Hello, I got a 2013 Chevy volt from Carvana and it was not charged. Guy said he didn’t know it was a plug in. I was able to get the car to charge a little at a public place but was only getting 3 kilowatts so I decided to try at home. I was able to charge a little more using “mountain” mode. I found an outlet outside my house. I plugged the charger in and the green light glows. I plug it into my Chevy and it says “plug in to charge” like the cord isn’t even there. It lets me start the car and potentially drive off and everything. I make sure it clicked and jiggled it some, blew it out with can air duster. Nothing. I contacted Carvana and they said to set up an appointment with one of their partners. I chose Firestone. All I need is a new charger I think. Hope Firestone doesn’t try replacing the whole port or something because I’ve been in a rental for almost a month, almost the whole time the other guy’s insurances gave me. Anyone have issues with a home charger like this?
Try a public charger. If it won’t charge it is the car. Press the seller hard to fix this.
FYI, never trust the used car lot safety inspection. I was a mechanic for 8 years and the number of customers who brought me used cars to inspect that actually matched the condition of the used car lot inspection paperwork was ‘round about fucking zero’. ALWAYS get the dealer to do a pre-purchase inspection on a hoist. If the seller refuses this, they are liars and are hiding something.
3kW charging is standard btw. You aren’t going to get any faster than that
Are you confident that the outlet you plugged into is grounded?
Many older homes have “three prong” outlets that are not actually grounded. An EVSE will not work unless it has a ground.
The easiest way to test this is to plug in at work or a friend’s house and see if it charges.
If you get an extension cord intended for an RV that might work. Could you take it to a charging station and see if that does it?
I have a 2013 Volt also. I have intermittent issues with my charging port. There is a known issue and bulletin about the potting on the back of early year Volts charging port electronics being to thin, cracking, and not allowing a charge. I would put my chips on that bet. I’ve been meaning to fix mine but I get it to work normally. Some nights I’ll get in the car and see it didn’t charge though. Maybe 2 times a month that’ll happen.
It’s an easy fix, you can remove the wheel and fender liner and work the old one out and install the new one.
I’m surprised Carvana is afraid of the BBB. I’m actually more surprised anybody still thinks the BBB is a legit consumer advocate.
Ain’t that the truth, I was just bluffing 😂
If it charged at a public charger, and not at home, then you need a new EVSE charging cable. Nothing wrong with the car. You said you are “only getting 3kw”, that is the charging rate for this car.
Yup try another $200-300 evse or get one used but test it before you pay