Chevy Bolt Recall: A History Of Fires
GM issued its first recall of the Chevy Bolt in November 2020. At that time, the recall included over 50,000 2017-2018 and certain 2019 Chevy Bolt EV vehicles. The reason for this recall was that the high voltage battery is at risk of catching on fire when the vehicle is charged to full or near full capacity.
At that time, GM knew of 5 cars that had caught on fire. GM told consumers to reprogram the hybrid propulsion control module and keep their cars charged at 90 percent. They warned owners to park their vehicles outside until the software update was completed.
GM announced a second recall on July 23, 2021. This affected nearly 69,000 2017-2019 Chevy Bolt EV cars. This recall included vehicles that were previously recalled, because again, the Chevy Bolt lithium-ion battery is fire-prone when at full or near full charge. At this time, GM determined that 10 car fires were the result of faulty batteries.
The auto company replaced the battery modules free of charge and advised drivers to once again reprogram their vehicles, avoid depleting the battery range to 70 miles or below, to park outside after charging, and to avoid charging the vehicles overnight or indoors.
GM also repeated past recommendations to drivers about limiting the cars charge, parking vehicles outside after charging, among others. The auto company went so far as to advise owners and lessees to park their vehicles at least 50 feet from others.
How Do I Make A Claim For The Chevy Bolt Recall
Because there are so many cars affected by this claim, theChevy Bolt recall process is a bit complicated.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Chevrolet Bolt induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured or burned by a battery fire in a recalled Chevrolet Bolt EV, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at 920-0753.
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John Paul Aaa Northeast’s Car Doctor Answers A Question From A Reader Whose Chevrolet Bolt Is Subject To A Battery Recall
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Q. Have you heard any word on when GM will start replacing recalled batteries in Chevrolet Bolts? They announced the recall about 10 months ago.
A. I was on a call a few weeks ago and was told that GM has a fix for the battery issue and will update/replace batteries as they become available. Also back in December, there was a software update that was designed to minimize issues with the battery that could come from overcharging. For the latest information go to www.chevrolet.com/electric/bolt-recall
Q. I have recently retired and havent driven my 2014 Ford Flex as much as I used to. In fact, it only has 40,000 miles on it. Should I switch to synthetic oil on my next oil change? I plan on taking a road trip in the near future. I start it at least once a month, and every time I do it says it needs an oil change.
Q. I have a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek and asked my service person about changing the gear oil. The service person said there is no need because its a lifetime fluid. Is that true?
A. The service person is correct. There are periodic checks to the fluid but no specific change interval. The only time that would vary is if the car routinely tows a trailer or is used as a delivery vehicle or an Uber/Lyft.
Q. I have a 2017 Toyota Avalon with 8,500 miles. I have had three oil changes, the last in 2021 at 5,000 miles. The car is only used in town and is garaged. Do I need to change the oil, and if so, how often if I switch to synthetic oil?
Risk Of Battery Fire In 2017
The Chevy Bolt is a small electric hatchback that was released during the 2017 model year. The brand updated the design for these cars, adding new styling and better cabin tech in 2022. The Bolt EUV released in 2022 is basically a stretched Bolt EV with more room for rear-seat passengers.
In 2021, General Motors announced its plan to sell mostly electric vehicles by 2035, previewing several other styles of cars. The Bolts were the first pure electric vehicles since the company stopped producing the EV1 back in 1999.
Unfortunately, the battery modules have proven to be an issue for these cars. GM/Chevrolet produced about 110,000 Chevrolet Bolt and EUV electric vehicles between 2017 and 2022. However, the problem is that many of the batteries could be defective and cause a fire. GM explains that the root cause is a folded separator and torn anode tab within the modules.
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Gm Announces Fix For Chevrolet Bolt Evs To Address Fire Risk
The automaker readies a hardware replacement and a software update and revises parking advice
General Motors has announced a combination hardware and software solution to the battery problem in the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV that led to a series of recall notices over fire risks. It has lifted the previous guidance to park 50 feet away from other cars and structures, instead saying customers who are following GMs charging instructions can park in a location of their choice.
A spokeswoman for LG, the battery supplier, tells CR, GM and LG have identified the presence of two rare simultaneous defects, found in the same battery cell, made during module manufacturing process. GM explained that the cause is a torn anode tab and folded separator within the battery modules.
The LG spokeswoman says thats the root cause of battery fires in certain Chevy Bolt EVs. She also says this particular problem is not related to one reported with the Hyundai Kona EV and that the defects have been taken care of in manufacturing. After a hiatus, LG has resumed battery production, and it has increased manufacturing capacity to provide cells to use as replacements for the recall.
