2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Fuel System Problems

In 2022 under a recall the Propulsion battery was replaced that was a complete battery assembly. At 60K miles the High Voltage battery relay has become defective. Confirmed by a GM diagnostic test. Defective High Voltage relay. Was informed to get it replaced soon as it would cause a fire. Very dangerous in their words. Get repaired as soon as possible. The battery assembly is warranty of 8-years 100k miles. Looks to be a so called gray area on the high voltage relay as it’s considered a wear item. 60k of normal use and now it’s a fire hazard and it’s my responsibility to replace the relay under normal wear and tear. Im I the only one who is experiencing a high voltage relay in the battery assembly that is deemed a fire hazard? We are in our 70’s and we take great care of the car, no abuse and sits in a garage. Normal wear? Or a potential fire waiting to happen? I’m confused. Thanks for your time.

While driving the car it suddenly, and without warning, abruptly slowed to a stop and the display showed "propulsion power is reduced", then the "service soon" symbol came on. This could have happened in fast moving traffic, which definitely could cause multi-car collisions. The GM service bulletin (Document ID: 5409616, revised February 13, 2023- see attached copy) states that this is likely due to "a spread terminal on the vehicle harness connection X2 on the T12 transmission assembly. The terminals may not have been perfectly aligned during installation at the vehicle assembly plant." This is a known, dangerous, malfunction, and GM has not issued a recall for it. The "correction" is to replace the "engine wiring harness" which goes to the EV motor. GM is also not covering this repair under any extended warranty, although it's a safety issue and really should generate a recall. Please see attachment.

After about 5 years and a warranty replacement battery, I intermittently find the “Propulsion Reduced-Service Soon” light on. It can appear any time after which only a third of the 60kWh battery is on-line, and in any event the battery will not charge over one third. Highway driving on a crowded Interstate 5 becomes very hairs as both acceleration and regeneration braking are markedly reduced. It is now at the service department of Bill Pierre Chevrolet in Seattle. Those guys are great, and are doing everything they can, looking to GM for a promised reprogram that has not been forthcoming for some two weeks and counting. This might seem like a minor consumer gripe, but it turns out that this is not a new condition, and has persisted since shortly after the 2017 Bolt came out. See <https://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Bolt/2017/electrical/propulsion_power_reduced-service_immediately.shtml>. The Bolt is a great car, but this has shaken my sense of safety in long distance 80+ miles of highway travel. I no longer consider this to be a safe car.

After the second recall replacement of the lithium-ion battery, the car became undriveable because it could not be charged. A message appeared before stating "Propulsion Power is Reduced". This is after the 2nd new battery was installed. The car has been taken to the dealership. The dealership stated that it is a software problem which GM is looking into.

I stopped for a DC fast charge at an Electrify America station to ensure that my vehicle's battery level would stay over "70 miles of charge" to reduce fire risk (per GM recommendation). The vehicle has been programmed to remain at or below a 90% charge limit. After charging for 25 minutes, I unplugged the CCS1 connector from the Bolt by pressing the connector release button and pulling gently. To my surprise, the connector unlatched and disconnected immediately while charging at roughly 35,000 watts (>80 amps, 400 volts) and both the connector and my car's charging port began emitting a strong sulfur odor. The connector is supposed to have a high-voltage safety interlock that prevents either side from being moved while current is flowing. I have seen this interlock technology on many different chargers (CCS, CHAdeMO, Tesla) and have never seen it fail. After the incident, I inspected and photographed the charging port and charging station connector and found both sides seriously burned, melted and damaged. The connectors suffered oxidation, discoloration, and other metallic contamination/damage. The vehicle's inlet port contacts are blue/orange/black, not silver, and sections of metal appear to be melted away. The charger side connector contacts are discolored and have similar erosive/melting damage. The damage appears to be identical to arc flash plasma erosion. Prior to this incident, I regularly inspected the DC fast charge port and found it to be in good condition with a functioning seal, orange cover flap, clean silver pins and no damage. Before plugging in, I had inspected the charge station connector and could not see anything wrong with it. The charge connector serial number was entirely worn off. At this point, I do not feel comfortable fast charging my Bolt EV out of concern that the inlet port may overheat and catch fire. The inlet port needs to be replaced and the charging station connector needs to be replaced (and the interlock issue resolved).

The check engine light came on in my vehicle and limited the speed at which I could drive resulting in the car dealership is refusing to honor the warranty on my vehicle. The manual and all information from General Motors explicitly states the components which are covered under warranty. There is a NHTSA service bulletin regarding this exact problem (NHTSA 18-NA-064) along with the labor code for doing repairs under warranty. The warranty is for the first 100,000 miles or 8 years (2025), my vehicle currently has 49906 miles. The reason I was given is that software is not usually covered under warranty but there is no documentation stating that is the case. I was told that this vehicle may have this problem just due to operating it and there is no recourse for me other than to pay to have it fixed. If this is true the vehicle is unsafe to be driven in traffic.

I have received 3 recalls on the vin number referenced above. I have been to the dealer 2 times to and thought the problem was fixed. I get another recall and find the dealer unable to fix due to unavailability of parts. I am unable to schedule a recall fix as (all dealers contacted) say I can't schedule until they have parts. I am in a continuing cycle of incompetence. It appears there is no way for me to address this latest August 21 recall from General Motors. The latest recall is to replace the battery nodules in my 2012 Chevrolet Bolt. In my 2 previous cases for a interim software fix. It continues to show as an incomplete status

Propulsion battery catches on fire while parked.

