This latest recall involves nearly 140 000 units of the Bolt EV.
The Bolt EUV is not recalled for now.
The Bolt EV could catch fire in a collision.
Chevrolet is forced to launch a new recall campaign for its electric car, the Bolt EV. The recall, which affects nearly 140,000 units of the car – 119 950 in the US and 19 898 in Canada –, involves all model years of the electric city car, from 2017 to 2023.
The problem is with exhaust gases from the first-row seatbelt pretensioners that could come in contact with floor mat fibers during a crash. This contact could eventually turn into a fire.
Strangely, the “utilitarian” Bolt EUV version is not affected by this new recall. In fact, the Bolt EV cars used by General Motors’ Cruise autonomous driving pilot project are not being recalled so far.
The automaker has documented three accidents so far, further proof that the problem is real. To fix this small problem, dealers will have to install a metal sheet near the exhaust of the pretensioner to protect the floor mats.
In the past year, the Chevrolet Bolt EV was “grounded” for several months due to this massive recall campaign related to the battery bolted under the vehicle. The vital component – provided by LG Chem – for the electric Chevy threatened to catch fire, prompting Chevrolet to issue this recall to replace all batteries in the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV. In this case, we can still congratulate the brand’s direction for having prioritized its existing clientele rather than prioritizing the assembly line and continuing production of the models.
Let’s hope that this latest recall of the Bolt EV will not drag on and that it will not damage the reputation of one of the most affordable electric vehicles on the market with a claimed range of 417 km.
