charging as compared to the old hardware. Since its launch of the plug-in hybrid two years ago GM has registered as sale of around 10,000 Volt units, well under expectations. Currently, only few of those vehicles have been shipped with the new charge cords, while others still use the older cord design. A Yahoo report suggests owners have been complaining for a while now about melting power plugs, and that too repeatedly.

Chevy Volt owners have also been requested to make appointments with their Chevrolet dealers to have additional crash structure added around the vehicle’s battery packs. The additional steel is designed to protect against severe side-impacts. A new sensor which will be used to monitor battery coolant levels will also be added. This comes after the U.S. NHTSA agency had done a side-impact test on a Volt then parked it outside, and later the car caught fire. The battery was determined to be the cause, after its coolant line was ruptured during the side-impact test.

GM resumed production in February after the plant was shut down for more than a month when the new upgrades were made. GM again halted production of the Volt for five weeks recently due to lack of demand, especially as U.S. dealers are apparently now refusing to stock them. They’re now quiet after making bold predictions of selling 45,000 Volts this year. Only 7,000 or so were sold last year. A couple of Volts were seen testing in Dubai last year, but we haven’t heard about them since.