About the Author
Sean Graham is a tech enthusiast, instructor, manager, and all-around nerd. When he is not jumping out of airplanes or under the ocean, he likes to write, drive, and struggles to contain his excitement about the electrification and autonomation of the future. Find me on Facebook as an admin in the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV Owner’s group, or on Twitter @TweeterTelek.
August 16
Hopefully writing the final chapter in the battery-related Bolt Fire saga, GM is set to start replacing all modules in some Chevy Bolt EV Batteries within weeks. Electrek had an exclusive sit-down with a spokesperson from GM to get some details on the upcoming program.
July 28
The Chevy Bolt EV has been recalled twice for the risk of battery fire after a dozen fires in a little more than a year. The first recall was in November, with a fix provided in May, which did not fully work. GM then recalled them again in July after another fire on July 1 and a second on July 2 and two on July 25th. On August 16th GM announced that they would start replacing all battery modules in affected Bolts, the same day that a 2020 caught fire as well. This recall has restricted vehicles to about 60% of the battery capacity, and vehicles should not be charged unattended or parked indoors. No fix is currently available. Based on information that is publicly available, here is a list of Chevy Bolt EV fires that we have found.
July 23
GM has announced a new recall N212343880 after a dozen reported fires in a little more than a year, and at least two fires this month that had their “final” software fix in place. Here’s what you need to know, and the major questions with some updated answers from GM.
July 20
Details are emerging from a dozen Chevy Bolt EV fires that have occurred in a little over the past year. Electrek sat down with the owner of one of the first to get his story. More than a year later, he is still making car payments on a car he doesn’t own. GM confirmed his case to be a battery fire.
July 14
There have been three recent Chevy Bolt EV fires, two within the past 2 weeks. One in May which had the temporary recall, another July 1st which had the final software update in Vermont, and another with the final update in New Jersey in the past week or so. GM has updated their recall page with an acknowledgement of the problem, and is telling owners to not charge overnight at all, and not to park inside.
July 8
Another Chevy Bolt fire occurred on the morning of July 1 in Vermont. Similar to the previous one from less than two months ago, this car spontaneously caught fire the morning after charging and while still plugged in. Unlike the previous one however, this one had the final software update that claimed to prevent fires. Join us for an exclusive and in-depth investigation into this, and the history of the Bolt fires.
May 7
The recent Chevy Bolt fire on May 1, 2021 occurred just days after the “final fix” for the fire issue was announced. We sat down with the owner to discuss what happened, tell the inside story, and try to find some answers…
May 3
There were 6 Chevy Bolt fires last year that led to a recall, and the ink is still wet on the “final fix” announcement. Today news comes of another Chevy Bolt fire that occurred in Ashburn, Virginia on May 1st. We always note that electric vehicle fires are many times rarer than internal combustion engine fires per car even if there is an issue like this.
April 29
As was expected by the end of this month, GM has finally announced its Chevy Bolt battery fix.
The fix is in response to the battery fire recall announced 167 days ago. This is almost two months since any other update. The NHTSA recall notification did mention April 20 as the date for the fix. However, Chevy maintained that it was always aiming for the end of April. Today’s the day.
February 24
After some fires, Hyundai will replace batteries in all Kona, Ioniq EVs, and Elec City buses. GM owners wonder if they’ll get the same thing, while most have faith in a software fix.
February 18
It’s been more than three months since Chevrolet announced that more than 68,000 Chevy Bolt EV were recalled due to fire risk in the battery. The temporary fix has been to apply a software update that limits the charge to “90%” (actually 95%). They did provide a brief update via Facebook last week. It appears that a more definitive Bolt recall update is finally here. Read down for the update.
February 17
According to media sources in Korea, Hyundai is about to enter into an agreement with their Domestic Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport to replace all of the batteries in its entire electric vehicle fleet.
February 14
After four long years, the Chevrolet Bolt EV has its mid-cycle refresh with lots of asked for features and gains a new, bigger sibling with Super Cruise – the Chevrolet Bolt EUV.
February 12
A South Korean news agency is citing anonymous industry sources in the the cause of the atypical battery fires in the Bolt and Kona LG EV batteries.
Update: An official from LG Energy Solution told us…
“The exact cause of the Kona fire has not determined yet. The investigation is still underway with related authorities. However, we can say for sure that the cause of the fire is not a separator problem.”
February 9
Ever since the November 13 Bolt EV Battery Recall announcement, eager Chevrolet Bolt owners have been waiting to hear about the progress of the recall. The temporary fix, which owners have been urged to go to the dealership to have applied for free, reduces the charge limit to 90%. (Well, 95% actually, more on that later.) GM and LG Engineers are diligently working to resolve the issue.
