Here is a Volt owner's post from April 2012 describing the problem:
Volt Gave Me a Scare
A few days ago I went out to my garage (on some random errand) and found my Volt running on the ICE. The garage itself was filled with exhaust and the Volt was plugged into the 120v charger still (and charging).I was able to pop open the garage door quickly, and (after 2 tries since I didn't have my keys on me) get the car moved out to the driveway and off.
I have since decided that I probably left the car on when I parked it a few hours earlier, and have been unable to reproduce the problem (ie ICE engine starting while plugged in) over the last few nights. What is confusing me is that when I first got into the vehicle (engine running but no keys), the dash showed the estimated time to full charge screen but no other displays, suggesting that the car was 'off'. It also would not let me move the vehicle or turn it off because there was no key present.
Has anyone else had a similar issue? Did I just leave it on? And even if I did, why would the ICE be running while it was on the charger (I don't recall if the battery was full or discharged after I got it started up afterwards)?
Suggestion to GM: If the car is charging and the main battery is discharged, TURN OFF THE VEHICLE instead of running the ICE to maintain charge!!!!
I am just thankful that I needed a beer and happened to need a trip to the garage, esp with my 2 year old sleeping in the room above (no exhaust smell in his room, but we opened a few windows just to be sure). Remember kids, beer saves lives so drink often!
USA Today says it’s a software glitch they need to fix.