General Motors Announces Recall on Thousands of Electric Cars Over This Risk

Automaker General Motors has announced a recall on nearly 69,000 Chevrolet Bolt electric cars across the world due to a potential fire risk.

The batteries of the vehicles have already caught fire in five of them and the company has no idea yet what is causing the fires. Two people have suffered smoke inhalation because of them.
Engineers are working around the clock to figure out what is causing the problem.

Bolt
Executive Chief Engineer Jesse Ortega says dealers will install software that limits charging to 90% of the battery’s capacity until they can develop a permanent fix.

The recall is for 68,677 electric cars worldwide that pose the fire risk. GM said it will recall 2017-2019 model-year Chevrolet Bolt EVs with high voltage batteries produced at LG Chem’s Ochang, Korea facility.

“We have no confirmed incidents from vehicles with cells not produced at this factory or a lower state of charge,” Ortega said.

Some 2019 Bolts and all 2020 and 2021 versions have cells made at an LG Chem plant in Holland, Michigan, and are not included in the recall, Ortega added.

It was in October that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation into the Bolt EVs after reports of three Bolts catching fire under the rear seat while parked and unattended.

The Detroit automaker said the vehicles pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or nearly full capacity.

Until the software updates can be done, GM is asking owners to manually change adjustable settings to keep the batteries from being charged fully. Owners who aren’t able to do this should park their Bolts outdoors and contact a dealer, Ortega urged.

GM said it would be notifying dealers and customers of the interim recall immediately.

Ortega said the company noticed the fires and began investigating in July, and it’s cooperating with the NHTSA’s probe.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.