2017 CHEVROLET BOLT EV Complaints

Steering wheel would not return to center after turning left or right. Dealer confirmed problem: "rack and pinion assembly binding internally." Dealer replaced failing parts: one Gear $335.23, and two Rods $91.24, plus labor $2073.00. Problem happened at all speeds. Problem manifested gradually over several weeks. There are no warning lamps for this problem. Mileage on car approximately 100,000.

The steering wheel in my car no longer returns to center after making a turn. I have to force it back to steering straight. This seems unsafe to me because it's not the expected behavior of the steering system. Every car I've ever had automatically centers the wheel when it's released if you're moving, so it's surprising when it doesn't happen and could lead to a crash. I've not had it inspected yet, but I see online that many people are having the same problem, and it's traced to a defective steering gear that is binding. There were no warnings from the car related to this issue.

The steering gets stiffer and stiffer and won't return to center after a turn. This should be fixed by GM. The car has had the issue for a long time and slowly gets worse,\.

The Steering Gear failed after 55,000 miles. This caused the steering wheel to lose the ability to return to center after a turn, requiring the driver to manually center it. This was confirmed and replaced by the dealer (McCluskey Chevrolet). The steering losing it's expected travel is a safety concern as it could cause drivers to change direction in ways they don't expect. No warning messages occurred before or after the failure.

When driving down the road with no other vehicles around the blind spot warning light On the passenger side mirror will illuminate and turn off and on several times with no vehicles around. Which inadvertently triggers the forward collision system and locks up the brakes on the car. Once the forward collision system is activated there's no no way to reinitiate Acceleration until it turns off. This has happened several times on the highway causing me to have to force my car off under the shoulder to prevent from getting rear ended. With one time happening causing a semi to veer off the road. This is a very unsafe condition, and it has become more prevalent ever since they change the battery in the car.

Faulty steering rack. Steering wheel does not return to center while in turn, intersection, etc. requires manual turns of wheel. Multiple steering engineering design flaws including U-joints vertical position of connectors with sway to harness, as well as column angle. Bad design.

"POOR RETURN OF STEERING WHEEL" or “After completing a turn, extra steering input is required for the steering wheel to return to center." I almost got into an accident because the steering wheel is very stiff and it is difficult to make left and right turns. It is only getting worse especially during cold seasons. My safety has been put at risk and can not comfortably drive my vehicle. I shouldn’t have to wait till I get into an accident for something to be taking seriously. I am nervous to drive my own car because I simply can not steer it. “This is a safety issue because it's not how a car is supposed to steer and because the rack is binding up and might eventually fail, causing it to lock up. It is especially dangerous in wet or snowy conditions”

The steering wheel tracks the direction of turn it is not returning to center. This problem was reported and reproduced by dealer. The steering felt always different but we thought that on an electric car it should be that way until out son told us that this is wrong.

Vehicle and steering wheel will violently share for no apparent reason. Started after battery was replaced as part of recall. Tires balanced, and aligned. Only seem to happens when reach about 50% of battery capacity. Please help

The steering is very tight compared to other like models I have driven. I have, on several occasions almost had low speed collisions when turning. When turning at speeds below 45 MPH, the steering wheel will not return to center without applying what I would consider to be excessive force by the driver. The problem is worse when turning to the left. I feel that this is a safety issue as the wheel should return to center when released when in a turn at below highway speed. I purchased the car in 2020 when it had 27000 miles on it, and it exhibited the problem of tight steering at that time, although it seems to have gotten worse over the past two years. I recently posted on the Chevrolet Bolt Facebook forum asking if anyone had experience the same issue and if so, were they able to get it fixed. Multiple people responded that they had the same issue and some had fixed it by having the steering rack replaced. Soon thereafter, the post was removed from the forum by General Motors, and they contacted me via direct message. They were very insistent that they wanted to help me resolve the problem and took my information so they could arrange to have the problem diagnosed at a Chevrolet dealer. I agreed and gave them the VIN and my contact information. I made a service appointment at the dealer, and took the car in for diagnosis. The dealer kept the car for a day and they communicated to me that the steering did indeed feel tight, and that there was a service bulletin for that problem that involved reprogramming the computer that controlled the steering. They then said they test drove the car and that it was operating as it should. I picked up the car after paying their $125 fee for the service. After driving the car, I could tell no difference in the steering. It is still tight, and will not return to center when turning at speeds below about 45MPH. I communicated this service advisor and the Chevrolet representative. Both declined to be of any further assistance.