General Motors is providing new software to some owners of recalled Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles that will remove the parking and charging restrictions while the automaker continues to build replacement battery modules for the cars.
All 2017-22 Bolt EVs and EUVs — an SUV-style body of the car — are under recall for defective batteries that could pose a fire risk. The recall affects about 140,000 vehicles.
There have been 18 suspected battery fires in Bolt EVs globally. GM has confirmed 15 of them, with no major injuries.
On Wednesday, GM said it notified owners of 2017 and 2018 Bolt EVs that new software is available for their vehicles which will mitigate some of the use restrictions on the cars until they can get the battery replacement modules to fix the fire risk.
The software update is already available for those who own 2019 model year Bolts. Owners of 2020s and later will get the software update sometime in the next 30 days, GM said.
Once installed, the software update will automatically set the car’s maximum state of charge to 80% versus the full 100% which may carry more risk, allowing owners to safely resume:
GM had been cautioning against those things during the ongoing recall. The update will also run diagnostics to detect specific abnormalities that could indicate a battery problem, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.
"Please remember customers still need to get the recall completed once they are notified that parts are available," Flores said.
GM builds the Bolt at its Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township. The plant, which runs one shift with about 1,000 workers, will remain idle through February 2022 so that GM and its battery maker LG Electronics Inc. can prioritize recall repairs, Flores said.
GM first took the plant offline the week of Aug. 23 due to recall repair priority. It came back up for production the first two weeks of November, but has been down since Nov. 15.
"We will continue to inform employees at the appropriate time of any additional production schedule adjustments, as we continue to focus on battery module replacements," Flores said on Dec. 2.
GM and LG started fixing recalled Bolts in mid-October by installing five new battery modules, essentially an enhanced battery pack, to correct the defect that could lead to fire.
LG Electronics, which is a division of LG Chem, said it will reimburse GM for $1.9 billion in costs and expenses associated with the Bolt recall because of manufacturing defects in battery modules that LG supplied.
Owners of 2017-19 Bolts who have not yet received a replacement battery module should schedule a service appointment with their dealer soon to have the software installed, GM said.
Other model year owners will receive a letter from GM when the software is available for their vehicles. In the meantime, they should continue to follow the previous guidelines:
Many owners have told the Free Press they want GM to buy their cars back, stating they no longer feel safe driving them. GM has been buying back Bolts on a case-by-case basis.
Content in this story was edited and updated after publishing.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @ jlareauan . Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter . Become a subscriber.