GM declares Bolt battery problems solved

The long-running battery problems with the Chevrolet Bolt have finally been resolved, according to General Motors. Production of the batteries has resumed, according to the company. Battery modules to replace defective ones should be available from October.

+ + Kindly see our update below + +

The Chevrolet Bolt’s battery problems, associated with an increased risk of fire, date back to October 2020. Most recently, GM had to expand the recall for the model again at the end of August. In total, the number of affected vehicles doubled to around 142,000 units, including examples of the new Bolt EUV. GM also paused production of the two models since the end of August. Even the repair process for the recall was suspended due to a lack of new fault-free battery modules. The entire recall is expected to cost the company a billion dollars, according to its own estimates. You can read the full development of the recall here.

According to the US carmaker, the manufacturing defect has now been fixed. It involved two problems that could, in rare cases, lead to a short circuit: First, a tab on the anode was torn, and second, the separator foil was folded. To increase the risk of a fire, both faults had to occur in the same battery cell. Already in an earlier announcement GM announced that during investigations of LG’s manufacturing processes and the disassembly of battery packs it had discovered “manufacturing defects in certain battery cells produced at LG manufacturing facilities outside the plant in Ochang, Korea”.

In a recent announcement, General Motors now says that LG has resumed battery production for the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV. The capacities are to be expanded beyond the previous level in order to be able to provide GM with more cells. As a result, replacement battery modules will also be delivered to dealers from mid-October.

The automaker also announced new diagnostic software to be launched in the next 60 days. “The diagnostic software will be designed to detect specific abnormalities that might indicate a damaged battery in Bolt EVs and EUVs by monitoring the battery performance; alerting customers of any anomalies; and prioritising damaged battery modules for replacement,” the company HW added. It will be made available to all Bolt EV and EUV owners, it said. Additionally, the batteries based on the new cells will receive an extended warranty of eight years or 160,000 kilometres.

Update 13 October 2021:

General Motors has now settled with LG for billions of dollars in compensation over the recalls of the Chevrolet Bolt and Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric models caused by battery problems. In the third quarter, GM will report a special income of 1.9 billion US dollars (1.6 billion euros). This almost makes up for the approximately two billion dollars in expenses for the recalls.

carscoops.com, electrek.co, media.gm.com,

reuters.com, gm.com (both update)