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Chevy Bolt Battery Fires Turn Into Worldwide Recall, Over 68,000 Cars Affected

A handful of people once hailed the Chevrolet Bolt as a Tesla killer, comparing it with the Model 3 that currently tops the EV charts pretty much everywhere in the world. The subcompact hatchback, by comparison, isn’t selling well for one too many reasons.
Chevy Bolt battery 29 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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For starters, it’s too expensive at $36,620 for an electric vehicle that doesn’t come with DC fast charging as standard. The Bolt also happens to be tiny at 164 inches in length and 102 inches in wheelbase. Oh, and by the way, the light gray dashboard combined with the angle of the windshield creates significant glare on sunny days.

Adding insult to injury, General Motors is still hampered down by quality issues. Earlier this year, Chevrolet recalled 897 units of the Bolt in the United States of America overrear doors that may open while driving.” After no fewer than five (!!!) reports of vehicle fires, the golden bowtie has to recall the electric hatchback again.

This time around, the recall is global. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the safety campaign affects 68,667 units worldwide of which 50,925 were sold on home turf. 2016 to 2019 models are affected, namely those with LG Chem cells produced from May 2016 to May 2019.

The first three photos in the gallery are complaints filed with the NHTSA over battery fires, and Chevrolet is aware of “smoke inhalation injuries” from one of these incidents. General Motors says that “the root cause of the fire is unknown” for the time being, but a solution to this problem is expected in the first quarter of 2021.

Until then, owners will be treated to an over-the-air or dealer-installed software update on November 17th. As a side note, owners are also advised to set the battery’s maximum charge to 90 percent to prevent overheating.

On that note, the 2020 Bolt isn’t affected by this problem because… wait for it… the battery chemistry is different. General Motors and LG Chem refused to disclose the recipe, but they did confirm that it’s the usual blend of nickel, cobalt, and manganese.
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 Download: Chevrolet Bolt battery fire investigation report (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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