RECALL

[cwerdna]

Announced on Fri 8/20/21, the recall has now expanded in include all '17 to '22 Bolts, including EUV.
https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/aug/0820-bolt.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/chevroletevgroup/posts/1467915033565400/ has basically the same thing.

https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/fire-recalls-timeline.39544/ and https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/chevy-expands-recall-to-include-through-2022-chevy-bolts-and-euv.40076/page-7#post-637633 may help.

The 2020 Bolt fire at https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/apparently-a-2020-bolt-has-suffered-a-battery-fire.40011/ (video gone, but I did see it before it was pulled) probably pushed this along... '20+ Bolts were all supposed to have US-made batteries, not from Ochang, South Korea.

 

[andyg53]

Today I was midstream trying to negotiate a price when my salesman told me at 4:15pm they received a "stop sale" order from GM, meaning they couldn't sell me a 2020 Bolt! I haven't tried another dealer yet.

We are glad to hear you're interested in the 2020 Bolt EV. Please know, General Motors has decided to voluntarily recall select 2017-2019 model-year Chevrolet Bolt EVs with high voltage batteries produced at LG Chem’s Ochang, Korea facility that may pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or very close to full, capacity. The 2020 Bolt EV uses a different cell design than the vehicles affected by this recall, which enabled us to increase range to 259 miles. With that said, there is a stop sale on all unsold 2017-2019 model year Chevrolet Bolt EVs that are part of this recall. Dealers will need to assure the recall repair is completed prior to selling these vehicles. We hope this helps clear up any confusion.

Andrea C.

Looking around for Bolt info and saw your post. I guess you know that time has shown that almost your entire answer is incorrect. Does GM have any preliminary estimate as to how long it will take to complete this recall and how will they prioritize the order among owners and unsold cars?

 

[marspilgrim]

It is to soon to know and as of now there is no timeline for any repair, if such a thing is even possible at this point. The stop sale is in effect for every Bolt and we now know that even a fresh battery pack that came off the assembly line just last week carries the same fire risk as all the others. GM/LG has no way to tell if any particular cell has both defects so every Bolt has the same random chance to catch fire.

With no way to provide a safe replacement cell/module/pack I am predicting GM and LG legal teams are working around the clock to figure out who pays how much of the cost to buy back all Bolts and discontinue the model, just like the Kona in the Korean market. Then GM will just have to wait until their Ultium powered models hit the showroom floor, and hope buyers have forgotten the Bolt fires by then.

 

[sibelman]

I seem to recall talk about a different battery chemistry (presumably not known to be susceptible to the flaws in the current batteries). But AFAIK, all Lithium ion batteries have to be built correctly to avoid fire risk. Adequate quality control seems to be key.