There are 5 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 35–40 MPH and crashed into a deer, the air bags deployed but failed to inflate. There were no warning lights illuminated. The emergency lights failed to turn off. The driver was able to drive from the crash. There were no reported injuries or fire. A police report was filed. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The VIN was not available.
When driving sometimes the AIRBAG indicator light on the dash will turn on. Turning the car off and on will clear the light and it may not return for multiple drives. It's hard to replicate, but seems to happen while driving for a while. The car does not offer any other indication about the airbag's safety so I don't know if it is a faulty airbag system or a faulty indicator.
My driver's side seatbelt buckle will not latch onto the tongue. Sometimes I can get the buckle to latch onto the tongue by aggressively and repeatedly jamming the tongue into the buckle. Most of the time the tongue will not latch into the buckle. In the event of an accident, I'm concerned that the buckle will not hold due to this intermittent latching issue.
CENTER SEAT BELT OF BACK SEAT IS FULLY EXTENDED AND WILL NOT RETRACT. THIS PREVENTS THE SEAT BELT TO BE HELD SNUGLY AGAINST THE BODY OR CAR SEAT.
I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 65MPH ON THE LEFT MOST LANE ON CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY 101-S BEFORE THE 405. THE CAR SKIDDED AND I COLLIDED INTO THE CENTER DIVIDER. MY CAR THEN RICOCHETED ACROSS 5 LANES OF THE HIGHWAY AND HIT THE GUARD RAIL ON THE RIGHT SIDE. THEN, MY CAR EVENTUALLY SLOWED TO A STOP AND THE CAR SMELLED LIKE SMOKE. ALL AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. MY NECK AND SHOULDERS WERE VERY SORE AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE POLICE CAME AND TOOK A COLLISION REPORT: #9580. THE TOWING COMPANY (EZ TOWING) TOWED THE CAR TO 14710 CALVERT ST., VAN NUYS, CA 91411. ONE OF THE REASONS WE PURCHASED THE CHEVY BOLT WAS BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY FEATURES. MY FAMILY AND I ARE VERY FRUSTRATED AND HIGHLY CONCERNED THAT NOT ONE SINGLE AIR BAG DEPLOYED IN SUCH A HIGH IMPACT COLLISIONS IN WHICH BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WERE INVOLVED.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026