Photo: GM Authority
It’s not even available throughout the country, yet the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt has hit another stumbling block. This time around, it so happens that the Bolt suffers from severe windshield glare.
The following three photos, coming courtesy of GM Authority, showcase the extent of the problem. Bolt vehicles specced with the Light Ash Gray interior are hampered down by near-blinding dashboard reflections. Make no mistake about it, but the sun glare is severe, if not actually dangerous.
According to the cited publication, the owner of the Bolt took to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address this issue. Others haven’t filed complaints with the NHTSA, but rectified the glare with polarized sun glasses or dark-colored dash cloths. The truth of the matter is, this disorder is a case of poor design from General Motors’ part.
One way to get around windshield glare is to upgrade to the Chevrolet Bolt in Premier flavor, which can be optioned with a black interior. Owners of the lesser Bolt trim level who wish to have the dealer retrofit the EV with the black dashboard are charged as many as $2,500 for the operation, and that sort of money for the automaker’s fault is uncanny.
Here’s one Bolt owner telling it as it is to the NHTSA: “It is very difficult to see pedestrians, other cars, and signs (…) I believe this is a safety hazard and the light color dash should be replaced at [the] company’s expense.” In the view of another owner, “the combination of low windshield angle and a light-colored dash reduces visibility through the windshield.” At the time of writing, neither the safety watchdog or GM have answered these owners’ complaints.
While the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt is a genuinely good car, there’s no giving away the fact that it’s not perfect. DC fast charging, for example, is a mind-boggling $750 even for the range-topping Premier. Adaptive cruise control isn’t available regardless of how much one’s prepared to pay for it, then there’s the matter of battery. As highlighted in an older story, there’s a line in the owner’s manual that goes like this: “the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”
According to the cited publication, the owner of the Bolt took to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address this issue. Others haven’t filed complaints with the NHTSA, but rectified the glare with polarized sun glasses or dark-colored dash cloths. The truth of the matter is, this disorder is a case of poor design from General Motors’ part.
One way to get around windshield glare is to upgrade to the Chevrolet Bolt in Premier flavor, which can be optioned with a black interior. Owners of the lesser Bolt trim level who wish to have the dealer retrofit the EV with the black dashboard are charged as many as $2,500 for the operation, and that sort of money for the automaker’s fault is uncanny.
Here’s one Bolt owner telling it as it is to the NHTSA: “It is very difficult to see pedestrians, other cars, and signs (…) I believe this is a safety hazard and the light color dash should be replaced at [the] company’s expense.” In the view of another owner, “the combination of low windshield angle and a light-colored dash reduces visibility through the windshield.” At the time of writing, neither the safety watchdog or GM have answered these owners’ complaints.
While the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt is a genuinely good car, there’s no giving away the fact that it’s not perfect. DC fast charging, for example, is a mind-boggling $750 even for the range-topping Premier. Adaptive cruise control isn’t available regardless of how much one’s prepared to pay for it, then there’s the matter of battery. As highlighted in an older story, there’s a line in the owner’s manual that goes like this: “the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”
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