2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV Powertrain & Transmission Problems

While waiting to turn left at a light and driving in "L" (one pedal) mode, I started to release the break in anticipation of oncoming lanes clearing, as I lifted the pedal the car lurched into the intersection. The Bolt normally accelerates very gently in L mode when no break is applied, but does not lurch forwards like this under normal conditions. The breaks did work, and I was able to stop, but I was now in the middle of the intersection and slightly encroaching into oncoming lanes. I tried to accelerate to pull through, but the car did not respond. After several second of frantically pushing the accelerator, the car slowly and jerkily moved forward and cleared the intersection. My Chevy dealer says this is a known problem with service bulletin "Chevrolet TSB 19-NA-220". In my opinion this is incredibly dangerous and should have been recalled. However, there is no recall that I can find and outrageously Chevy will not cover this manufacturing defect under warranty as they specifically exclude wiring harnesses due to past issues with rodent damage, and they are hiding behind that rule.

While traveling at highway speeds, my Chevrolet Bolt (2020 with 20K miles) made a clunking noise followed by a loss of speed. The clunking noise had previously been reported to the dealer, but they were not able to identify any issues at the time. During this incident, however, the car ultimately lost all speed, forcing me to pull over to the side of the highway. This sudden loss of propulsion posed a significant risk to my safety and the safety of other motorists, not only due to the loss of power, but because it happened at an interchange where multiple highways are connecting. I was left on the side of the road waiting for a tow because the car was inoperable. Prior to this sudden failure, there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms, aside from the previously reported clunking noise. After this incident, the dealer diagnosed the issue as the one listed in the technical service bulletin, which states that "the terminals may not have been perfectly aligned during installation at the vehicle assembly plant." Unfortunately, this issue was not covered under the warranty and currently this problem is not a recall item for the Chevrolet Bolt.

The engine compartment wiring harness Part Number: 42765196 wiring shorted out due to the chaffing of wires in the harness. The dealer is replacing the harness but there is no known changes that will prevent this in the future. $3,000 repair bill. I have asked for the defective harness to be returned to me for examination. This is a major safety concern as in my case, the Chevrolet Bolt would not move either in forward or reverse (Note: the other electrical systems and battery continue to work. This failure happen in rush hour traffic and the vehicle was nearly hit by passing cars. There was no warning that the propulsion would entirely shut down. The dealer reported that they had seen this problem before. No one from the manufacturer are interested in this. A check engine light had come on the night before and I had set up an appointment with the dealer for the next day and add reported the vehicles' issues that I had observed. There is no warning to indicate that the problem would result in the complete loss of propulsion.  

While approaching a stop light, the car experienced a loss of propulsion and gave me an error message about it. The car told me to pull over as soon as possible, however, in busy morning traffic, this was impossible. Even if I'd had space to pull over, the car came to a stop and locked up with the error message "Conditions Not Right For Shift." It had to be rebooted several times before it could be shifted into neutral long enough to be pushed to safety. From there, it then had to undergo a hard reboot to return to a state where it could be shifted into Drive. A dealership service center confirmed the problem under as described under service bulletin 19-NA-220. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms of the problem. The car is available for inspection upon request.

Chevrolet issued a recall to replace a defective battery on our Chevrolet Bolt 2020. The recall was issued in April 2021 and we still have not received the new battery. The car is coming up on the end of its lease. We would like to buy out the lease but are not getting any comfort from Chevrolet or the dealership that the issue will ever be fixed. The dealer initially told us that a software patch reducing battery capacity and range by 20% "fixed" the problem.

When I was parking my car on the street, in front of my house, my Chevy Bolt suddenly accelerated. Like it was full throttle. I slammed the brake pedal, didn't help. My Bolt pushed forward, then to the sidewalk, my parked 4000lbs van, that was in front of me (van had front wheels turned/pointing to the curb). My bolt continued accelerating for another few seconds, even that I was pressing brake pedal as hard as I could. I released and pressed brake pedal at least once or twice. Eventually my car stopped. Whole ordeal lasted just a few seconds. I turned the car off. After a minute, I turned the car on again, very carefully. It behaved normally. Throttle and brakes behaved like always. I parked it and will have it towed to the diagnostic or service place. Both my Chevy Bolt and my van (Dodge ram 1500 van 2003) sustained significant damage.