General Motors announced that LG will reimburse the automaker for costs and expenses associated with the recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs due to manufacturing defects in battery modules, projecting the supplier will pay $1.9 billion of the $2 billion cost.
Consumer Alert: Gm Expands Recall All Chevrolet Bolt Vehicles Now Recalled
GM is expanding the current Chevrolet Bolt recall to include model year 2017-2022 Chevrolet Bolt vehicles. With this expansion, all Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles are now recalled due to the risk of the high-voltage battery pack catching fire. The recall applies to all Bolt vehicles, including those that may have received an earlier recall repair for the fire risk issue.
At this time, GM is asking all Chevrolet Bolt vehicle owners to park their vehicles outside and away from structures, and to not charge the vehicles overnight. Additionally, GM is instructing owners of these vehicles to take the following actions:
- Set their vehicle to the 90% state of charge limitation using Hilltop Reserve mode or Target Charge Level mode . If owners are unable to set their vehicles to the 90% state of charge limitation mode, or if they feel uncomfortable making the change, GM is asking owners to visit a local dealer immediately to have the change made.
- Recharge the battery on their Bolts after each use and not wait until the battery is almost run down before charging it back up.
GM continues to investigate the issue and work toward a final remedy. Until this is completed, owners should follow the above steps.
Vehicle owners can visit NHTSA.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number for more information on this recall. For more information on this recall, visit chevy.com/boltevrecall.
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Chevrolet Bolt Ev Batteries And Battery Management Systems Allegedly Caused Car Fires
The Chevrolet Bolt battery class action lawsuit was consolidated from eight separate class actions.
The class action alleges 2017-2022 Chevy Bolt electric vehicles are equipped with defective lithium-ion batteries and battery management systems.
The Bolt battery can catch fire if a single battery cell in the module has a torn anode tab and also a folded separator. The batteries allegedly won’t catch fire unless both conditions are present.
General Motors knows of at least 13 Chevrolet Bolt fires caused by the batteries.
The Bolt battery lawsuit says several software updates have been offered to customers, but those updates prevented the cars from being fully charged.
Chevy Bolt owners were advised to limit charging and to park outdoors and away from things that could catch fire. Bolt owners were also warned not to charge the cars overnight and avoid depleting the batteries below certain charge levels.
GM finally agreed to replace the Bolt batteries at a cost of about $2 billion. But battery manufacturer LG agreed to cover about $1.9 billion of the recall cost.
The U.S. Chevy Bolt battery recall includes 50,932 model year 2017-2019 Bolts and 59,392 model year 2019-2022 Chevrolet Bolts.
What To Do If My Chevy Bolt Was Recalled
GM says it will replace batteries in affected models when parts are available or consider buy-backs of cars on a case-by-case basis.
GM is also offering an exchange for another company vehicle, though no other electric vehicles are available in this deal.
Contact your local Chevy dealership or GMs concierge line at 1-833-EVCHEVY for specific guidance on your vehicle.
GM has provided guidance on how to keep yourself and your property safe before long-term solutions can be provided:
- Set your vehicle to a 90 percent state of charge limitation using Hilltop Reserve mode or Target Charge Level mode.
- Charge your vehicle more frequently and avoid depleting their battery below approximately 70 miles of remaining range, where possible.
- Park your vehicle outside immediately after charging and do not leave your vehicle charging indoors overnight.
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Defect Rates And Specific Use Conditions
Kamath suggests two possible sets of circumstances that could have produced the combination of flaws that apparently led to short circuits in one or more cells, and subsequent fires.
First, some unrecognized defect in the manufacturing process may have caused one flaw to occur at a higher rate than projectedeven though, by itself, that flaw would not have led to a short circuit. A purely hypothetical example of the resulting math would be a projected rate of one flaw occurring in every 1 million cells that was actually far higher: say once in every 10,000 cells.
Other battery experts have offered reasons for how and why the flawed cells may have been produced. One suggestion: a misaligned robot on a cell production line.
Second, some combination of specific vehicle uses may be required for the pair of faults to produce a serious short within the cell. Those may be operating conditionsdoes the driver use full acceleration often, drawing maximum current from the cells?and other factors including ambient temperatures, charging rates, and whether the battery packs are routinely charged to full capacity and then depleted almost to zero percent.
Both GM and LG clearly have scores of battery engineers devoting far more than 40-hour weeks to trying to answer these questionsoften a tough task in a battery pack from a burned car.
