2019 CHEVROLET BOLT EV Complaints

Within the first 20 months of ownership of my vehicle - I became aware of multiple reported fires due to the battery on other similar 2019 Chevy Bolts (and other years) where (like my vehicle) had batteries manufactured in Korea which subsequently found to contain a number of defects which pose a fire risk. For many months and currently I have had harsh limitations placed on how far I am able to drive my vehicle due to requested safety measures GM is requesting (to NOT charge over 90% and to NOT let the vehicle go below 30% - effectively limiting range by 60%). Additionally, we are not able to charge the vehicle overnight and must remove the vehicle from the garage after charging due to fire risk. This is unacceptable! I requested a buyback from GM or MSRP swap but was denied. There is currently NO FIX available and it's unclear to when if this will be fully resolved. I am afraid to use my vehicle as my charger is located in my garage where my sons bedroom is directly above the garage. My vehicle poses a great risk to my families safety.

I have a Chevrolet Bolt EV that was recalled due to risk of battery fires. It took many months of waiting and being unable to charge the car fully, but a fix was issued that scanned the battery and added monitoring software. Two fires have since occurred on 2019s with the fix applied. So now GM has said to follow these guidelines until they can find and fix a separate issue. My car is unusable under the guidance that GM has issued, which includes no charging overnight, no parking inside, no charging to 100% and try not to run below 70 miles of charge. There is no timeline for the repair for the recall and I have no confidence that they will fix the batteries appropriately since they are saying they will replace parts of the batteries rather than whole batteries, but as I understand it, new and old battery parts aren't safe to mix. The car is unusable, unsafe and a fire hazard on my property despite having less than 15k miles on it, but I cannot get GM to give me a loaner or let me park it at a dealership while I wait four or more weeks for a review on a potential buy back case.

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, the infotainment screen failed to function as designed. The contact was unable to see charging level of the vehicle. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign number: 21V560000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owned a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the garage on the charger when the contact heard the vehicle's horn. The contact entered the garage and saw white smoke coming from underneath the rear of the vehicle. The contact was able to unplug the vehicle. The contact’s son called 911. The contact stated that when the fire department arrived at his home the passenger rear on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire department report was filed. The contact was treated for smoke inhalation. Additionally, while the contact’s wife was attempting to exit the residence, she broke three toes and was taken to urgent care the following day. The fire department inspected the vehicle but was unsure if the fire was due to the battery. The insurance company had the vehicle towed from the residence and deemed the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.

Since about November of 2020 this vehicle has been under a recall, due to potential fire danger of the batteries. The interim solution was to not charge the battery above 90%. Within the last couple of months a "final" solution was initiated by GM, to solve this potential fire situation. I have had this "final" solution performed on my vehicle by the dealer. Now, we are informed that fires are still happening on these vehicles, even with the final repair. We are now told do not charge overnight un-monitored. Do not let the battery get below 30% or above about 80%. Do not store the vehicle in doors. I now read that GM does not expect any sort of "new" solution until September, or perhaps later. None of this works for us, with our current usage of this vehicle as our main transportation.

There is not a specific incident with my own vehicle, but my complaint lies with all models, including my own, that have been determined to have a high fire risk, particularly the 2019 year model and manufacturing source of my battery. The recently re-activated recall (NHTSA# 21V560) indicates that GM has again recognized the risk of danger but has failed to address the manufacturing defects within their battery systems in a timely manner. After recognizing a battery fire risk over a year ago, GM's initial recall fix was insufficient to effectively reduce the risk of fire and potential harm to property and people. During the previous recall, GM had recommended a reduction of charge to reduce the risk of fire and during this re-issue of the recall has recommended even more restrictions on the charging levels and logisitics of when and how to charge the battery safely. These recommendations over the life of this extended recall has drastically reduced the function and capabilities of the vehicle as implied by GM when I originally purchased the vehicle. Essentially, the safety of my vehicle and therefore of my property and family is at risk, and despite the recent recall, GM has not moved quickly to address this issue by repairing the vehicle to reduce the risk of fire.

There is an open recall on my vehicle, but Chevy NEVER notified me about it. I received an email about the initial recall in November 2020, but found out about this most recent recall ONLY from the Chevy Bolt EV Facebook group I am part of. Searching my VIN on the Chevy website did not yield any results for a couple of weeks (now it says that there is an open recall but no remedy yet), but now searching the VIN and looking at the battery sticker information tells me that I am, indeed, part of this recall and have never heard anything directly from Chevy. Many others in the group reported receiving an email but I have not received any communication. This seems very suspect and very dangerous. I purchased the car used from a dealer but since I received the original Nov 2020 recall information I know that Chevy has my information, they just didn't contact me for some reason.

I was sold a vehicle that is 30 times more likely to catch fire than any gas propelled vehicle (https://allev.info/2021/07/early-chevy-bolts-much-more-likely-to-catch-fire-than-a-gas-car/). To date, GM's solutions have been unacceptable. First, hobbling the car so that it performs at 90% capacity was offered, though I did not agree to purchase 90% of an automobile. Then it was "fixed" and deemed safe, yet more fires have occurred within the supposedly repaired vehicles. GM's current solution is to again limit the battery charge to 90% (owner's responsibility), to not leave the car unattended while charging (it can take many hours to charge, so this is an onerous and ludicrous ask), and, remarkably, they've stated that the vehicle should not be left in or near a structure in case of fire. Shall I just chance burning down the local farmer's field or forest that I'm forced to park it in, then? I've requested a buy back by Chevrolet and was refused. This is a preposterous situation that puts me, my passengers, and others around me in danger.

Safety put at risk due to recall where car could suddenly burst into flames. Remedy timeline tbd by Chevy putting myself and family in undue stress.