Gen4 no power- how can you put in neutral?

How long was the tow?

Did you ask the shop for anything more specific about what was damaged? A stator, being stationary, doesn't usually have a bearing.

Rather than generalizing about any "eCVT transaxle-based car", it's better to be very specific, because there have been significant changes between generations in just how the oil gets circulated. There is a summary of those differences here in this thread, up at ➡post #27⬅ (which in turn links to a more detailed post kindly made by KMO).

The earliest generations had an oil pump driven only when the engine runs, which would be a definite concern for long tows. The generations that introduced longer EV-only range naturally had to make changes there.

 

@ChapmanF,

The tow was approximately 1 hour, but ended up being 2 hours because of inclement weather and the tow truck driver being unsure why there was so much resistance. That should've been the first sign, before we hit the highway (50 mile trip), the tow driver noticed there was extra drag, but since it was a FWD, thought "the parking brake is off we should be good".

The car was a 2012 Volt with the eCVT with motor-generator A and motor-generator B, with the ability to clutch the engine to the drivetrain. I don't think the engine was clutched in, as it would turn over (think manual car with key in the ignition, bump starting). The key was inside and the vehicle was in "ON" and not "RUN" mode so I doubt the engine was tied in.

Anyways, my theory is the mGA or mGB was still tied to the final drive & didn't have the adequate cooling, so the stator bearing on the FWD 4ET50 got cooked. Doing some research, it sounds like "Stator bearing cooked" is a common on Volts where the eCVT was mistreated, and dealers don't really want to fix it ().

Having had many manual transmission cars that could be towed in almost any direction & practically sideways (well, what happens when the steering isn't locked and you are going backwards on a tow truck), I guess many eCVT shouldn't be towed long distances with the front wheels down, but not all as you said.

 

Ok, that was a fun diversion: I asked Gemini "is «stator bearing» really a thing Chevrolet Volt owners say, even though a stator is a stationary component?" and it came back as a term a lot of Volt owners and techs really do use when they mean an MGB rotor bearing—one that's located in an end cover of the case, 'cause the stator is another thing you end up being able to see when you take that cover off.

I was about ready to assume that "stator bearing cooked" was just the new thing for Volt techs to say so you'll go away, if they're tired of the old classics like blinker fluid empty. Now I know better.

Gemini also told me that bearing was notorious in early Volts because it had a plastic ball cage that would deform if the temps got high enough. So there might have been some more blame to go around besides your long tow.

I don't know the Volt transmission internals well enough to comment on just what was going on there during your tow.

In a Prius, you would have been spinning MG1 but generating no power, and the lubrication picture would depend on just what generation Prius it was.

Still, the Prius owners' manual would have advised against a wheels-down tow of that length, especially if the speed was above 18 mph.

 

Absolutely, the tech and service advisor told me it was a "stator bearing" and although I questioned the response, not much you can do when you just had the vehicle damaged coming off a tow truck.

IIRC the vehicle resisted the tow truck quite a bit, when it got done it had a bunch of codes - service ABS system, over temp, BRAKE, CEL, and a few other lights I don't remember. The tow truck driver denied any responsibility, saying the "car was in Neutral and parking brake was off" so it should've been fine - said he towed Audi EV's and other high-end cars this way without an issue.

Regardless, it looks like I learned my lesson - flatbed towing is always preferred with the complex drivetrain and systems in our Priuses. Heck, on other forums, I've seen entire vehicles go on fire because of software issues or low battery: RV Fire due to TOAD | RVForums.com

As an owner of one of these "flat towable" trucks, I can 100% confirm the transfer case will do odd things (shift in and out of 4WD, lock in 4WD etc.) when the 12V battery gets low. Luckily, I only used the truck to tow things, not tow it behind an RV like the people in the RV link above.