Case Overview
On December 11, 2020, Keller Rohrback and co-counsel filed suit against General Motors on behalf of consumers who own or lease certain Chevrolet Bolt vehicles. GM failed to disclose or repair a widespread defect in the 60 kWh 350 V lithium-ion batteries used in these electric vehicles that can cause the battery system to overheat when the battery is charged to full or nearly full capacity, putting the battery at risk of exploding or catching fire. GM is now urging Chevy Bolt owners and lessees not to charge their batteries past 90% and to avoid parking their vehicles in homes/garages in case of fire. GM has issued a recall that will not permanently repair the defect, but will merely limit the charging capacity and therefore the range of the vehicle.
To prevent their Bolt vehicles from charging past 90%, GM suggested that owners and lessees should enable either “Hilltop Reserve” in the 2017-2018 models or “Target Charge Level” in the 2019 models, as those modes will limit charging to 90%. While those modes will limit the charging and presumably prevent the vehicle from catching fire, doing so will reduce the EPA-rated 238 miles of range by about 25 miles.
Cars are an expensive investment and safety is of utmost concern. If you own or lease a 2017-2019 Chevy Bolt EV, Keller Rohrback wants to hear from you. Please contact us at (800) 776-6044, cars@kellerrohrback.com, or by using the secure form on this page.