GM Notifies Early Chevy Bolt Owners of Potential Battery Failure

Megalith

Megalith

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General Motors has been notifying some Chevrolet Bolt owners about a battery problem that could leave them stranded: while the problem might affect less than one percent of early Bolt production models, the company is proactively reaching out to “fewer than a couple hundred customers” that could be impacted. The remedy is to replace the entire battery pack, even if only one cell is faulty.

...I was on a routine local trip with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt Premier that I have been leasing as my personal vehicle since June 16. The car had about 1,700 miles on the odometer. On that Tuesday afternoon, the dashboard indicated approximately 100 miles of remaining range. (Because I was less than one mile away from home, I did not take note of the exact state of charge.) After a few seconds of a warning chime, the steering wheel shuddered, and the vehicle quickly came to a complete stop in the middle of the road. When I looked down at the dashboard, the indicated remaining range had abruptly changed to nine miles.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
The Chevy Bolt...

An electric vehicle with a decent 200+ mile range, but it looks, feels and drives like a Toyota Yaris, and costs like a BMW.

After spending all that money, you're still driving a Chevy...
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This Chevy are junk and wont warrent their garbage cars. Two people at work have Cruzes broke down to a known issue with in-warranty and refuse to fix unless you had every service documented done by a certified dealer. Both were missing over 2 years and refused to warrant the car. One guy paid $1500 to replace the turbo and a year later it happened again and this time cause the engine to seize. Fuck Chevy.
 
Only thing less reliable than a GM/Chevy is a Fiat/Chrysler. Wouldn't trust my transportation needs to either.
 
nutzo said:
Only thing less reliable than a GM/Chevy is a Fiat/Chrysler. Wouldn't trust my transportation needs to either.
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Hey, my 2007 Jeep is over 10 years old, and a hard 86K miles. AZ pinstriped from offroading. The only thing that has outright failed was the heater/cooler blower fan. I bought a replacement (honda one, yep honda civic same mount/plug wiring) for $38 on amazon. Just proves, doesn't matter what manufacturer your thing you have. They scavenge parts from everyone.
 
On a side note, i wonder if the Bolt still has a standard lead acid when the pack is not "engaged". A few EVs are starting to trickle into my area, and the Egulf and soul both have good old car batteries, with "jumping" instructions so if the lead acid goes dead, you can "turn on" the car with a jump from another car, so the lion pack can start charging the lead acid again.
 
WTH is "Fewer than a couple hundred"?

1 < Fewer than a couple hundred < 999? Because 999 is the largest number that I'd ever consider to be a "couple hundred"?

They mind as well have said "a smidgen's worth" of the total population... as it would be about as specific.
Meh... Marketing speak... drives Engineers mad.
 
ol1bit said:
Hey, my 2007 Jeep is over 10 years old, and a hard 86K miles. AZ pinstriped from offroading. The only thing that has outright failed was the heater/cooler blower fan. I bought a replacement (honda one, yep honda civic same mount/plug wiring) for $38 on amazon. Just proves, doesn't matter what manufacturer your thing you have. They scavenge parts from everyone.
Click to expand...

My friend had a jeep SUV (about 4 years old), and one morning his wife was backing out of their driveway and the rear wheel (with the hub/axel) fell off. Luckily it happened in their driveway and not while she was on the freeway.
Scared them so much, that after they got it fixed, they immediately sold the car.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
The Chevy Bolt...

An electric vehicle with a decent 200+ mile range, but it looks, feels and drives like a Toyota Yaris, and costs like a BMW.

After spending all that money, you're still driving a Chevy...
Click to expand...
I think I figured out Elon Musk's smurf account.
 
nutzo said:
My friend had a jeep SUV (about 4 years old), and one morning his wife was backing out of their driveway and the rear wheel (with the hub/axel) fell off. Luckily it happened in their driveway and not while she was on the freeway.
Scared them so much, that after they got it fixed, they immediately sold the car.
Click to expand...

I've personally never seen a wheel bearing fail catastrophically w/o being damaged or w/o noise. They may have just ignored the signs until it failed catastrophically. I drive my wife's car quite often as she ignores what I think are obvious warning signs.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/is-it-safe-to-drive-with-a-wheel-bearing-gone

No manufacturer is perfect, though I will give you Chrysler is definitely on the bottom half of the quality curve.
 
nutzo said:
My friend had a jeep SUV (about 4 years old), and one morning his wife was backing out of their driveway and the rear wheel (with the hub/axel) fell off. Luckily it happened in their driveway and not while she was on the freeway.
Scared them so much, that after they got it fixed, they immediately sold the car.
Click to expand...

Jeeps used to be notorious for having c-clip failures, nice to see they haven't changed in 40 years. :whistle:
 
Unter Dog said:
I've personally never seen a wheel bearing fail catastrophically w/o being damaged or w/o noise. They may have just ignored the signs until it failed catastrophically. I drive my wife's car quite often as she ignores what I think are obvious warning signs.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/is-it-safe-to-drive-with-a-wheel-bearing-gone

No manufacturer is perfect, though I will give you Chrysler is definitely on the bottom half of the quality curve.
Click to expand...

I had this happen on my Yukon a few years ago, there wasn't any noticeable difference in road noise. In retrospect there was a difference in rolling resistance that I should've noticed. Now I check when I do the brakes. Really though, they need to stop using minivan sized bearings on 4x4s that are 2000lbs heavier.
 
vegeta535 said:
This Chevy are junk and wont warrent their garbage cars. Two people at work have Cruzes broke down to a known issue with in-warranty and refuse to fix unless you had every service documented done by a certified dealer. Both were missing over 2 years and refused to warrant the car. One guy paid $1500 to replace the turbo and a year later it happened again and this time cause the engine to seize. Fuck Chevy.
Click to expand...

All they need is receipts to show they changed the oil. There are consumer protections for crap like this as long as they maintained the vehicle. It does not habe to be done by a certified dealer. I would habe sued the crap out of the dealership and gm for that.
 
wizzi01 said:
All they need is receipts to show they changed the oil. There are consumer protections for crap like this as long as they maintained the vehicle. It does not habe to be done by a certified dealer. I would habe sued the crap out of the dealership and gm for that.
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Right. They were miss 1 and cause of it they were refused warranty. I told him to go see a lawyer and look at his option but he didn't cause he a cheap fuck. Think it cost him around 5k in repairs by now.
 
bbf said:
999 is the largest number that I'd ever consider to be a "couple hundred"?
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IMO/IME almost always "couple" = 2, and "few" = 3... beyond that it's a little less defined... I'd say 900 is "several" or "many" hundreds
 
Unter Dog said:
I've personally never seen a wheel bearing fail catastrophically w/o being damaged or w/o noise. They may have just ignored the signs until it failed catastrophically. I drive my wife's car quite often as she ignores what I think are obvious warning signs.
Click to expand...

Don't think it was a bearing as the entire hub/axel fell off. This was quite a few years ago.
 
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