Bolt...

2019-02-08T01:28:34Z

The Story Begins Mar. 6, 2017: My 2017 Chevy Bolt Premier rolls off the assembly line. June 16, 2017: I receive the car in a three-year lease. Aug. 8, 2017: The Bolt abruptly stops, leaving me dangerously stranded on the side of the road. Aug. 22, 2017: GM diagnoses a low-voltage problem in Cell 25. The entire battery pack is replaced. My Bolt shows 1,746 miles on the odometer. Aug. 24, 2017: I post an account of what happened on PluginCars.com. I report that GM notified about 100 Bolt owners that they could face a similar issue. Sept. 11, 2017: GM Communications informs me in an email that the company made “improvements throughout the supply chain” to correct the cell low-voltage problem. Sept. 18, 2017: I learn of additional Bolt drivers (including a pregnant woman on a busy Los Angeles highway) who were stranded on the roadside but had not been notified by the company. GM says that OnStar data needs to be collected for some time to identify at-risk vehicles. Therefore, new Bolt owners (or cars on dealerships lots) could encounter the same problem. Sept. 2017 – Mar. 2018: Bolts with new battery packs appear to be reliable. GM works with LG Chem, the battery supplier, to make multiple changes to the cell manufacturing process. The company believes the problem is fixed. Software Fixes for Earlier Warning April 2, 2018: Chevrolet issues a recall for drivers of 2017 Bolts to get a software update to provide more warning about any potential “cell low-voltage condition” and loss of propulsion. The software change allows cars to continue driving with a diminished range rather than forcing drivers to make an immediate stop. May 11, 2018: GM releases a new software update for all Bolt owners (not just for 2017 models) to “provide additional warnings.” GM later tells me the software “increases the accuracy of the range estimation in addition to providing more warning at low states of charge.” May 14, 2018: My Bolt receives the April and May software updates. GM tells me that the company is continuing to monitor all Bolts so it can “proactively contact owners to have their batteries serviced as soon as our diagnostics confirm batteries are suspect.” Deja Vu All Over Again Oct. 2018: I begin to notice diminished range. I use a dongle-based tool provided by FleetCarma to pull more precise data from my Bolt’s diagnostics port. Nov. 20, 2018: In a post on InsideEVs.com, I report detailed range numbers about a 184-mile late trip that reveals my Bolt’s battery capacity is reduced from 60 kilowatt-hours to about 35 kWh. Nov. 21, 2018: I alert GM about the problem. Chevy Communications responds: “The team is looking into what could be the cause using remote diagnostics.” I am later told that the problems with my Bolt are communicated “all the way to the top” of the company. Dec. 3, 2018: I receive a standardized OnStar diagnostics alert stating, “An element in the battery has slipped below the threshold required for good performance. If unrepaired, it could cause a stalling situation while driving.” Dec. 2018 – Jan. 2019: I unsuccessfully try to wrangle Chevrolet and a local dealership to pick up the car for service. Chevrolet Communications tells me that my car is safe to drive – although with diminished range. My Bolt was back in the shop in January — to get its third battery pack. Dec. 2018 – Jan. 2019: I continue to pull data from my Bolt’s computer system, revealing that the threshold of low to high voltage is beyond the accepted threshold. (See screenshots below.) Jan. 16, 2019: I drive my car 25 miles to the closest Chevy dealership. Diagnostics show the offending low-voltage cell is No. 68. My Bolt receives its third battery pack. The car shows 11,940 on the odometer. I continue to pull data from the computer, which indicates a healthy battery pack and my range is restored to the expected level. Trying to Understand Jan. 2019: After diagnosing my car’s second bad cell, General Motors – working with LG Chem – makes additional changes to the cell manufacturing process. Jan. 16, 2019: Six hours after I dropped off my car, Automotive News, reporting from its World Congress event, tweets this quote from GM CEO Mary Barra: “We’ve sold over 200,000 electric vehicles and we have yet to replace a battery pack.” Multiple owners on social media say that they’ve had packs replaced, some as recently as January 2019. Jan. 18, 2019: Chevrolet Communications tells me that, “Mary’s original statement was in reference to the wear out of a battery due to regular use. Upon further review, an estimated less than 0.01% of customer battery packs or sections have been replaced due to suspected wear out.” Feb. 1, 2019: I speak with Tim Grewe, chief engineer of electric propulsion systems at General Motors.

