In October, information broke that the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Protection Management had opened an investigation of the Chevrolet Bolt EV because of possible battery fires whilst charging. On Friday, Chevrolet introduced a recall affecting all fashion 12 months 2017 and 2018 Bolt EVs, in addition to sure MY2019 Bolt EVs.
The issue comes to battery packs containing cells made at LG Chem’s manufacturing facility in Ochang, Korea. Chevrolet says that, running with NHTSA, it showed a complete of 5 Bolt EV fires brought about via this factor, which came about when charging the vehicles’ battery packs to complete capability.
Affected homeowners will have to touch their native Chevrolet broker to time table the tool repair, which is to be had later this week. (You’ll be able to test NHTSA’s database to peer in case your automobile identity quantity is integrated.) The replace will save you the battery from charging past 90 %, and Chevrolet says it’s going to have an everlasting repair that restores the battery’s talent to make use of 100 % of its state of price once imaginable after January 1, 2021.
Within the intervening time, Chevrolet is calling homeowners of affected vehicles to switch their charging settings to stop any probability of fires ahead of they get patched.
For homeowners of MY2017 and MY2018 Bolt EVs, that implies enabling Hilltop Reserve mode, which instructs the battery to go away 10-percent overhead when charging. For homeowners of affected MY2019 Bolt EVs, that have reasonably other settings, Chevrolet says to allow Goal Rate mode, which will have to be set to 90 %. (There are video directions to be had at Chevrolet’s Bolt EV recall web page.) The corporate says that if you do not really feel assured converting that atmosphere your self, you will have to no longer park your Bolt EV in a storage or beneath a carport till after the automobile has been patched.
