Safety Agency Recommends 50,000 Chevy Bolt Owners Park Outside to Prevent Fires
Earlier on Wednesday, GM made the same recommendation and added owners should not leave vehicles charging overnight. The recommendation was prompted after the largest U.S. automaker said it was investigating reports of two recent fires in vehicles that were recalled in November for fire risks.
The 50,000 U.S. Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles (EVs) are from the 2017-2019 model years and were recalled for the potential of an unattended fire in the high-voltage battery pack underneath the backseat’s bottom cushion.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) opened an investigation in October into the Bolt fires, the agency noted Wednesday and “continues to evaluate the information received, and is looking into these latest fires.”
The November recall of nearly 69,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs — including about 50,000 in the United States — with high voltage batteries produced at LG Chem Ltd’s Ochang, South Korea facility, was made after five reported fires and two minor injuries.
In April, GM also announced a software update and said dealers would use “diagnostic tools to identify potential battery anomalies and replace battery module assemblies as necessary.”
NHTSA said owners should park outside indefinitely regardless of whether they have had the software update completed.
GM said in April it would make the diagnostic software standard in the 2022 Bolt EV and electric utility vehicles, as well as future GM electric vehicles, and would offer the update for all other Bolt EVs on the road at a future date.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)
Top Photo: In this Feb. 13, 2020 file photo a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV is displayed at the 2020 Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
- LA County Told to Pause $4B in Abuse Payouts as DA Probes Fraud Claims
- IIHS Rolled out A New Whiplash Prevention Test
- Why 2026 Is The Tipping Point for The Evolving Role of AI in Law and Claims
- NHTSA Expands Probe into 1.3M Ford F-150 Pickups Over Transmission Issues
- Allianz Built An AI Agent to Train Claims Professionals in Virtual Reality
- Nationwide Spending $100M on AI to Beef up Claims Efficiency, Customer Experience
- What The Return of California’s ‘Death Discount’ Means for Litigation
- Adjusters Launch ‘CarFax for Insurance Claims’ to Vet Carriers’ Damage Estimates