Chevy is Expanding the Bolt Voluntary Recall to Upgrade Battery Software

General Motors and Chevrolet are expanding their voluntary action asking all 2017 and 2018 Bolt owners to return to their dealerships for a software upgrade. The software will help Chevrolet better monitor the Bolt’s battery in case there is any sort of problem with the battery’s charging.

What Triggered the Call-Back

A few owners of 2017 Chevrolet Bolts had problems where the vehicles lost drive power. Chevy was able to trace the issue to a failure of a cell within the car’s larger battery pack. The issues are isolated and not widespread. Chevrolet already monitors the battery power through OnStar, which is automatically included on every GM vehicle. The software update will help Chevrolet detect if there are any problems with the owner’s battery, so it can better warn drivers if they have a potential problem.

GM reportedly issued this statement:

“General Motors is looking at the entire Bolt EV fleet to ensure everyone has the most updated software available. Through letters we are asking all Bolt EV customers to schedule a service appointment to receive the latest software, including the 2017 owners who received the previously released software calibration. In the event of a cell low voltage condition, this new software increases the accuracy of the range estimation, in addition to providing more warning at low states of charge. We understand this is an inconvenience for some customers to service their vehicles again so soon. However, we want to give our customers the most updated software as soon as it’s available.”

All Chevrolet Bolts are Included

It is important to note that GM and Chevrolet are asking owners to come back even if they have had the recent update. We found this with the Chevrolet Volt, GM and Chevrolet take every precaution to make sure that the technology is the best available at the time.

If GM and Chevrolet detect any sort of problem in their monitoring of the battery, they notify the owner to have the car serviced immediately. GM and Chevrolet will service any vehicle that appears to have the faulty battery packs.

GM stresses that technically this isn’t a recall, they are calling it a customer satisfaction bulletin. It isn’t even being categorized as a TSB or service bulletin.

This latest action will more than likely not be posted to the NHTSA site as a recall, because of the way that it is being worded. However, it is very important that you have this situation addressed because it could be dangerous if your 2017 or 2018 Chevrolet Bolt suddenly loses power.