GM urges Chevy Bolt EV owners to park their cars outside due to fire risk
This latest safety concern builds on a recall first announced last year.
General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a statement Wednesday urging some Chevrolet Bolt EV owners to park their cars outside and away from their homes or other buildings, due to the risk of fire. GM also cautioned owners not to leave their Bolt EVs plugged in to a charger overnight.
Back in November, GM issued a recall for roughly 69,000 Bolts globally due to the possibility of fires breaking out inside the battery pack. "The affected vehicles' cell packs have the potential to smoke and ignite internally, which could spread to the rest of the vehicle and cause a structure fire if parked inside a garage or near a house," NHTSA said.
As an interim solution, GM rolled out a software update that capped the EV's charging capacity at 90%.
Now, NHTSA says it has reports of two fires breaking out in vehicles that were repaired as part of the original recall. "Vehicles should be parked outside regardless of whether the interim or final recall remedies have been completed," NHTSA said.
Chevrolet launched a website related to this recall, and NHTSA urges owners to enter their VIN on the government agency's website to check if their Bolt EV is affected.