News about Bolt Battery Fires

[ChevyCustomerCare]

I have rarely disabled "hilltop reserve" in the past, hoping that this feature also extends battery life. After receiving word of the fire risk and recall, I of course leave this 90% limit enabled.

While waiting for a better fix than limiting charge to 90%, why bother getting Chevy's "temporary" preventive software change? Why not just leave "hilltop reserve"enabled until any actual fix becomes available?

Hi sibelman,

Based on our investigation to date and available data from verified incidents, our analysis indicates that reducing the state of charge to 90% will provide a safety margin and mitigate the risks of further incidents. Even if customers are setting their vehicle to Hilltop Reserve and limiting their charge to 90%, we recommend that customers visit a dealership to have the interim software update completed to ensure the max charge stays at 90% until the final remedy is available in 2021. Should you need any help connecting with a dealership near you, simply send us an e-mail at socialmedia@gm.com with the subject line "sibelman | Chevrolet | MyChevyBolt."

Dani C.

[charge]

Based on our investigation to date and available data from verified incidents, our analysis indicates that reducing the state of charge to 90% will provide a safety margin and mitigate the risks of further incidents. Even if customers are setting their vehicle to Hilltop Reserve and limiting their charge to 90%, we recommend that customers visit a dealership to have the interim software update completed to ensure the max charge stays at 90% until the final remedy is available in 2021. Should you need any help connecting with a dealership near you, simply send us an e-mail at socialmedia@gm.com with the subject line "sibelman | Chevrolet | MyChevyBolt."
Dani C.

Dani C., Good communication, customers are grateful for something. Usually, in the past (pre-Barra for sure), a lot of hiding happened. This is better. Promisiing a breakthrough soon is a little nuts. These problems can be tricky.

Forcing customers to go into dealerships is not good. For 3 lines of code change. Really? You're going to make 40,000 Bolt owners drive down in the winter time, leave their cars with a dealership, have to miss work, take hours away from them, ... for 3 lines of code. Not smart. If only there was an easier way for these simple code changes!?!? .. Wait, OTA to the rescue! ...... :

Over-the-air (OTA) updates have been done at Tesla for over 8 years. Why not stay within at least 5 years of industry advances? Just 5 years, its all we ask, GM brainiacs. I sent OTA updates 72 million miles thru space to a probe 20 years ago, so trust me, with old-style CRC & checksums, "we have the technology" to error check it many times over.

It should be standard practice for EV owners of any new make & model (i.e., MachE & ID.4) to only charge to 90% unless you really need all the range, for the first couple of years to prove the battery doesn't get dendritic growths or cracks or bits of something shorting out the electrolyte, whatever happens inside there.

[PackardV8]

Many owners have gone in for the unnecessary update. For those of us who've been using Hilltop Reserve charging since new, if it ain't broke, we're not going to go to a lot of hassle to fix it.

jack vines

[trevmar]

From Inside EV's............

"Recently Recalled Hyundai Kona Electric Catches Fire In South Korea

Was the recall effective or not? Surprisingly, GM should also be concerned.

Hyundai apparently did the right thing when some Kona Electric units caught fire in South Korea, Canada, and Austria: it recognized the issue and recalled the cars. On January 23, a vehicle that had already received the repair – a software update – caught fire in Daegu. That made Korean authorities question if the recall was effective or not.

The main issue with Hyundai's safety campaign is that it does not replace the defective battery packs. Officially, the company is not doing that because it could see nothing wrong with these components, as it said about its investigation on the Canadian fire. Rumor has it the company is also avoiding that due to the massive costs involved.Bolt EV owners such as David Baker are not happy about the situation. Baker got in touch with InsideEVs to complain that GM has to offer a definitive repair so that the car stops depreciating.

“Right before the recall, I was looking to sell my car because I'm not really using it much and it's not economical for me to keep paying for it. Since this recall hit, my Bolt is basically worth next to nothing. It killed the used Bolt market here almost overnight.”
The COVID-19 pandemic killed the need Baker had for the car, but he can neither get rid of it nor installments associated with it every month.

“I can’t sell my car for a fair price. Dealerships are turning me away. Used car places are passing on it. Even those places that buy junk cars don't want it. I have a voicemail message from one of these places saying: ‘We will pass on the Bolt. Hope you get your money back from GM.’”

[theothertom]

Yeah, I saw that. I guess it depends on what the guy who wanted to sell means by a "fair" price. Used Bolt prices dropped because a lot of them were coming off lease, and GM was (and still is) offering HUGE discounts for new ones. But, plenty of people are selling their used Bolts, so it's definitely possible.
And don't forget this from the article: "while Hyundai is applying the software update apparently as a final fix, it is only a temporary solution in GM’s case."
I think GM is doing all they can to find a fix.

[charge]

On January 23, a vehicle that had already received the repair – a software update – caught fire in Daegu. That made Korean authorities question if the recall was effective or not.

Anybody know what the software update did? As in, was it simply a range-reduction to 90% charge like the Bolt gets, or do the Battery Management algorithms get changed to maybe slow down the amps near the 100% charge level as it is hooked up to a charger? Or more frequent charge voltage bank checks (& balancing) as it approaches 100% during a charging session? Stuff like that. .... I don't hear of Bolt getting anything but range reduction, so it's a different view of matters Hyundai-Kia has!

The main issue with Hyundai's safety campaign is that it does not replace the defective battery packs. Officially, the company is not doing that because it could see nothing wrong with these components, as it said about its investigation on the Canadian fire. Rumor has it the company is also avoiding that due to the massive costs involved.

I read Hyundai replaces the battery at the dealership under the recall if a technician can find weird, sick cells or banks inside. Sure the defects may not always manifest themselves. That rare-ish Kona battery that erupts in flames may be having some particles getting loose inside cells or cracks developing in some critical cell area, unkown, but that could happen at any time, suddenly.

As for how Hyundai is afraid of the cost of replacing massive numbers of batteries (actually impossible due to production rates constraints & the mystery of the cause itself), I've always said that GM & Hyundai should just cut their losses now by issuing $1,000 to $2,000 checks to customers NOW & avoid replacing batteries. Then apologize for the permanent 10% range loss and move on. That still might not stop the Class Action Lawsuits though, but the $$ math should be looked at. Customer goodwill is also a cost here, don't forget.

Bolt EV owners such as David Baker are not happy about the situation. Baker got in touch with InsideEVs to complain that GM has to offer a definitive repair so that the car stops depreciating.

Another reason GM needs to issue $1,000 or $2,000 checks to at least partially compensate these customers for the 10% range reduction.