I have a 2021 GM Bolt and the battery fire recall was a big nothing burger.
It was a bad business decision from GM to replace all batteries because 0.0016% of all Bolts caught fire. The very very few that caught fire I'm wondering what was the actual cause.
I was following along since I was affected. As you could imagine, the opinions about the level of danger/risk were ALL over the map w/some barely worried to other non-stop complaining and saying basically the sky is falling.
Personally I think the few battery fires were caused by bad home wiring.
For sure not all were. At least even caught on fire while it was on the road.
was one. We discussed it a bunch including at
9/13/21 Bolt Fire - 2019 model in Cherokee County, GA.
I did see the video that's been removed at the top of
Apparently a 2020 Bolt has suffered a battery fire. A few other folks did too. The car had been done charging for a while and the flames came from the car.
I don't recall if the cause of
Watch Opel Ampera-e catch fire in Germany was determined but from what I see at the beginning, it doesn't look like it's caused by wiring or cabling external to the car.
Also see
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2021/RCLRPT-21V560-6162.PDF, pages 2 and 3. This is from one of several defect 573 docs at
2019 CHEVROLET BOLT EV 5 HB FWD | NHTSA under campaign 21V560000.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2021/RMISC-21V560-8766.pdf was also attached.
GM has said at
General Motors to Recall Additional Bolt EVs (when GM extended the recall to include US-pack Bolts too, not just MIK packs, which meant all Bolts produced from the beginning up to the point were recalled), says:
" In rare circumstances, the batteries supplied to GM for these vehicles may have two manufacturing defects – a torn anode tab and folded separator – present in the same battery cell, which increases the risk of fire. Out of an abundance of caution, GM will replace defective battery modules in Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs with new modules, with an expected additional cost of approximately $1 billion.
“Our focus on safety and doing the right thing for our customers guides every decision we make at GM,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “As leaders in the transition to an all-electric future, we know that building and maintaining trust is critical. GM customers can be confident in our commitment to taking the steps to ensure the safety of these vehicles.”
After further investigation into the manufacturing processes at LG and disassembling battery packs, GM discovered manufacturing defects in certain battery cells produced at LG manufacturing facilities beyond the Ochang, Korea, plant. GM and LG are working to rectify the cause of these defects. In the meantime, GM is pursuing commitments from LG for reimbursement of this field action."
What really pissed me off is some folks spreading misinformation like ZenRockGarden here. See my responses starting at
2 Month Tesla Owner - Fed up and Done. Ugh! It's one thing to dislike GM or be very concerned or badly affected (e.g. Bolts got banned at my work in Oct 2021 (I had no other car in my household of 1) which is a whole long story that in itself and is moot now) but it's another to spread all sorts of misinformation.
teslamotorsclub.com
electrek.co
