towing CHEVROLET VOLT 2011 User Guide

Black plate (84,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
10-84 Vehicle Care
3. Connect the black negative (−)jumper cable to the negative (−)
battery terminal of the Volt.
Do not let the other end touch
anything until the next step.
4. Make the final connection to a heavy, unpainted metal engine
part or to the remote negative (−)
terminal on the other vehicle
with the run‐down battery.
5. Press the POWER
Obutton
to start the Volt. This will wake
up the electronics on the Volt.
The engine will only start if it is
needed.
6. Try to start the other vehicle that had the run‐down battery.
If it will not start after a few tries,
it probably needs service. Disconnecting the Jumper Cables
1. Disconnect the black
negative (−) jumper cable
from the other vehicle that had
the run‐down battery. Do not let
the other end of the cable touch
anything until after the next step.
2. Disconnect the black negative (−) jumper cable
from the Volt.
3. Disconnect the red positive (+) jumper cable from the Volt.
Do not let the other end of the
cable touch anything until after
the next step.
4. Disconnect the red positive (+) jumper cable from the other
vehicle.
5. Return the positive (+) and negative (−) terminal covers
to their original positions.
Towing
Towing the Vehicle
Notice: Incorrectly towing
a disabled vehicle may
cause damage to the vehicle.
The disabled vehicle should be
towed on a flatbed car carrier.
Use care when there is low
ground clearance and/or
special equipment.
Attempting to pull the vehicle
onto a flatbed without following
the proper steps could damage
the vehicle.
Consult your dealer or a
professional towing service if the
disabled vehicle must be towed.
See Roadside Assistance Program
on page 13‑6.

Black plate (87,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-87
Recreational Vehicle
Towing
Recreational vehicle towing refers to
towing the vehicle behind another
vehicle such as a motor home.
The two most common types of
recreational vehicle towing are
known as dinghy towing and dolly
towing. Dinghy towing is towing the
vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground. Dolly towing is towing the
vehicle with two wheels on the
ground and two wheels up on
a device known as a dolly.Here are some important things to
consider before recreational vehicle
towing:.The towing capacity of the
towing vehicle. Read the
tow vehicle manufacturer's
recommendations.
.How far the vehicle can be
towed. Some vehicles have
restrictions on how far and
how long they can tow.
.Does the vehicle have the
proper towing equipment.
See your dealer or trailering
professional for additional
advice and equipment
recommendations.
.Is the vehicle ready to be towed.
Just as preparing the vehicle
for a long trip, make sure the
vehicle is prepared to be towed.
Dinghy Towing
Notice:
If the vehicle is towed
with all four wheels on the
ground, the drive unit could be
damaged. Repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Do not tow the vehicle with all
four wheels on the ground.
The vehicle was not designed to
be towed with all four wheels on
the ground. If the vehicle must
be towed, a dolly should be used.
See “Dolly Towing” that follows for
more information.

Black plate (88,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
10-88 Vehicle Care
Dolly Towing from the Front
The vehicle can be towed from
the front using a dolly. To tow the
vehicle using a dolly, follow these
steps:
1. Attach the dolly to the towvehicle following the dolly
manufacturer's instructions. 2. Drive the front wheels onto
the dolly.
3. Put the shift lever in P (Park).
4. Set the parking brake and remove the key.
5. Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-ahead position with a
clamping device designed for
towing.
6. Secure the vehicle to the dolly.
7. Release the parking brake.
8. Check for adequate rear fascia to ground clearance.
Dolly Towing from the Rear
Notice: Towing the vehicle from
the rear, with the front wheels
on the ground, could damage
the drive unit, and front fascia.
Do not tow the vehicle from the
rear with the front wheels on the
ground.