I'm concerned about the recent battery related fires post-recall for 2017-19 models. I'm not pleased with GMs response.

Appreciate that GM is replacing the battery modules. But we waited MONTHS for the first fix, which did not work, and now must wait another 6 months-1 year for replacement battery modules. Meanwhile, the car does not function as advertised -- we cannot charge overnight (as we usually did; we have 3 EVs, so charging time requires some coordination), we cannot deplete the battery (preventing long trips), and the range is limited. GM refused our repurchase request. Car is essentially worthless on the secondary market until the fix, so we cannot sell and replace. This is very frustrating.

The batteries are known to catch fire about 90% state of charge and below 30% state of charge.

The vehicle battery has an open recall due to risk of the battery spontaneously combusting based on several recent fires with this vehicle model. I own two of these vehicles as our only car and GM has not given any remedy and have been very difficult to work with. I am simply asking for a timeline for a fix and they have now become unresponsive to my open case. They refuse to buy back or fix my vehicle and because there is a second open recall for the same problem, they now have no timeline and are in no urgent rush to resolve the issue. I am forced to use these vehicles with this major safety risk constantly hanging over my head and no fix in site.

My 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has a well known recall with a defective battery. This vehicle is my only vehicle and I have opened a case with general motors to get a resolution for this recall. They created a case for my vehicle and said they will call back with a resolution after a week. Several weeks later, I have yet to receive a response and my case manager has been unresponsive to my phone calls and voicemails. I have called GM almost daily asking for an update from anyone who can review my case and give any sort of update. They continue to tell me they will call back with an answer but I have yet to receive a call back. After several weeks of no response, I am left with an unsafe vehicle and no resolution. I would appreciate any sort of update with even a little bit of information and possibly a rough time estimate. GM seems to be handling these cases poorly and has not been transparent with vehicle owners.

Bolt EV range is advertised as 248 miles. Due to GM’s current limitations due to risk of battery fire, the vehicle has a 30% less range. Not only is this inconvenient, but there is no time estimate given for the current fix. Till then the vehicle remains a dangerous fire hazard which could burn the vehicle, occupant and surrounding buildings. GM has not given out any sort of over the air update in order to ensure that the battery charging guidelines given by them are followed. GM has also established a history now of refusing buybacks to those with affected vehicles. They are responsible for removing these vehicles off the road and providing loaner ones till the fix can be applied. They were not prompt in a final fix to the multiple vehicle fires that have occurred. In addition to being a fire hazard, it also posed an environmental risk as the lithium battery could put off very toxic gases should it catch fire. My vehicle has received both previous recalls, yet is still posing a serious danger. The battery fire hazard has no warning, except for when it is happening.

Battery pack is a known fire risk, yet GM continues to delay replacing all packs. After a 5 month effort communicating with GM, I was offered a buy-back for my vehicle which was thousands below market value and not nearly enough to replace my vehicle with a similar electric vehicle. Now we are instructed to limit usage, range, and charging of our vehicles for a second time. It is unknown how long it will take GM to remedy this situation. In the mean-time, the vehicles pose a significant risk to life and structures.

GM has identified multiple flaws in their batteries on this electric vehicle that have led to a dozen fires, but the company has yet to find a final solution despite three recalls. The first recall was a temporary safety recall, but the second recall was supposed to fix the issue. They have, however, only installed software the is supposed to catch these fires before they begin and notify the owner. In fact, this second recall (the "final" recall) failed to stop two additional fires since installing the software update. Today, GM announced a recall to scan the batteries and, if they find a defect, replacing individual modules inside it. The previous recall (which failed to solve the problem) also depended on software to find the problem, and it was not effective. Even if the problem is fixed with this software scan, it is going to take months for the problem to be fixed. Their temporary solution is to leave the car outside, only charge during the day, and charge within a narrow range (which almost halves the range of the vehicle).

After issuing a second recall for my traction battery in my 2017 Chevy Bolt, I am no longer assured that GM is able to provide a reliable fix for the Battery Pack fire issue. I request that you order them to replace all affected battery packs before manufacturing any new EVs using this battery pack system.

I own a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt which is part of the recall announced today by GM. This is the second recall in less than a year for the same battery-related issue. It was supposed to have been fixed with a software update that I had completed in June. This software was supposed to identify defective batteries but it has not been successful as evidenced by the mounting number of fires that have happened after the “fix

Manufacturer (GM) 2 days ago recommended to not charge the car unattended and at night. This makes it impossible to use vehicle. This is an electric car, the whole point of it is to charge it at night.

I am writing this complaint as a general complaint about Chevy's handling of the numerous fires associated with the 2017-2019 Bolt. I own the vehicle listed in this report and fortunately it has not caught on fire. Chevy is using software to try and identify hardware problems and it clearly does not work. There have now been several additional battery fires after their "final fix" was applied. They are telling owners not to put their vehicles inside a garage and only charge them outside. This is completely unacceptable and there should be a full recall for all affected vehicles. Either replace the entire battery or repurchase the car. These batteries are a significant health and safety risk and need to be removed.