GM Expands Recall to All Chevy Bolt EVs Over Fire Risk

GM expands recall to all Chevy Bolt EVs due to fire risk

By Trevor Mogg August 22, 2021

General Motors has issued a recall of its Chevy Bolt electric vehicle that expands on an earlier recall. The notice affects all 2020 to 2022 model year Chevy Bolts and all remaining 2019 models.

The recall comes in response to multiple reports of fires linked to the vehicle’s LG-made battery pack.

GM says it will replace defective battery packs in affected Chevy Bolt vehicles. The automaker will bear all costs, which could run as high as $1 billion in total.

The recall includes 52,403 Chevy Bolts in the U.S. and 9,019 in Canada from the 2020 to 2022 model years. It also involves 6,989 Chevy Bolts in the U.S. and 1,212 in Canada from model year 2019 that were not included in the previous recall.

GM said that batteries with the new modules will include an 8-year/100,000-mile (160,000 kilometer) limited warranty.

Although GM says the fires have only been occurring in “rare circumstances,” it deems the issue serious enough that it’s telling Chevy Bolt owners to park their vehicle outside immediately after charging it, and that it should not be charged indoors overnight.

In addition, until owners have taken their vehicle for repair, they should set their Chevy Bolt to a 90% state of charge limitation using Target Charge Level mode (instructions on how to do this can be found at chevy.com/boltevrecall).

Owners should also endeavor to charge their Chevy Bolt more often and avoid depleting their battery below around 70 miles (113 km) of remaining range.

“Our focus on safety and doing the right thing for our customers guides every decision we make at GM,” General Motors executive Doug Parks said in a press release. “As leaders in the transition to an all-electric future, we know that building and maintaining trust is critical. GM customers can be confident in our commitment to taking the steps to ensure the safety of these vehicles.”

GM’s original Chevy Bolt recall regarding the battery issue took place in November 2020 and affected 51,000 U.S. vehicles from the 2017 to 2019 model years. But several subsequent battery-related fires prompted a second recall to go out in July 2021 for the same model years, with GM putting the fault down to the discovery of another manufacturing defect.

The latest recall, which covers more recent models, will come as a blow to GM as the automaker works toward its goal of offering an EV-only lineup starting in 2035.

Chevy Bolt owners can contact GM directly about the issue via www.chevy.com/boltevrecall or by calling 1-833-EVCHEVY.

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