Electrical and propulsion system issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
There is an urgent recall on this vehicle. Find out if your Bolt is included in the recall.
Electric cars continue to gain more hype with many people talking about the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV. The automaker says, “hello open roads,” but many drivers are finding it doesn’t make it onto the path easily, especially because of the defective battery that may catch fire. Consumers are also complaining about the lack of propulsion which is a traffic hazard.
Click on other model years to view more problems: 2019 2020 2021
A total of 37 consumers filed complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between August 18, 2021, and January 28, 2023. Of these, 35 are filed with the NHTSA as issues with the EV 5HB FWD. The other 2 are regarded as being problems with the larger EUV SUV FWD.
A large number of complaints about the EV relate to an urgent recall that warns the Bolt has a high-voltage battery that could catch fire when charged. But there are other electrical issues including a lack of propulsion that causes these electric vehicles to lose power. There are also powertrain issues including warnings of vehicles being unable to shift if they don’t service their transmissions “soon.”
Other components and systems targeted by complaints include airbags, back-over prevention, exterior lighting, forward collision avoidance, land departure, service brakes, structure, vehicle speed control, and visibility/wiper.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Power Train | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Air Bags | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control |
What Chevy is most known for when it comes to the Bolt is the electrical issues. Pretty ironic, since it is an electric car. Or maybe it’s inevitable.
In all, there are 19 complaints that blame the electrical system for problems. Most of these relate to the risk of the vehicle’s high-voltage battery catching on fire. A large majority focus on the fact that the new batteries, due to be replaced because of the recall, aren’t available.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
Announced via the NHTSA on August 20, 2021, the recall warns that 2020 Bolt EV and 2022 Bolt EUV vehicles have high-voltage batteries that “could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.” As many as 52,414 vehicles are affected. This is an urgent safety recall, and owners are urged to take very specific steps to minimize their risk:
General Motors has undertaken to replace defective battery modules free of charge. All affected owners were to be mailed on October 1, 2021.
Chevrolet also released marketing-type information online sharing recall information with a larger audience. This states that “experts from GM and LG have identified the simultaneous presence of two rare manufacturing defects in the same battery cell as the root cause of battery fires in certain Chevrolet Bolt EVs.” It goes on to say that 2017-2022 Bolt EVs and 2022 Bolt EUVs were being recalled. This also states that owners would receive a software update that “will allow owners to remove the parking and overnight charging limitations on their vehicles.” While posted in 2022, it doesn’t include any dates. Furthermore, the model dates in this release don’t align with the dates provided on NHTSA Campaign Number 21V650000.
One of the first complaints sent to the NHTSA about 2 months after the recall was announced is from an owner in Colorado. It says that “GM has ignored five emails for updates and many many phone calls have gone unanswered from my representative. Calls to the generic line have stated I would be contacted within 48 hours twice with no call or email. GM now says you cannot park within 50 feet of cars, your home or be inside your garage or even use the battery fully without risk of fire that would burn down the car and possibly your home or the cars around it. GM needs to buy back all the Bolt vehicles on the road.”
An owner from New Jersey states in a complaint that setting the high-voltage battery system to a 90% state of charge limitation using Target Charge Level mode does not work for her when she has to travel long commutes more than 70 miles.
An Ohio owner who bought a 2022 Bolt in August 2021 discovered the recall 2 weeks later. “I have had a software update installed on my vehicle, which limits my charging capacity to 80% of my capacity. I can’t get any information from GM as to when my battery will be replaced or when I will be able to charge my car to 100% for trips. It’s been 7 months and I have not been able to use my vehicle’s full range since I have had it.”
The most recent complaint lodged about the recall batteries not being available was in September 2022, more than a year after the recall was announced. It seems that owners have come to the conclusion that complaints aren’t going to help get them new batteries that aren’t likely to catch fire.
