2023 CHEVROLET BOLT EUV Complaints

The electric power steering (EPS) rack has developed an internal binding at times, causing the steering wheel to sometimes fail to naturally return to the center position after completing both low-speed and highway-rate turns. Instead of self-centering, the wheel holds its turned angle, forcing me to manually pull it back to straight-line navigation. This creates a serious safety hazard, as it requires unnatural steering corrections and can lead to overcorrection or unintended lane departure. No warning lights or diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) have appeared on the dashboard. This is a well-documented issue across Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV models. Dozens of owners on public forums and in existing NHTSA complaint filings report identical symptoms—often occurring between 30,000 and 60,000 miles—where internal gear binding or degraded factory lubrication inside the steering rack requires a complete, costly rack-and-pinion replacement to resolve safely.

Steering Rack: The internal components of the rack bind up and create heavy resistance, causing the wheel to lock into a turned position rather than gliding back on its own to maintain control. This issue forces you to manually pull the steering wheel back straight after every turn, making high-speed and everyday driving unpredictable and dangerous. Power train: The powertrain is loose when moving forward and backward potentially causing a risk to others when leaving the vehicle in park.

Collision warning failed to warn driver and automatic emergency braking failed to engage, causing an accident.

Was initially stopped at a red light heading northbound while in the right turn lane. The cross street had two lanes of traffic heading in each direction separated by a median divider to the west and a left turn lane to the east. After cross traffic cleared from the nearest eastbound lane, but cars continuing to travel in the far eastbound lane, I began a ‘right turn on red’ into the nearest eastbound lane. Somewhere near, but short of completing the entire 90° turn, the AEB system violently slammed on the brakes causing strong vibrations like I had hit or been hit by another car. My estimated speed at the time was approx. 15 mph. Not positive, but I believe the collision alert beeped and red dot HUD activated at the same time indicating an impending collision. Believing I had been hit, I think I applied the brake pedal to ensure the vehicle completely stopped rolling. After visually checking my surroundings, I saw no other vehicles, pedestrians, or objects anywhere near or around my vehicle. Concerned I had possibly run over something instead, I slowly proceeded forward to visually check the road surface to see if anything was in the road behind. The vehicle operated normally, I saw no debris, and pulled over to the side of the road to visually check for damage. Seeing none, I continued my travel without further incident. The vehicle has not been inspected or has the problem been reproduced, but it is available upon request. This is the first occurrence of phantom breaking since owning the vehicle for the past 10 months and there have been no prior symptoms or related problems. In this case the lane I entered was free of traffic. If instead I had pulled into a gap in traffic that would otherwise have been sufficient to safely merge into, my sudden and unexpected stop could have easily caused oncoming traffic to hit me from behind.

After completing a turn, the car's steering wheel does not fully return to center. It remains at 30 degrees under 10mph, 10-15 degrees at 20mph. Dealer has claimed it is behaving as intended.

I was taking a left turn from [XXX] onto [XXX] in the outer (right) lane. As I was exiting the turn, the AEB went off suddenly without warning -- the car came to a sudden and complete stop. There were no cars or obstacles in the road ahead of us in either lane and so it is unclear what would cause the braking event. Due to the sudden stop, a man driving a moped was not able to stop in time--he was able to swerve to avoid a head on collision, but he collided with our rear passenger bumper. While, fortunately, there were no injuries, both vehicles sustained minor damage. This is the second incident of "phantom braking" I have experienced with this car. The first incident was within the first year of owning it driving on a 35 MPH road when it mistakenly thought a car was veering into our lane (oncoming traffic) -- in this case the phantom braking was brief and did not bring the vehicle to a stop. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When driving and turning, the steering wheel does not come back to center and the car keeps turning after releasing the steering wheel causing the car to veer off the road if not turned back manually. This is very unexpected and an unsuspecting driver might not realize this until too late. I am in the process of contacting the dealer I bought the car from. But, searching the internet it seems to be a know problem.

Steering fails to return to center after turning. This is unexpected behavior and creates a danger when turning and releasing the steering wheel. There are no warnings or messages that coincide with this issue.

The steering is heavier on the car and does not return to center after turning. This causes danger while driving if someone cuts off in front of me or I have to stop suddenly due to an animal or any other conditions. I am also assuming this will be dangerous to drive in wet weather as well. I took it to the dealer to check it, and it was diagnosed as a failing steering system; the rack and pinion need to be replaced.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle displayed a Service ESC warning, indicating a possible malfunction in the electronic stability control system. I have had difficulty reproducing the issue, but the vehicle and any related components are available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The malfunction may have reduced the vehicle’s stability and traction assistance, which could increase the risk of losing control while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I have taken the vehicle to the dealer three times. The first time, the dealer replaced the battery. The second time, the dealer installed a software update. The third time, they were unable to reproduce the issue. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle has been inspected by the dealer. No inspection by police, insurance representatives, or other third parties has occurred. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The Service ESC warning first appeared while driving on July 19, 2026 and May 22, 2026. I did notice the service light turn on before then, but do not have a picture to send at this time.