2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Complaint Log

I have a 2023 bolt ev. Right where the odometer it started to go black. I touched it and made it worse. Right now it is not getting bigger but I am worried it will get worse. There is about 75,000 miles, I can't tell miles without the odometer. What would cause this? How do I fix this? Would I be able to resale it like that? How much would it be to get it fixed? I need the car to last intil I can buy a Slate Automotive pickup. Please see attached picture. Thank you! Is there another way to read the miles? Thank you!

The steering sticks when making turns and does not return to center. This causes the steering to drift on the highway and reduces the ability to steer in a straight line. I have not reproduced or confirmed it with the dealer. No inspection and no warning lamps. This issue occurs for a large number of Chevrolet Bolt owners.

While driving at approximately 45 mph, the regenerative braking feature of the vehicle suddenly failed, and also generated a master caution light on the dashboard display. This is the second time this has happened while driving and resulted in a sudden, alarming change in vehicle dynamics. Regenerative braking is the normal operation regime of the vehicle, with the traditional mechanical-hydraulic brake pedal available for added braking, as demonstrated by the Chevrolet dealership during a test drive and confirmed with the vehicle manual. Furthermore, the vehicle will no longer shut itself off and could pose a fire risk when stored in a garage, parking deck, other vehicles, etc. These issues happened in November 2024. The car was returned to the dealer for warranty repair. Even after extensive repairs to the electrical system, the car has repeated the alarming failure mid-drive. This indicates that there is a serious problem with the electronic and poses a serious safety risk.

Steering, Rack and Pinion is failing after 44k miles, Steering gear is binding internally

Steering wheel does not return to center, requiring driver input to do so. Force needed to turn the steering wheel continued to increase throughout the past year, getting abnormally difficult and unlike any other vehicle. Had the steering rack replaced, which corrected the problem.

The Chevy Bolt steering wheel has a skip track and previous track button mounted to the left-rear side of the steering wheel. These buttons often become unresponsive for extended periods of time (up to 30 minutes) when a media device is connected. When pressed, they will display an error on the instrument panel screen that says “Action Unavailable While Indexing”. Although media controls are not explicitly safety related, the frustration caused by these unresponsive buttons can cause the driver to become distracted or look for unsafe methods of adjusting the media playback that the buttons are supposed to perform.

Clicking/Clunking under driver's feet

Steering wheel fails to return to center after turns — potential steering gear defect 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV steering wheel fails to return to center after completing turns, particularly at low speeds. Steering requires manual input to re-center the vehicle after every turn. No warning lights or audible alerts. The issue is not attributable to alignment, tires, or tire pressure, as I have had new OEM-spec tires installed and an alignment performed without any improvement to the steering. I brought the vehicle to the dealership to address this safety concern. They stated unable to replicate the issue and sent me away without performing repair. The dealership charged me for an alignment but provided only post-alignment figures — no before measurements, making it impossible to determine whether any corrective action was actually taken or whether the alignment was a contributing factor. This is a safety concern as it requires constant driver correction after every turn, increasing risk of overcorrection, unintended lane departure, and delayed response in emergency situations. Condition is hazardous in low-speed environments such as parking lots, intersections, on/off ramps, and residential streets where frequent turns are made and rapid corrections may be necessary. Issue is not isolated to my vehicle or model year. Owners of 2017-2019, 2022, and 2023 Chevy Bolt EVs have reported identical symptoms across multiple owner forums, with hundreds of documented complaints. Community research and independent mechanic diagnoses consistently identify the steering gear (rack and pinion) as the root cause, with internal binding cited as the failure. GM's own service manual includes a diagnostic path for "Poor Return of Steering Wheel," confirming GM is aware this condition exists. No recall or service bulletin issued addressing this widespread concern despite years of owner complaints spanning all Bolt EV model years. Request that NHTSA investigate and consider issuing a recall.

Headlights were brushed clear of snow prior to driving. While driving in snow conditions, the headlights became covered in snow and would not provide illumination to the road ahead. This put me at safety risk making road visibility extremely poor at night. While driving I couldn’t understand why the road was so difficult to see. Upon arriving home, I inspected the headlights to see the snow had completely covered the headlights.

