GM will reportedly exchange Chevy Bolt battery modules to scale back hearth danger | Engadget

According to Electrek, GM has knowledgeable some Chevy Bolt EV homeowners that it’s going to exchange all of the modules of their batteries with new ones. This is the most recent step the automaker has taken to handle points in some Bolt EV fashions that make their batteries extra prone to catch hearth. As the publication notes, GM has recalled the Bolt EV twice in a little bit over a yr earlier than this and after over a dozen incidents whereby the car went up in flames because of battery-related points.

GM recalled over 68,000 Bolt EVs again in November and rolled out a firmware replace to restrict their charging capability to 90 p.c. In July, the National Highway Traffic Administration issued a security alert in July advising homeowners of 2017 to 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to not park their automobiles indoors or depart them charging in a single day. That warning got here after two Bolt EVs caught hearth within the US. Finally, in April, the automaker launched what’s supposed-to-be the ultimate software program repair for the difficulty. Clearly, that wasn’t capable of fully resolve the issue, and GM needed to discover one other answer. 

Electrek says GM has knowledgeable some homeowners that they will be capable of begin reserving appointments to have all of the modules of their batteries changed beginning on August twenty third. Owners who undergo with the substitute may even get a brand new 8-year 100,000 mile guarantee. That stated, Chevrolet will solely exchange battery modules in Bolts produced inside the timeframe GM suspects battery manufacturing defects had been current. Based on the autos that caught hearth, Electrek says GM will seemingly prioritize 2019 fashions adopted by 2017 and 2018 fashions. The firm may even exchange modules for homeowners who routinely do deep discharges.

GM instructed the publication that they are taking this step “out of an abundance of caution.” Further, GM and LG (the battery’s producer) will look at the changed modules and discover their defects. They’ll additionally attempt to determine if they will devise an in-situ detection technique that will enable homeowners to determine if their batteries are liable to catching hearth.

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