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-7
.Flat Tire Change:Service to
change a flat tire with the tire
sealant and compressor kit.
If the tire has been separated
from the wheel, has damaged
sidewalls, or has a large
puncture, the tire is too severely
damaged for the tire sealant and
compressor kit to be effective.
It is the owner's responsibility for
the repair or replacement of the
tire if it is not covered by the
warranty.
.Battery Jump Start: Service to
jump start a dead battery.
Services Not Included in
Roadside Assistance
.Impound towing caused by
violation of any laws.
.Legal fines.
.Mounting, dismounting,
or changing of snow tires,
chains, or other traction devices.
.Towing or services for vehicles
driven on a non-public road or
highway.
Services Specific to Canadian
Vehicles
.Fuel Delivery: Reimbursement
is approximately $5 Canadian.
Diesel fuel delivery may be
restricted. Propane and other
fuels are not provided through
this service.
.Lock-Out Service: Vehicle
registration is required.
.Trip Routing Service: Detailed
maps of North America are
provided when requested either
with the most direct route or the
most scenic route. There is a
limit of six requests per year.
Additional travel information
is also available. Allow three
weeks for delivery.
.Trip Interruption Benefits
and Assistance: Must be
over 250 km (150 mi) from
where the trip was started to
qualify. General Motors of
Canada Limited requires pre-authorization, original
detailed receipts, and a copy
of the repair orders. Once
authorization has been received,
the Roadside Assistance advisor
will help to make arrangements
and explain how to receive
payment.
.Alternative Service:
If assistance cannot be
provided right away, the
Roadside Assistance advisor
may give permission to get
local emergency road service.
You will receive payment, up to
$100, after sending the original
receipt to Roadside Assistance.
Mechanical failures may be
covered, however any cost for
parts and labor for repairs not
covered by the warranty are
the owner's responsibility.

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-11
Some insurance companies will
not specify aftermarket collision
parts. When purchasing insurance,
we recommend that you ensure that
the vehicle will be repaired with GM
original equipment collision parts.
If such insurance coverage is
not available from your current
insurance carrier, consider switching
to another insurance carrier.
If the vehicle is leased, the leasing
company may require you to have
insurance that ensures repairs with
Genuine GM Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) parts or
Genuine Manufacturer replacement
parts. Read the lease carefully, as
you may be charged at the end of
the lease for poor quality repairs.If a Crash Occurs
If there has been an injury, call
emergency services for help. Do not
leave the scene of a crash until all
matters have been taken care of.
Move the vehicle only if its position
puts you in danger, or you are
instructed to move it by a police
officer.
Give only the necessary information
to police and other parties involved
in the crash.
For emergency towing see
Roadside Assistance Program on
page 13‑6.
Gather the following information:
.Driver name, address, and
telephone number.
.Driver license number.
.Owner name, address, and
telephone number.
.Vehicle license plate number.
.Vehicle make, model, and
model year.
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN).
.Insurance company and policy
number.
.General description of the
damage to the other vehicle.
Choose a reputable repair facility
that uses quality replacement parts.
See “Collision Parts” earlier in this
section.
In a crash, the sensing system may
shut down the high voltage system.
See Battery on page 10‑28 for
important safety information. If an
airbag has inflated, see What Will
You See after an Airbag Inflates? on
page 3‑31.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Fuel (cont.)Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-28
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-58
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Function Check Electric Drive Unit ShiftLock Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Fuses Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 10-42, 10-43
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-60
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-60
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
Gauges Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Driver Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15 Gauges (cont.)
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Global Positioning System (GPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-74
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Hard Drive Device (HDD) . . . . . . 7-26
Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Headlamps (cont.)
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High Voltage Battery Gauge . . . 5-16
High Voltage Devices and Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-10
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Hood, Door, Hatch Open Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-9
Proposition 65 Warning,California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Propulsion Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Propulsion System Start Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
R
Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-27
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-28
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . 9-46
Rearview Mirror Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8 Recreational Vehicle
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Regenerative Braking . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Replacement Parts Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-40
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts after a Crash . . . 3-24
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-25
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-25
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-24
Requirements Electrical Battery Charging . . . 9-56
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Ride Control Systems . . . . . . . . . 9-39 Electronic Stability (ESC) . . . . . 9-39
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-3
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-24
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-23

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-11
T
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-4
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-14Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-57
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Lifting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-52
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-55
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Sealant andCompressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Sealant and Compressor Kit, Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-78
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51 Tires (cont.)
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-67
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Total Vehicle Range . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Towing General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-87
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . 9-37
Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-43
Umbrella Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-60 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-63
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-60
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Identification
Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-53
Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Speed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-53
Starting and Stopping . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Total Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84