Steering is failing at only 43,800 miles like many others. It is failing to return to center which makes it dangerous to drive, it doesn't come out of a turn. It is clicking and fails to return to center.

The seatbelt grinds away the frame around it.

THIS VEHICLE JUST STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC, NOT GIVING ME TIME TO PULL OVER. THE SCREEN JUST SAID, "SERVICE MODE", AND WOULD NOT GO INTO NEUTRAL TO ENABLE THE CAR TO BE PUSHED TO A SAFE SPOT. HIGHWAY PETROL HAD TO STOP TRAFFIC AND HAVE IT TOWED OFF. THIS WAS ENDANGERING EVERYONE INVOLVED. IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH OTHER CHEVY BOLTS, IT DEFINITELY NEEDS ADDRESSING.

When I make a left or right turn, the steering wheel does not return to the center on its own. I have to manually bring it back to center in order to straighten the wheels after a turn.

Rack and Pinion steering rack is failing. The steering wheel is not returning to center, causing the vehicle to meander into oncoming traffic when executing left turns. Recently this forced a vehicle in oncoming traffic to ditch onto the shoulder. Luckily there was no incident (to their vehicle or driver) after stopping to check with the other driver. Dealer has since confirmed the failure of the steering rack with a $3k cost to replace, and that this issue is "common" with 2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolts.

Car will unexpectedly accelerate when car is coming to a stop. almost causing a crash a few times. (cruse control is not on)

The car had weird noise (clunky) when I make the turn either left or right since beginning in Apri 2025. On April 17 in the morning, I drove to work while exit on freeway. When I try to turn into other street at speed of 20 mph, the car is not turning as normal as expected. It went beyond the other lane even I just turn in regularly with normal angle within my lane. (with huge clunky noise and lose control to make a turn) I was almost hit the other car on my left side as those are parallel with 2 lanes. I immediately rush to local GM dealer next day (April 18) and drop off the car for inspection. The dealer identified and confirmed there is an issue with the steering gear. (No fix due to extremely costly) I have to keep driving at risk.

Camera works on and off showing icon ,when reversing rear cross traffic alert also not working.

The steering system has developed a progressively worse clunking sound when turning the steering wheel left or right when stopped, or at slow speeds. Additionally, the steering wheel will no longer return to center when exiting a turn. (In other words, it requires effort from the driver to return the steering wheel to center)

When the steering wheel is turned, it does not return back to the center on its own. It requires me (driver) to turn the steering wheel back to center. If it is not done manually, the vehicle continues turning, possibly causing an accident. This is at lower speeds.

I just purchased this vehicle from Hertz authorized dealer in December 2024, January 2025 the Electrical system, infotainment became non functioning. This caused my vehicle to stall, on star safety charge, etc to fail and not function. No communication within the vehicle that is an electric vehicle that requires this system for all components to function and provide a safe car to drive. Power to vehicle, back up camera, on star for emergencies, charging, this affects all the ADAS components in this vehicle to function properly causing a safety hazard. Took this vehicle into the dealer they diagnosed this system is down and no communication with radio. Also Set false DTC was completed. It is scary that a radio component can cause an emergency service to fail and other components in the vehicle to fail all electrical components in this vehicle. I am writing a complaint to Hertz since they stated all was okay when the radio, on star never worked, an update for the main system was no corrected and they failed to make sure the EV batteries were properly connected.

The backup camera is the vehicle works intermittently. In fact, due to the defect of the camera, I hit a wall as it shut off and I hit a wall. Upon bringing to the dealer to have it replaced, the dealership admitted that it was a faulty. They replaced with another faulty camera that works worse than the previous replaced one. This is a dangerous situation that will hurt someone.

The brake/turn signal lights on all of the bolts, including mine, are barely visible during the day. It needs to be recalled. The lights are tiny.