Our letter to GM: November 23, 2022 [XXX] Chairperson and CEO General Motors Corporation 100 Renaissance Center, P.O. Box 431301 Illinois, Detroit 48232-5170 Re: Bolt EV Battery Recall #N212345940 VIN: [XXX] Dear [XXX], We are extremely frustrated and disappointed in GM’s performance in replacing the defective and dangerous batteries in our 2020 Bolt EV. It has now been over 14 months since Chevrolet announced the battery recall N212345940 on our 2020 Bolt EV — NOTHING has happened since other than reducing the range and value of our car.. We first leased a 2017 Bolt EV and opted to lease another at the end of the term SOLELY because of the ADDITIONAL range. It is over a 210 mile roundtrip to visit a relative and the 2017 model was barely making it. With a stated 259 mile range, the 2020 model was a good fit UNTIL the battery recall was announced the the safety software update severely limited the battery charging and mileage range. We no longer take the Bolt EV. We believe because of GM’s slow response, we demand $100 compensation for each and every month the car cannot meet its full charge capability, reducing its utility to us. Moreover, we also demand to know exactly WHEN GM will be replacing our Bolt EV batteries. The silence has been deafening. We are considering joining the class action lawsuits against GM regarding this matter. Your response to our demands will make a material difference in our decision to join the class AND whether or not we decide extend our lease, buy the 2020 Bolt EV outright at lease end, or simply return a grossly defective car to GM at lease end, October 2023. Sincerely, Copy to: [XXX] General Sales Manager, [XXX] Chevrolet 583 Soscol Avenue, Napa, CA 94559-3405 INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

National recall for potential battery fire that GM has known about for a while in their older Chevy Bolt electric cars and now the problem has spread to their newer models. GM has placed restrictions on these cars for charging the battery and driving the car that it makes the vehicle unsafe to drive or even park near other vehicles or structures do to the potential of fire that could result in severe property damage, severe injury or even death.

I am filing a complaint against GM. The following info is from the NHSTA website. Original recall date: Aug 20,2021. Manufacturer Recall Number N212345940. NHTSA Recall Number 21V650. Recall Status: Recall Incomplete, remedy not yet available. I have waited over a year for my replacement battery. GM has seen an almost 15,000 vehicle surge in Bolt EV and EUV sales in the most recent financial quarter. And GM has announced increasing new Bolt production by almost 400%. However, thousands of existing Bolt EV owners are still waiting for replacement batteries. GM continues to state that parts are not available. Clearly, with the surge in sales and GM’s plan to increase Bolt production, parts are available. Existing Bolt owners have suffered for years with defective batteries that none of us known if or when a battery will catch on fire and kill us or damage property. I urge the NHSTA to put pressure on GM to replace defective batteries first before selling cars with nondefective batteries. I would not be complaining if GM was not clearly prioritizing profits over people. GM is making nondefective batteries but makes existing Bolt owners wait over a year for a replacement while GM takes in revenue and generates profit. The defective batteries catch on FIRE. None of the batteries existing Bolt owners should have to wait this long for replacement batteries and suffer with anxiety and stress not knowing when or if their car battery will spontaneously ignite.

GM has stated in their NHTSA recall notice that my vehicle has the potential to burn down my home and has not provided any sort of fix or even a timeline to fix the problem. The recall states not to charge the vehicle in a garage. My home charger is located in the back of my garage and I do not have the ability to charge the vehicle outdoors without spending thousands to redo my home charging system. My garage is under my two story house, meaning a vehicle fire has the potential to destroy my entire home and kill everyone inside. Again, GM has made no offer to provide replacement vehicles or financial compensation for the home infrastructure changes that must be made to keep safely using the vehicle until a formal fix is announced, and any such repair would require being without the vehicle for weeks at a minimum. In summary, in order to abide by the stated interim recall instructions, my vehicle would be rendered useless as I would have no means of charging the vehicle. It is my hope that the NHTSA holds GM to account for their failures regarding this recall.