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Chevrolet Bolt EV Recalled Over Fracturing Brakes

The Chevrolet Bolt EV was once hailed as the biggest nemesis of the Tesla Model 3, but as you’re well aware, the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit failed to woo customers away from the Palo Alto-based automaker. Adding insult to injury, a handful of examples of the subcompact hatchback have been recalled over a production defect attributed to a supplier.
Chevrolet Bolt EV 26 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Mando Corporation of Opelika, Alabama, informed General Motors in October 2020 of brake calipers that may fracture during high-pressure operation. The preliminary investigation can be summarized as “improper treatment of the caliper iron prior to casting the component.”

Happily, however, the issue is confined to a single production lot that was fitted to 464 examples of the Bolt EV. General Motors isn’t aware of any incident related to the condition, but nevertheless, the Detroit-based automaker had to call back these vehicles over safety concerns. Containment efforts were also made, and affected owners will be treated to new calipers free of charge because their vehicles are still under warranty.

The recall is scheduled to begin on February 5th, when affected owners will be notified of the issue through first-class mail. The vehicles involved were built between October 5th and October 21st, but if you’re not sure when yours was produced, you can always run the VIN on the NHTSA look-up tool.

Penned by Stuart Noris and revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2016, the Bolt EV for the 2021 model year will set you back $36,500 before destination charge, options, and potential savings. Even though the sticker price is relatively high in comparison to that of a pickup truck or SUV, the Golden Bowtie doesn’t offer fast charging as standard. What’s worse, the entry-level Model 3 has four more miles of range than the electric hatch.

For the 2022 redesign of the Bolt EV, don’t expect Chevrolet to improve too much in this area, either. The reason the mid-cycle refresh won’t get a larger battery is the all-new BEV3 vehicle architecture that underpins the GMC Hummer EV and big boys such as the Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq.
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 Download: Chevrolet Bolt EV brake recall (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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