There is a clicking, or a light clunk, sound that *I THINK* is coming from the front passenger side of the car. The sound only occurs when accelerating, most often from a stop but not always, and occasionally when breaking. It is not a repeated click. It happens once at the beginning of the acceleration or breaking process. The problem is easily reproducible. My dealer did a repair under warranty to the front driver side, but this did not eliminate the click. I am currently waiting for my dealer to get parts in to do the same repair to the right hand side of the car. It appears the parts on back order.

I was approaching an intersection at a light that had turned red. I slowed down to stop but accidentally bumped into the car in front, 2 mph (approximately), no damage, not even a scratch. I put the vehicle in reverse and gently tapped the accelerator but it instantly raced backwards at full as though the accelerator pedal had been depressed to the floor. I tried to brake but it would not stop and smashed into the vehicle behind. It was scary and traumatizing. Sudden acceleration in reverse. I hope there are diagnostics that will corroborate what happened because I am certain to the highest degree that this vehicle is defective.

The vehicle was driving and lost all power and came to a stop. After about 5 seconds vehicle regained power. The "check engine light" illuminated on the dash. took to dealer and stated could not replicate problem. Only have the report from vehicle computer and the EV technician did not understand the information and had to call GM for help. Got car back and problem happen again. Dealer had GM specialist out to help. GM reset computer and problem just happens again.

I own a 2023 Chevy Bolt EV. Around 9/27/24 at 5,144 miles, the vehicle began experiencing serious electrical and propulsion issues. It has been to the dealership six times, each requiring a tow due to total loss of function. Issues include blown fuses, charging failures, shifting problems, propulsion loss, and repeated warning messages. Repairs have involved fuse box replacements, a new wiring harness, and other electrical components. The car has spent over 100 hours inactive at the dealership. Problems have been confirmed by technicians, but persist despite repairs. Additional safety concerns include a defective impact sensor, airbag warning lights, and a burned-out headlamp. These compromise crash readiness and visibility. Due to ongoing issues, the vehicle has been parked and unused for months, as it is unsafe and unreliable to drive. The manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle. Based on repeated failures and unresolved safety risks, I believe this vehicle qualifies as a lemon and request further investigation.

Twice now within three months while I was backing up as I was parking the car parallel to the curb, the car suddenly accelerated at a much faster pace and projected the car backwards. Luckily no property or individuals were hurt. It would appear that the accelerator or speed control failed at the lower speeds required when backing up to parallel park. I saw no warning lights on the dash however may have been looking back as I was parking. The dealer did not find any code to indicate a system failure. They suggested that we removed the after-market mats.

After around 55,000 miles, the steering column began making noise during slow speed corning. When the vehicle is not in motion, the driver can replicate this issue by turning the steering wheel into the 45 degrees position. The repair out of warranty is subject to around $3,000 and this typically is always the case as only the bumper-to-bumper warranty will cover this repair and is limited to 36,000 miles and is not enough time for this issue to arise.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of my new 2023 Chevy Bolt EV while parked at a convenience station. The vehicle was on and not hooked up to a charger. I smelled something burning and quickly thereafter I saw smoke coming from under the driver side seat. The driver exited the vehicle and looked under the seat. The driver attempted to put out the fire with his hand and the carpeting under the seat. The fire got bigger. I ran to the closest extinguisher and pulled the pin to extinguish the fire. It was out for several seconds before re-igniting again. Another round of extinguisher foam was released and the fire was put out. I reported the damage to the dealership, the car manufacturer and my insurance company. I towed it to the dealership where it has been sitting since 6/1/24. Nothing further has been done since then. The dealership refuses to assess the vehicle and to date the manufacturer has not sent any inspectors to diagnose the reason of the fire. As A matter of fact my insurance company, the dealership and the manufacturer all advised me to get and pay for my own inspection from a 3rd party inspector which I am working on scheduling now.

Electric pole broken onto the street and hit the car, cause severe damage to the front-left-corner on the Chevy Bolt EV 2023. The airbags did not deploy. Safety of the driver and infant was diminished greatly.

