GM Recalls Previously Recalled 2017 – 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Over Fire Risk

Owners were informed about said condition by first-class mail on January 30, 2023, with dealers instructed to install a metal foil near the pretensioner exhaust. General Motors became aware of this issue via a report submitted through the Speak Up For Safety program on September 15, 2022. The report in question detailed an incident from the South Korean market in which a 2018 model year Chevrolet Bolt EV caught fire in the right-side lower B-pillar area.

The aforementioned recall population comprised vehicles produced in the period between July 26, 2016 and October 25, 2022. Of those, an estimated 6,614 have been recalled once again. Why, though? According to the document attached below, an employee informed General Motors that Bolt EV vehicles repaired by Simpson Chevrolet of Irvine were in fact not repaired. Also submitted through the Speak Up For Safety program, the employee's report led to General Motors reviewing service records.

The Detroit-based automaker determined that at least 66 vehicles included in the report were marked as repaired in the system but did not receive the all-important foil. Worse still for Simpson Chevrolet, the automaker identified additional cars that didn't receive the remedy. It's not clear, however, if a technician, a service manager, or the dealership's owner decided to sweep this secret under the rug.

The California-based retailer averaged 4.4 out of 5 stars from 2,518 reviews on Google. They're rated 4.2 from 112 reviews on Facebook. In other words, most customers are pleased with the staff there. Turning our attention back to the recall, GM singles out vehicles with repairs closed by Simpson Chevrolet through December 4, 2023. The electric hatchbacks in question feature similar production dates to those of the original safety recall from December 2022.

Owner notification will kick off January 29, and in the meantime, owners who had the remedy performed by Simpon Chevrolet are urged to check their VINs with General Motors or the NHTSA to determine whether their vehicles need to be inspected or not. GM addressed the initial recall's condition in production in October 2022 in the form of metal foil between the carpet and the pretensioner exhaust.

General Motors stopped Bolt EV and Bolt EUV production earlier this month, with General Motors planning to cut 945 jobs from the Lake Orion assembly plant. The Bolt won't be dead for long, though, because Mary Barra has confirmed second gen with Ultium hardware and Ultifi software.

Rather than a ground-up makeover, the 2025 model is expected to be closely related to the Bolt EUV. The hatchback isn't coming back, and that shouldn't come as a surprise because the Bolt EUV is much better in many respects than the Bolt EV. The only area where the crossover-bodied sibling isn't as good is driving range, with Chevrolet advertising an EPA-rated driving range of 247 miles (circa 398 kilometers) versus 259 miles (417 kilometers) for the more affordable hatchback.

According to chief executive officer Mary Barra, the crossover-bodied 2025 Chevrolet Bolt is also switching battery chemistry to lithium iron phosphate. What's more, General Motors has also confirmed that EVs will come with the NACS connector design in 2025, meaning that the second-generation Bolt will also be able to access more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America.