DETROIT – It’s a frightening and frustrating proposition for Chevrolet Bolt owners -- their vehicle is being recalled and General Motors upped its warnings about potential fires during charging.
It’s a billion dollar problem that’s causing big trouble for GM and its battery maker, LG Chem.
The east of charging a Bolt is much of the appeal. That has been derailed by multiple fires reported across the country.
There are 140,000 Chevy Bolts on the road -- from the 2017-22 model years. GM has recalled all of them.
The automaker isn’t fixing the problem because they are still unsure what is wrong with the batteries that are shorting out and burning vehicles.
Production of Bolts have been paused too.
Additionally, GM is telling Bolt owners that in order to reduce damage from a potential fire, the automaker recommends “parking on the top floor or on an open-air deck and 50 feet ore more away from another vehicle.”
Customers are also told to not leave their vehicle charging unattended, “even if you are using a charging station in a parking deck.”
Guidehouse Insights auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid said this is a major problem for GM.
“The fact that they’re now saying you’ve got to watch this thing, monitor while it’s being charged and as soon as it’s done charging move it outside, put it 50 feet away from the building -- that’s very inconvenient for customers and indicates there’s perhaps a more serious risk here than we had previously thought,” Abuelsamid said.
GM and LG Chem said the two companies are working to figure out what in the manufacturing process that is causing the issues.
More: Automotive news