DETROIT – General Motors on Friday said it is expanding its recent recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs to newer models of the electric car due to potential fire risks.
The recall expansion is expected to cost the automaker an additional $1 billion, bringing the recall’s total to $1.8 billion to replace potentially defective battery modules in the vehicles.
About 73,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada are being added to the recall from the 2019-2022 model years, including a recently launched larger version of the car called the Bolt EUV. The former recall involved about 69,000 of the cars globally, including nearly 51,000 in the U.S.
“Our focus on safety and doing the right thing for our customers guides every decision we make at GM,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “As leaders in the transition to an all-electric future, we know that building and maintaining trust is critical. GM customers can be confident in our commitment to taking the steps to ensure the safety of these vehicles.”
GM said it is working with LG Energy Solutions, which supplies the vehicle’s battery cells, to rectify the cause of the defects.
In the meantime, GM is asking affected Bolt EV owners to set their vehicles to a 90% state of charge limitation using Hilltop Reserve mode (for 2017-2018 model years) or Target Charge Level (for 2019 model year) mode.
GM also is asking owners to avoid depleting their battery below approximately 70 miles of remaining range and, as it advised last week, continue to not park their vehicles inside or charge them unattended overnight “out of an abundance of caution.”