Chevy Bolt Owners Are Ignoring Fire Warnings

The recently announced Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV recall is not a joke. Vehicle fires caused by defective lithium-ion batteries can lead to serious injuries and fatalities. Unfortunately, some owners are either unaware of the situation or simply aren't taking it seriously. Over 68,000 Bolt owners globally have been sent recall notices informing them their vehicle's entire battery module needs to be replaced with brand new, fire risk-free modules. There was a separate and earlier recall for 2017-2019 models (before the Bolt EUV was sold) that involved replacing defective battery modules instead of all of them.

At present, 110,000 vehicles are affected and GM has been giving owners very specific instructions on what not to do until the recall service has been completed. The entire recall is costing the American automaker an estimated $1.8 billion.

Recurrent, via Car and Driver, a platform that monitors battery usage from subscribers, has collected data indicating about 30 percent of Bolt drivers are ignoring those guidelines. These include returning the vehicle to a 90 percent state of charge limitation using Hilltop Reserve mode or Target Charge Level mode, charging after every use, and not letting the battery drop below 70 miles of remaining charge. Also highly advised is not to park the vehicle inside a home garage. It's best to park outside on the driveway or, better yet, on the street. Just keep the vehicle away from your house for a very clear reason.

So why aren't owners doing what they should be? Unknown. But Recurrent CEO Scott Chase had this to say: "Our data is showing that a lot of Chevy Bolt owners are going to have to change their behavior.