Bolt Owners Please Park Your Cars Outside
Recalls like this are worrying as it takes years for the vehicle manufacturer to take note. Meanwhile a possible risk to life has government agencies waking up to the need to put pressure on car manufacturers and their technology partners to be accountable for their mistakes.
Chevrolet has just issued a recall for their 2017-2019 Bolt electric vehicle for a possible fire risk. This recall affects about 50,900 Bolt vehicles where the vehicles battery cell packs can ignite internally even when the electric vehicle is parked and switched off.
In 2019, Chinese EV manufacturer NIO also issues a similar recall when all its ES8 all-electric SUVs sold at the time had a risk of overheating and spontaneous combustion in battery packs. A total of 4,803 vehicles were recalled and this caused NIO to change their battery technology within months. More recently in October 2020 BMW North America recalled all the plug-in hybrids sold in America between January and September for a possible fire risk as well. BMW sources their batteries from Samsung and CATL.
PRESS RELEASE: As you may be aware, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into a few reports the agency received from Chevrolet Bolt EV owners about potential fires. GM had already been investigating these reports prior to that announcement, in cooperation with NHTSA.
We wanted you to hear directly from Chevrolet about your vehicle and what you can expect from us. General Motors and Chevrolet have decided to voluntarily recall select 2017-2019 model-year Chevrolet Bolt EVs with high voltage batteries produced at LG Chem’s Ochang, Korea facility that may pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or very close to full, capacity.
The safety of our products is the highest priority for the entire GM and Chevrolet team. We are working around the clock on our continued investigation.
We will be providing our dealers with a software update beginning November 17, 2020 that will limit the charge for all the vehicles in this population to 90% while we continue to investigate the cause of these incidents. In the meantime, we know that the safety of our owners and their families is paramount, which is why we’re asking owners to take the following steps now that will limit the charge capacity to 90% and reduce the risk of fire.
If you have a 2017 or 2018 model-year Bolt EV:
• Change the vehicle charge settings to use the Hill Top Reserve option
If you have a 2019 model-year Bolt EV:
• Change the vehicle charge settings to enable Target Charge Level at 90%
If you are unable to successfully make these changes, or do not feel comfortable making these changes, we ask you to not park your car in your garage or carport until after you have visited your dealer.
We recommend scheduling a service appointment with your dealership beginning November 17th to update the vehicle’s battery software to automatically limit the maximum state of charge to 90 percent. Our engineers are working around the clock to identify a permanent fix and we intend to deploy a final remedy to remove the 90 percent limitation as quickly as possible after the first of the year, 2021.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact our dedicated customer support team, Chevrolet EV Concierge 1-833-EVCHEVY available Monday through Friday from 8:00am – 7:00pm EST. Contact your preferred Chevrolet EV dealer