Gm Offers Chevy Bolt Ev Owners $6000 If They Promise Not To Sue Over Battery Fire Recall Fiasco
General Motors has started offering Chevy Bolt EV owners a $6,000 refund as long as they promise not to sue over the battery fire recall fiasco of last year.
In June, GM announced that the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV and EUV are getting a significant $6,000 price cut this was surprising at a time when most automakers are raising the prices of electric vehicles.
On the other hand, the Bolt EV and EUV were in a strange situation after the major setback of recalling virtually all vehicles ever produced due to a battery fire risk coming from a defect in the battery cells supplied by LG Energy Solutions.
GM ended up doing the right thing and replacing battery modules in all cars, but the automaker has been criticized for delaying the decision to recall the electric vehicles and pushing software fixes in the meantime. During that time, several more vehicles ended up going up in flames until GM finally decided to replace the battery modules in August 2021.
That certainly didnt help sales, but the Bolt EV and EUV were still a good offering at that price point with now good batteries. As we recently reported, the $6,000 price drop made them the best value EVs in America, by far.
Of course, the price reduction has bummed out many existing Bolt EV owners who had to go through the recall and missed out on the lower price.
Forever waive and release all claims, damages, or causes of action arising out of my Bolt vehicle, the battery defect, or the battery recalls.
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What Is The Chevy Bolt Software Update
As the battery modules and replacements continue under the previous guidelines for the recall, General Motors informed Bolt owners of a software update that allows them to remove the overnight charging and parking limitations on their vehicles. That way, it could focus on building replacement battery modules.
The new software update automatically sets the maximum charge state to 80 percent, allowing owners to resume:
- Charging indoors overnight
- Parking indoors after charging
- Operating under 70 miles of range
On top of that, the update can run diagnostics that detect specific abnormalities that could indicate a rare battery problem. These diagnostic processes are crucial.
Is Your Chevy Bolt A Lemon
If you own one of these recalled Bolts, youre experiencing one of the most dangerously rare manufacturing defects. The ongoing recall could indicate that you have a lemon. Its best to contact a lemon law attorney to determine what your next steps are, especially if your vehicle caught fire, damaged other property you own, or hurt you in any way.
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What You Should Do
Out of an abundance of caution, GM will replace defective lithium-ion battery modules in Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs with new lithium-ion modules. We will notify customers when replacement parts are ready. When notified, please schedule an appointment with your preferred Chevrolet EV dealership.
As we continue to build battery replacement modules, Chevrolet has informed all Bolt EV and Bolt EUV owners in the recall population of a software update that will allow owners to remove the parking and overnight charging limitations on their vehicles. To obtain the software update while you wait for your replacement appointment, , please schedule an appointment with your preferred Chevrolet dealer to have the software installed.
This software update will automatically set the vehicles maximum state of charge to 80%, allowing owners to safely resume:
- Charging indoors overnight
- Operating below 70 miles of range, resulting in greater overall vehicle range compared to GMs prior interim charging guidance and
- Parking indoors after charging
Until you have the software updated, we ask that you continue to follow these steps:
Bolt Recalls: An Ongoing Saga Told Through Data
We have been closely following the Bolt battery issues since the initial recall announcement on November 17, 2020. It impacts thousands of Bolt drivers in the Recurrent community so we will continue to monitor this and provide updates. Catch up on the full story below starting with our oldest analysis.
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New Software Update To Recalled Bolts
The first step GM has done to address the concern was to announce the replacement of all potentially defective modules that could lead to a fire. As we mentioned above, it was initially about replacing the ones in 2017-2019 Chevy Bolts, but the manufacturer later added the newest models as well. Therefore, all these replacements will come out pretty costly for GM. It is estimated the Chevy Bolt recall will cost the GM about $1.8 billion, if not more, considering the sales are likely to drop furthermore.
Along with replacing the modules, the GM will roll out a software diagnostic update for battery monitoring. To give you a little context about this, many Chevy Bolt owners ran into issues with parking and charging after the battery problem was revealed. Namely, many parking lots and charging stations restricted Chevy Bolt from entering due to safety reasons. Thus, the GM introduced software to mitigate this problem, allowing owners to remove these limitations until they receive replacement battery modules.
The software update will set the maximum charging limit at 80% and overlook the charging overnight. It will also notify drivers about any concerning battery behavior. Although not a cure for the disease, the software will increase safety until the replacements arrive. Chevy Bolt owners will be able to schedule its installation at their preferred dealers at a convenient time.