2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV Fuel System Problems

Why is GM allowed to wait years to fix EV recalls that can kill people or burn down homes.

GM announced a recall for this vehicle for battery fires approximately 10 months ago. The recall involves battery replacement (clearly very expensive). GM appears to be delaying or intentionally prioritizing batteries to new car applications. The company is not able (or willing) to even forecast a date at which the recall will be performed.

I received recall notices in the fall of 2021 and at that time I did the suggested changes to the vehicle's menu as to charging percentage etc.. I did not get full use out of the vehicle through the winter for fears of lack of charge during the colder months and concerns about safety. On 3/31/22 I took the vehicle to the dealer, Central Maine Motors Auto Group -Waterville Maine, for the suggested software updates. At first there might have been an improvement in charge allowed, but difficult to tell because with the warming weather it would show more. On or around 6/15 the car behaved erratically while in stop and go driving and I noticed a warning on the dash which said something about propulsion problems and to take it to a dealer. The charge left did not read correctly on the way home and the vehicle would not charge when I got there. I took it to dealer that Monday the 20th with some trepidation for the 50 mile trip not knowing if I had power enough or if was safe to do so. I left the vehicle there and did get a loaner car. Now it is going into the ninth week since then, and besides me calling them to check after 4-5 days I have not heard anything from either the dealer or GM as to updates, timetables or any word at all. This is outrageous on their part and a sad state of affairs if no one in Gov't will step in to help with this situation. I know I'm far from being alone in this. Hope you can do something. -

This is a comment on an existing open recall (nhtsa chat said to use this form). Related to the Chevy Bolt recall 21V650. The latest information from GM at https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/sep/0920-bolt.html contains this: "Within approximately 60 days, GM will begin launching a new advanced diagnostic software package that will increase the available battery charging parameters over existing guidance. The diagnostic software will be designed to detect specific abnormalities that might indicate a damaged battery in Bolt EVs and EUVs by monitoring the battery performance; alerting customers of any anomalies; and prioritizing damaged battery modules for replacement. It is GM’s intent that further diagnostic software will allow customers to return to a 100 percent state of charge once all diagnostic processes are complete." I would ask NHTSA to require GM to publicly describe how they tested and verified that this new software will find 100% of battery packs with faulty cells. For example by building a significant number of battery packs with known faulty cells in different configurations and confirming that all packs with faulty cells were correctly identified. This doesn't require the publication of proprietary information, only a description of the verification procedure and results. A previous software update was supposed to detect faulty packs but it did not work so a more robust test is required this time as they intend to use the information provided by this software to determine which packs to replace. Thank you

A life threatening situation in which upon swift acceleration attempt the accelerator pedal was stuck in the down position, the safety of myself, my family who were passengers as well as other surrounding vehicles on the highway was put in immediate danger as vehicle proceeded to accelerate well beyond legal limit. Using the brakes only slightly decelerated the vehicle while vehicle dash displayed maximum power kept being sent to the drive unit. That same day I was unable to replicate the problem as it seems to happen only once per drive cycle. Same issue has occurred on 2 separate occasions during 2 separate drive cycles.

ACCELERATOR PEDAL GETS STUCK ON FLOOR MAT AND REQUIRES PULLING IT UP WITH YOUR TOES TO STOP ACCELERATION. I HAVE A 10 SECOND VIDEO I CAN SHARE DOCUMENTING THIS. I CONTACTED CHEVY CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE TODAY AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD REFER THE CASE[XXX] -- TO THE "APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT". I AM WORRIED IT WILL BE LOST IN THE BUREAUCRACY, SO I AM CONTACTING YOU ALSO. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The high voltage battery has a possible defect that can cause the car to burst into flame without warning. December 2020 - 2020 Chevy bolt purchased with open recall on Chevy Bolt batteries February 2021 - Received letter from GM that the newly purchased car is dangerous and must not be parked inside nor used for more then 50% of it's range [no contact from GM or the local dealer for over 2 years on satisfying the recall] March - 2023 - Contacted the local GM dealer and was told not to contact them again until I get a second letter from GM stating they can repair the defect March 2023 - Contacted GM directly and was handed off to a California specific agent. The agent was clear - There is no repair for this recall at this time. I now have a car that is approaching 3 years old labeled as dangerous by GM and the NHTA yet there remains no timeline for repair or remediation. It is unacceptable to have a continuing known danger to the owner and public at large for years with no remediation and no remediation timeline.