There are 8 complaints filed as fuel/propulsion system problems. The first of these is from an owner in California who responded to the recall 3 days after it was announced. He stated that it was “pretty hard to believe that the executives at GM weren’t very aware of this issue three days earlier. Today they suspended sales of my Bolt (2022 EUV Premier)…a little too late.” He says that he is following the instructions given in the recall notice. But now, the range has reduced from 250 miles to 155 miles. “I would never have purchased the car with such a short range.” His wife won’t drive the car “for fear of being burned alive.” He is also angry that he hasn’t heard from the dealer about the recall. But, of course, recall letters were only mailed to owners 2 months after the recall was announced.
“This battery replacement issue won’t be resolved anytime soon…they have to design new cells and manufacture them for over 100,000 cars…and then install them. So, and this is just a guess, I’d be amazed if this gets fixed before next summer…I’ll be driving a crippled and dangerous car. GM should offer to buy back my car, and reimburse me for all my associated costs/payments at this point. I don’t want it anywhere near my home.”
Apart from issues relating to the recall, owners are complaining about reduced power propulsion. An owner from Texas states that the “reduced power propulsion” message flashed when the Bolt was just 30-days-old. At the time, the battery was at about 50%. The owner tried to charge it and the dash indicated it was fully charged. But he says, “The reduced power propulsion message is concerningly similar to the error from the previous Bolt recalls that have resulted in fires. I took the car to my dealer and they have had it for 40 days and counting and say they don’t know when it will be fixed nor do they know yet how to fix it.”
An owner from California states that the Bolt won’t charge past 30% after receiving the reduced propulsion message.
An owner from Wisconsin was driving at about 35 mph when his vehicle lost propulsion without any warning. “I had to cross multiple lanes of rush hour traffic with no propulsion to coast to a stop. Once parked the vehicle would not go in gear and would not move. It was towed to a dealer where a blown manual service disconnect lever (high voltage battery fuse) was found to be blown.
An owner from Virginia had a 60% charge on the EV battery showing a range of around 170 miles. While driving, he felt the Bolt “stutter twice, as if it was losing power.” When stopped it wouldn’t shift into Park, Neutral, or any other gear. Any attempts to shift would give an error warning ‘Conditions Not Correct for Shift’.” The vehicle was eventually declared a “traffic hazard “ and was towed away by the police. It was subsequently diagnosed as a wiring harness problem.
Airbags are supposed to be life savers, but if they don’t work they put people’s lives in danger. And there is an airbag recall for 2022 Bolt vehicles. Issued in July 2021, it affects a handful of 2022 Bolt EV and Bolt EUV vehicles, just 28. The problem is that there are fasteners that secure the driver’s frontal airbag to the steering wheel that may be missing or may not have been tightened properly.
An EUV owner from Virginia has experienced an airbag system failure. Another complains about constantly getting warnings to “Service Safety Restraint System.” This relates to seat belts as well as airbags. Chevrolet says there is nothing wrong with the vehicle.
There is only one complaint about EV 5 HB airbags. An owner from North Carolina states that the airbag warning light is illuminated when he drives at 10 mph. The dealer diagnosed a loose airbag electrical wire and tightened it. But the failure persisted. Then the dealer said the airbag needed to be replaced, but the part wouldn’t be available for 3 months.
Generally, if a vehicle of any kind has problems that recur and affect the use, value, or safety of those using the vehicle, there’s a possibility it may be a lemon. Do you have issues and think that your 2022 Chevrolet Bolt could be a lemon? If so you are welcome to contact Lemberg Law for free advice.
All you have to do is give us a call on our Helpline or fill out our contact form. We will assess your problems as quickly as possible and let you know. If we agree you have a lemon we can negotiate a settlement deal on your behalf. The law says that General Motors, the manufacturer of Chevrolet, must pay your lemon law legal bills, so you’ve got nothing to lose.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
See more posts from Brian Jones
Anyone having an issue with while driving at about 37 mph and again at 65 mph the steering wheel vibrates. It is worse at the 65 mph. We have also had the two front tires replaced with brand new, and a front end alignment. Still has these issues. Although don’t know about the problem at 65 mph because has not been driven at that speed since Oct 11,2022. I am taking back to the dealer tomorrow.