If you own a 2017-2019 Chevy Bolt, it’s time to bring it back to the dealership for an important update to prevent a battery fire, even if you already brought the electric car in for a fix last year.
Last November, GM recalled about 69,000 Bolt EVs over reports that the vehicles were prone to battery fires when fully charged, or nearly so. The recall applied to all 2017-18 Bolts and some 2019 Bolts equipped with battery cells produced at LG Chem’s plant in Ochang, South Korea. GM identified 12 fires that the batteries could have caused.
At that time, GM installed a software update that capped charging at 90 percent for affected vehicles. The automaker continued investigating the problem in hopes of a more permanent fix.
That more permanent fix is here. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM has concluded that the problem is “likely caused by one or more rare, latent cell-level manufacturing defects.”
As a permanent solution, GM has designed special diagnostic equipment that will let dealerships test batteries to identify those that may have the defects. Dealers will replace batteries that are deemed at risk. Dealers will also install new software on every Bolt that comes back to them, designed to monitor the battery and flag any anomalies in its behavior.
That software will also be standard equipment on all new Bolts. “Owner notifications of the final remedy are estimated to occur in two phases; the first on May 13, 2021, to address 2019 model year vehicles and the second on May 31, 2021, to address remaining vehicles,” GM has told NHTSA.
Many cars face safety recalls, often more than once. Automakers notify owners to bring the vehicles in for repair, but it’s not unusual for owners to miss a notification. Check the easy VIN tool at our recall center to see if your car has any unaddressed safety issues.
