In late August 2021, GM announced a third recall affecting Chevrolet Bolt vehicles. The two previous recalls impacted specific years, but this most recent recall applies to every Chevy Bolt ever manufactured. This expanded recall impacts over 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. and has caused customers to express their concerns over the defective batteries and increased fire risk. Here’s the latest on this particular safety recall.
The Underlying Battery Issue
In 2008, GM partnered with LG Chem to use its high-voltage batteries in the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid models. This partnership continued as the partners manufactured the batteries for the Chevy Bolt at a plant in South Korea. Chevrolet began to receive reports of Bolt batteries catching fire and issued two separate recalls in November 2020 and July 2021. The issue stemmed from two manufacturing defects that led to a short in the affected cells. This new recall includes the latest Bolt vehicles, bringing the total number of affected cars to over 100,000.
Affected Chevy Bolt Vehicles
The two initial recalls covered earlier models of the Chevrolet Bolt. The July 2021 recall covered 2017 to 2019 Bolt electric vehicles. The latest recall expands upon the previous recall to include an additional 9,335 2019 model year Bolts and 63,683 2020-2022 Bolt vehicles. Essentially, all Chevrolet Bolt owners will receive notification about this recall and will be encouraged to schedule a trip to the dealer for a replacement part.
Moving Forward
Although GM has not yet announced the specifics of the repairs, the company is urging consumers to take extra precautions when charging and driving their vehicles. Those who own or lease a 2017-2018 Chevrolet Bolt should set their vehicle to the 90 percent state of charge limitation by using Hilltop Reserve mode, while those with a 2019-2022 vehicle should engage Target Charge Level mode. Chevrolet also recommends that drivers recharge the battery after every use instead of waiting until the battery has nearly drained. As soon as the repairs become available, customers should visit their local dealer to receive the recommended fix.
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