See attached document for complaint

I had service on my vehicle and was told by Chevrolet Service Center that vehicle could not be released for safety reasons because my vehicle could not accept download installed in vehicle. After three weeks of certified Service Center and GM TACS engineers and techs communicating back and forth, I was told the originator of download offered the download does not work for Chevrolet Bolts EV. Questions remain: 1. What was in the download? Was it limited to 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV's or other years, models of Bolt EV's as well?? I have invoice to attach

Electronic drive unit fault, Auxilary transmission pump needs to be replaced. It’s a brand new vehicle and this is a very common problem.

Sudden rapid acceleration of car while parking vehicle on December 20, 2023 at approximately 2:00pm. The sudden rapid acceleration caused the vehicle to jump a curb and hit the base of the light pole damaging the right front of the car. Car was towed to the dealership and is currently there. If the car had not hit the base of the light pole, the car could have continued on into a driving lane possibly striking another car or pedestrian. To date , 12/31/23, the car has not been inspected to my knowledge. There was no warning lamps or messages. While reaching down to push the Park button, the engine, which is normally quiet, made a loud whirring noise and then lurched forward.

The contact rented a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH the driver depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle did not stop and crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that during the crash the vehicle was low on electrical charge and was being operated in the "One Pedal" mode and the the air bags did not deploy. The rear passenger seated on the passenger side sustained an injured neck which did not require medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was driven away from the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The rental company was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

I have a 3 month old Chevy Bolt EV. I like this car. I rarely have any accidents. I am a safe driver. I was hit hard from behind driving while stopped. I was driving on a crowded freeway in Austin TX in stop and go traffic. This was a hard hit that broke the rear bumper and bent the rear frame of the car. The Chevy Bolt rear brake lights are only low on the bumper and not in the expected tail light location. There is a pattern of this accident with this car. I am concerned that this is a usual event in a car with rear brake light issues. I think the lack of visibility of the rear brake light contributed to the accident. This is out of my control. This should be fixed for safety before more accidents happen.

On 11-17-23 someone rear ended me making me lose control of the vehicle and getting off the road into the woods and eventually hitting a tree, the airbags did not deploy, the car is equipped with OnStar system from Chevrolet as a safety feature in which as soon as there is a collision I supposed to get a call from an advisor so they could call an ambulance and a towing service, it's included in my monthly payment, but that did not happen, no one called me to check on me also the braking system should have prevented me from hitting a tree, the safety system failed

The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V567000 (Air Bags, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced the failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Rear brake lights that illuminate upon braking are embedded low in the bumper of the vehicle, NOT in a location "commonly expected" by motorists. Rear red taillights are in fact conventionally-located upon the vehicle, but they do not illuminate when brakes are applied. They only light up when the headlights are turned on. As a result, the potential for being rear-ended is elevated due to insufficient warning / poor visibility for any motorist following behind. It is my understanding this vehicle was redesigned after it was first introduced, and the rear brake illumination lights were relocated to their current position. In my opinion, this redesign is unsafe. A recall should be issued to require larger rear "conventionally-located" taillights function as actual brake lights, not just lights that illuminate only when the headlights are turned on.

Was sitting at a stop light when I accelerated on green I felt a lurch, it felt like someone had hit me from behind. Within 15 seconds of acceleration this light came on, a car with an exclamination point on it, and said to pull over ASAP. Car would not go any faster than 30mph and luckily I was not on an interstate or major highway. I was able to pull over in a parking lot and at that time the car was disabled. I could not put it in driver or reverse and it did not want to turn off I had to open the door to turn it off. On Star diagnostics said it was the electric drive unit not preforming as expected, codes P0A3F and P0A40. Car would not move and luckily it was daylight in the area I was at, at night this would have been bad as I would have feared for my safety as a female alone in a car that would not go. Car had to be towed to dealership and from the dealer "drive motor position sensor erratic. Found bulletin 19-NA-220 to replace engine harness (42840881 2525C F-HARNESS) for this concern due to improper instatallation of harness causing issues due to terminal damage".

