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2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 89 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV, most often about the steering (43% of complaints). It is 4th of 8 Bolt EV model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
⚠ Safety advisory2 recalls for this car came with a park-outside warning. See below and check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Most common 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems
Steering
38 complaints · 43%This vehicle as 42987 miles on the odometer and has been used only in standard highway driving. The steering started to make a "clicking" noise and became harder to handle. A search of the internet indicated that this problem is common in Chevrolet bolt cars, often occurring when the vehicle has less than a few…
Electrical
30 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 12,500 miles. Parts named most often: propulsion system.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV. While driving 20 MPH, "system shutting down" appeared on the instrument panel and the vehicle seized in the middle of the road. The contact was unable to power off the vehicle with the start button. The vehicle was towed to faulkner Chevrolet of lancaster (located at 2000…
03/21/2019, 9/05/2019, 1/19/2020, 10/21/2020, 04/14/2021 have had 5 warranty repair orders to fix rear view camera stays on while driving forward at freeway speeds, very distracting and dangerous it also locks out all climate and radio controls. Also while vehicle is stopped crunches when trying to put in " park"
Transmission
12 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 16,500 miles.
35% reduction in range with normal driving conditions, additional 27% reduction in range after courtesy recall #18125 los of propulsion high voltage battery without notification. Gm acknowledges range loss, they informed me this is normal, unable to use vehicle for work commuting
03/21/2019, 9/05/2019, 1/19/2020, 10/21/2020, 04/14/2021 have had 5 warranty repair orders to fix rear view camera stays on while driving forward at freeway speeds, very distracting and dangerous it also locks out all climate and radio controls. Also while vehicle is stopped crunches when trying to put in " park"
Fuel system
11 complaints · 12%The Bolt EV has a steering-wheel mounted regenerative breaking paddle, which applies the regenerative breaking, slowing the vehicle. However, when the battery is fully charged, this paddle does nothing, which has resulted in some near misses. A warning indicator should be present, or the documentation should suggest…
35% reduction in range with normal driving conditions, additional 27% reduction in range after courtesy recall #18125 los of propulsion high voltage battery without notification. Gm acknowledges range loss, they informed me this is normal, unable to use vehicle for work commuting
Other or unspecified
8 complaints · 9%35% reduction in range with normal driving conditions, additional 27% reduction in range after courtesy recall #18125 los of propulsion high voltage battery without notification. Gm acknowledges range loss, they informed me this is normal, unable to use vehicle for work commuting
With the vehicle in the "l" mode driving forward, on both city streets and highways,the regen braking does not consistently engage, thereby creating the potential for not being able to stop the car in time with the regular brakes to avoid a collision. It has been to 2 different dealerships a total of 6 times with no…
Brakes
7 complaints · 8%The Bolt EV has a steering-wheel mounted regenerative breaking paddle, which applies the regenerative breaking, slowing the vehicle. However, when the battery is fully charged, this paddle does nothing, which has resulted in some near misses. A warning indicator should be present, or the documentation should suggest…
At 25,000 miles my brake pads are crumbling and the rotor are scored and pock marked .. I drive the car in l mode exclusively and I don't use the brakes. Ed shuts chevy cadillac says the brakes are warranted. I say there is a problem with the brake system. They should not wear out or crumble if I don't use them on a 2…
Engine
5 complaints · 6%The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV. While driving 20 MPH, "system shutting down" appeared on the instrument panel and the vehicle seized in the middle of the road. The contact was unable to power off the vehicle with the start button. The vehicle was towed to faulkner Chevrolet of lancaster (located at 2000…
The first year of the lease, the main computer began to fail and the entire screen would become black, with the entire car intermittently losing power on the freeway. The computer was replaced. Later on, the blind spot sensors became erratic, but this is likely due to a shoddy repair by the dealership after someone…
Speed control
3 complaints · 3%The Bolt EV has a steering-wheel mounted regenerative breaking paddle, which applies the regenerative breaking, slowing the vehicle. However, when the battery is fully charged, this paddle does nothing, which has resulted in some near misses. A warning indicator should be present, or the documentation should suggest…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalls
Seat belts: pretensioner
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both front seat belt pretensioners and, if necessary, install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust. Certain vehicles will also need a pretensioner cover installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed january 24, 2024. These vehicles were previously recalled for this same issue under recall number 22v-930 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may contact gm EV concierge at 1-833-evchevy (1-833-382-4389) (tty 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or customer service at 1-800-222-1020. Gm's number for this recall
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2017-2023 chevrolet bolt EV vehicles. This recall includes certain vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under NHTSA recall number 22v-930. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the b-pillar, causing a fire.
Seat belts: pretensioner
Risk: A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between january 23, 2023 and april 25, 2023. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. Gm's number for this recall is n222383790.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2017-2023 chevrolet bolt EV vehicles. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the b-pillar, causing a fire.
Electrical: traction battery
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: activate either the hill top reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or target charge level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Defective battery modules will be replaced by gm, free of charge. Interim notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on august 13, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on august 13,
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2017-2019 chevrolet bolt EV vehicles previously recalled under NHTSA recall number 20v-701. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Electrical: traction battery
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: This recall has been superseded by recall number 21v-560. Vehicles previously repaired under 20v-701 will still need to have the new remedy under recall 21v-560. Gm will notify owners, and as an interim repair, beginning on november 17, 2020, dealers will reprogram the hybrid propulsion control module 2 (hpcm2) to limit the full charge to 90%, free of charge. Owners are advised to activate either the hill top reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or target charge level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, or park outside, until the software update is completed. Own
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling all 2017-2018 and certain 2019 chevrolet bolt EV vehicles. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Brakes: caliper
Risk: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began october 11, 2018. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 18279.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2018-2019 chevrolet equinox, impala, cruze, volt and bolt EV vehicles, gmc terrain vehicles, buick lacrosse and regal vehicles, cadillac xts and xts professional vehicles and 2018 chevrolet malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Electrical arcing and thermal events, potentially leading to fires, while utilizing enel x way USA, llc's juicebox residential charger.
Summary
On october 3, 2024, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened pe24028 to investigate alleged failures of enel x way's juicebox level 2 residential EV chargers. The allegations were described as thermal incidents and electrical malfunctions, which could trip the circuit breakers in juicebox ownersâ homes and disrupt electric vehicle charge cycles. On october 2, 2024, enel x way posted on its website that enel x way north america would cease operations in the united states and canada on october 11, 2024. The closure would potentially impact the charging app and supporting software. Odi sent enel x way an information request (ir) letter on october 21, 2024. Enel x way provided an inco
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
Nhtsa received a petition on or about july 18, 2022, requesting that federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the united states. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under odi number 11486072. Fmvss 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after march 1, 2021.on january 27, 2023, NHTSA opened defect petition (dp) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Electric vehicle battery fires
Summary
In october 2020, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe) on 2017-2020 model year (my) chevrolet bolt vehicles based on complaints received alleging that the vehicles caught fire under the seating area while parked and unattended. At the time, odi had received 2 vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) and several field reports. All complaints alleged vehicles caught fire during or after electrical charging.odi's review found vehicle thermal events occurred during and/or at the end of the battery module charging cycle. The information learned from NHTSA and general motors joint vehicle inspections prompted general motors to file recall 20v-701 on april 29, 20
Questions about the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV
- What are the most common problems with the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (38 complaints); electrical (30 complaints, typically around 12,500 miles); transmission (12 complaints, typically around 16,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from December 14, 2023 (seat belts). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2018 a bad year for the Chevrolet Bolt EV?
- It is 4th of 8 Bolt EV model years by number of complaints, with 89 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.