The Story Begins

Mar. 6, 2017: My 2017 Chevy Bolt Premier rolls off the assembly line.
June 16, 2017: I receive the car in a three-year lease.
Aug. 8, 2017: The Bolt abruptly stops, leaving me dangerously stranded on the side of the road.
Aug. 22, 2017: GM diagnoses a low-voltage problem in Cell 25. The entire battery pack is replaced. My Bolt shows 1,746 miles on the odometer.
Aug. 24, 2017: I post an account of what happened on PluginCars.com. I report that GM notified about 100 Bolt owners that they could face a similar issue.
Sept. 11, 2017: GM Communications informs me in an email that the company made “improvements throughout the supply chain” to correct the cell low-voltage problem.
Sept. 18, 2017: I learn of additional Bolt drivers (including a pregnant woman on a busy Los Angeles highway) who were stranded on the roadside but had not been notified by the company. GM says that OnStar data needs to be collected for some time to identify at-risk vehicles. Therefore, new Bolt owners (or cars on dealerships lots) could encounter the same problem.
Sept. 2017 – Mar. 2018: Bolts with new battery packs appear to be reliable. GM works with LG Chem, the battery supplier, to make multiple changes to the cell manufacturing process. The company believes the problem is fixed.

Software Fixes for Earlier Warning

April 2, 2018: Chevrolet issues a recall for drivers of 2017 Bolts to get a software update to provide more warning about any potential “cell low-voltage condition” and loss of propulsion. The software change allows cars to continue driving with a diminished range rather than forcing drivers to make an immediate stop.
May 11, 2018: GM releases a new software update for all Bolt owners (not just for 2017 models) to “provide additional warnings.” GM later tells me the software “increases the accuracy of the range estimation in addition to providing more warning at low states of charge.”
May 14, 2018: My Bolt receives the April and May software updates. GM tells me that the company is continuing to monitor all Bolts so it can “proactively contact owners to have their batteries serviced as soon as our diagnostics confirm batteries are suspect.”

Deja Vu All Over Again

Oct. 2018: I begin to notice diminished range. I use a dongle-based tool provided by FleetCarma to pull more precise data from my Bolt’s diagnostics port.
Nov. 20, 2018: In a post on InsideEVs.com, I report detailed range numbers about a 184-mile late trip that reveals my Bolt’s battery capacity is reduced from 60 kilowatt-hours to about 35 kWh.
Nov. 21, 2018: I alert GM about the problem. Chevy Communications responds: “The team is looking into what could be the cause using remote diagnostics.” I am later told that the problems with my Bolt are communicated “all the way to the top” of the company.
Dec. 3, 2018: I receive a standardized OnStar diagnostics alert stating, “An element in the battery has slipped below the threshold required for good performance. If unrepaired, it could cause a stalling situation while driving.”
Dec. 2018 – Jan. 2019: I unsuccessfully try to wrangle Chevrolet and a local dealership to pick up the car for service. Chevrolet Communications tells me that my car is safe to drive – although with diminished range.

My Bolt was back in the shop in January — to get its third battery pack.

Dec. 2018 – Jan. 2019: I continue to pull data from my Bolt’s computer system, revealing that the threshold of low to high voltage is beyond the accepted threshold. (See screenshots below.)
Jan. 16, 2019: I drive my car 25 miles to the closest Chevy dealership. Diagnostics show the offending low-voltage cell is No. 68. My Bolt receives its third battery pack. The car shows 11,940 on the odometer. I continue to pull data from the computer, which indicates a healthy battery pack and my range is restored to the expected level.

Trying to Understand

Jan. 2019: After diagnosing my car’s second bad cell, General Motors – working with LG Chem – makes additional changes to the cell manufacturing process.
Jan. 16, 2019: Six hours after I dropped off my car, Automotive News, reporting from its World Congress event, tweets this quote from GM CEO Mary Barra: “We’ve sold over 200,000 electric vehicles and we have yet to replace a battery pack.” Multiple owners on social media say that they’ve had packs replaced, some as recently as January 2019.
Jan. 18, 2019: Chevrolet Communications tells me that, “Mary’s original statement was in reference to the wear out of a battery due to regular use. Upon further review, an estimated less than 0.01% of customer battery packs or sections have been replaced due to suspected wear out.”
Feb. 1, 2019: I speak with Tim Grewe, chief engineer of electric propulsion systems at General Motors.

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