- The car did not start and we were left stranded in an unsafe place. When I turned the car on I immediately saw and error saying "Conditions not correct for shift" and then it wouldn't turn back off - safety was at risk because it was super hot and my 5 year old with autism could not make it home in our own car - not taken to dealer however many reports on social media for the same issue. [XXX] -not yet however I have an appointment at the dealership to have it inspected later this week - zero issues or warnings before this happened INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2023 Chevy bolt has a hand 'regenerative brake'. I was using it while driving in traffic. My speed was around 40 mph when the car in front of me abruptly stopped. The distance between us was approximately 30 ft. I immediately switched from hand brake to foot brake and the pedal felt soft and there was a delay in response to foot brake. I rear ended the vehicle in front of me causing damages to both vehicles. This had happened in August 2023. I called the manufacture to let them know what happened and they told that they will pass the information. I made a call to them in December of 2023. My vehicle was not inspected for this issue as I am not sure who can help me with this problem. There were no warning lights before the accident. Ever since the accident I have tested switching from 'hand brake' to foot brake and always feel a softer pedal and a slight delay in response. I believe this issue was a main factor for the accident as in my over 10 years of driving experience I have never had an accident before. I believe that the 'hand brake' is using electric motor while foot brake uses regular hydraulic system and they are not adjusted properly when are switched in between.

My wife had just parked the vehicle in our garage and had plugged it into the charger. She walked to the back of the vehicle to open the rear hatch and as she was raising the hatch she felt an electrical shock up her arm, it was strong enough that she immediately came into the house holding her elbow. It couldn't have been static electricity, she was already in contact with the vehicle when the shock occurred, the humidity was very high as it had been raining, plus the vehicle should be grounded through the charging plug. I immediately went into the garage and unplugged the car. Tomorrow I'll plug the car back in and use my voltmeter to check for any voltage between the vehicle body and ground.

Yes I almost got rear-ended three times in the last 3 weeks because the brake lights on the Chevy Bolt are below the bumper and the tail lights do not go on when you step on the brakes only the Collision lights and the turn signal lights

The brake lighting only includes the upper light and the lower lights of the vehicle. The lights on the hatch do not light up when braking. Given that the upper light and lower lights are relatively small and hard to see from a close distance or in taller vehicles, this poses a significant risk for rear-ending from another vehicle.

A description of the problem is contained in the 'additional' information box below.

The GM portable charger has two pigtails for using either 120V Level 1 or 240V Level 2 charging. My complaint is that the GM charging unit will default to 120V Level1 charging without any fault/warning indication if one phase of the 240V circuit fails. I had a 240V dedicated service installed so that I could charge my EV at 240V Level 2 charging rates. The charging rate didn't seem to improve after plugging the charger into the 240V outlet, but I assumed that was due to current limitations of the GM portable charging unit. I happened to check the charging rate as displayed on the infotainment unit and discovered that I was actually charging at "120V Level 1" even though I was plugged into the 240V outlet. I discovered that a fuse had blown on one of the phases of the service and after analyzing my electric utility bills realized that the fuse must have blown immediately. I didn't check the fuses before because the charger light was on and I assumed everything was ok. I've uploaded some photos of the electrical fault. Being a new EV owner and naive to charging rates and levels, I was unaware of the issue. The pigtails for the GM portable charger should have an 'identifier' circuit that allows the charger to determine if the service connection matches the expected capabilities and provide some type of fault or warning indication.

I have purchased the Autel Energy EVSE for my vehicle and had it installed by certified electricians in my garage. The unit malfunctions frequently and requires it to be restarted. The unit is hard wired and and the only way to reset it is to turn the breaker off and back on, as instructed by the manufacturer. NEV specifically says that using the breaker as a switch is no recommended. The purpose of the breaker is a power interruption device in case of an electrical fault. Using it as a switch to turn power off and back on could prematurely wear it out which creates a fire risk. The manufacturer has explicitly instructed me to create a fire hazard in my home to be able to use their product. This is a serious safety hazard.

Been almost rear ended twice, both drivers said my brake lights were out, after checking, brake lights were working but are so low on car they did not see them