Last week, we reported on an EV-loving lawmaker who lost his car to flames. The car in question was a Chevrolet Bolt EV and had been sent in for a potentially fire-starting issue. Although GM had bought back Bolts that could catch fire earlier in the year, this incident proved that the automaker still struggles with finding and resolving the exact cause of the issue, despite having earlier claimed to have done just that. Chevrolet now realized that the issue still requires attention and has instructed some owners of 2017-2019 Bolt EVs not to park these vehicles inside, nor to charge them unattended overnight.
The warning comes after two such vehicles caught fire, despite both having been repaired as part of a November recall of almost 69,000 Bolt EVs meant to address these fire hazards. The first vehicle is the aforementioned Vermont state lawmaker's, while the second fire occurred in New Jersey, which GM caught wind of earlier this week. GM's statement on the matter reads as follows:
"General Motors has been notified of two recent Chevrolet Bolt EV fire incidents in vehicles that were remedied as part of the safety recall announced in November 2020. Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking owners of 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs who were part of the recall population to park their vehicles outdoors immediately after charging and not leave their vehicles charging overnight while we investigate these incidents."
On Wednesday, the NHTSA said that it is the battery cell packs in these vehicles that have the potential to smoke and ignite internally, so asking owners not to park their vehicles inside will in no way prevent damage to a faulty vehicle. Rather, the idea is to prevent the potential destruction of houses and other property.
Despite there being no apparent fix for the issue, GM is still encouraging owners who have not had the recall addressed to bring their cars in. GM says that it is working as fast as possible to get to the bottom of this, and is cooperating with NHTSA. Hopefully, this problem comes to a close soon, or GM's electric image may be irreparably harmed.