All Chevrolet Bolt get new batteries

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All Bolt models sold must be returned to the workshop. Because several of the electric cars caught fire while charging, General Motors (GM) now wants to replace all of the batteries.

All model lines of the Chevrolet Bolt are subject to a recall. After ten bolts caught fire while charging and apparently other forms of troubleshooting did not lead to sustainable prospects, General Motors has now decided, out of a “maximum of caution”, to actually replace the hardware.

This also applies to the units sold internationally and all Stromers delivered since 2017 up to the current model series. This means that a total of 142,000 Bolts and around 1,500 Opel Ampera-e, which are largely identical to the Bolt, will receive completely new batteries.

The issue of burning batteries has been smoldering since November 2020. At that time, General Motors only ordered the series from 2017 to 2019 – 69,000 cars – in the workshops. There they had received a software update that limited the battery content to a charge of 90 percent. In addition, it was recommended to the Bolt users not to drive the vehicles below the capacity threshold of 25 percent.

At this point, the cause of the problem was unknown. General Motors was only able to identify the problem with supplier LG Chem in South Korea this year. Defects in individual battery cells are said to have been found, which in extreme cases could lead to self-ignition of the batteries. The flat connector on the anode and the separator layer of the affected cells are said to be defective.

First, General Motors installed another software update in May and announced another recall for the summer, during which the cars should be examined to see whether they contain faulty cells. The decision that has now been made to replace all batteries at all Bolt was made by General Motors under the impression that the faulty cells had not only been delivered from the plant in South Korea, but also from the LG Chem plant in the USA.

This makes it really expensive for the manufacturer again. GM had already put the cost of the first recall at $ 800 million. For the upcoming action, GM expects further costs of around one billion dollars. Customers should receive a guarantee of eight years or 160,000 kilometers on the replaced batteries.

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