Our Chevy Bolt Is Back - But Is It Really Fixed?
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
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At the start of December, Nikki's 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV had an unfortunate accident when a deer jumped out immediately in front of her car. It did some significant damage to the vehicle.
But just three weeks later, and the Bolt Is back - all fixed - with a brand new battery too!
Is this the end of the team's Bolt woes? Will Nikki or her partner 'AmeriKate get the buyback after all? And what's different after the Bolt battery swap?
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I can’t be happier about my 2020 Bolt. The only thing that is extremely annoying is the 50kw fast charging limit, which turns into 35kw most of the time
Couldn't agree more!!!
"Fast" ..... lol
We have both a Tesla Model S and a Bolt (in the Opel Ampera-e diguise - some charging electronics differences but that's all) - while it's not touching the S for long distance comfort it's perfectly fine and a good car, but the 50kW limit (which it only reaches for a short time around the 20% SoC mark IIRC) is the killer for long trips... Luckily the range is more than adequate to get to our summer cabin 3h away, and with a little top-up while there, back home again (should theoretically be able to do the return trip too in one charge with the new battery). I have only done one long drive in it, and it was ok apart from the 1h+ charging stop I needed. Even combining it with dinner/rest stop there was still a substantial wait before I could be on my way again. I do the same distance at least a couple of times every year in the S, and getting 2-3 times the charging speed + the unrivalled ease of charging makes a big difference.
Android Auto mostly makes up for the lack of navigation etc., and the automatic steering wheel + seat heaters when it's cold is nice (and weirdly missing in the S - have to turn them on manually).
That is legitimately my only complaint about owning a 2017 bolt, I see other cars come in with lower charge than my car and leave fully charged before mine even hits 80%
@@Richey24 well you wait a few years when we have way more EVs on the road. Then you be lucky just to find an available charging station.
We got our 2019 battery pack replaced last week. The range was definitely increased. Very happy with it so car.
PS I have driven 300 miles non stop at 55 miles an hour from San Antonio to South Padre Island because of the lack of charging and it worked like a champ.
How long did the battery swap take? Very few Bolts in my mid-sized southern city, so I’m not overly confident in our local dealership to handle the swap efficiently.
re: "We got our 2019 battery pack replaced last week. The range was definitely increased. Very happy with it so car." Mark we need video of you doing SMOKY CELEBRATORY DONUTS in an empty parking lot (think misbehaving Millennials in 392 Hemi Chargers). wait Bolts are FWD and have no physical handbrake, okay look just send us Photoshopped images and we'll use our imaginations. 😃
@@alabamatubers Q: How long did the battery swap take? A: only a 1/2 day to a full day (assuming all goes correctly). if you search on RUclips you'll see a dealership up in Canada (eh?) has uploaded a few videos showing the swap. while obviously edited for time, the process is pretty quick/painless once they actually have a FRESH PACK in their hands (which has always been the problem from the beginning). #NOPARTSNOSERVICE
@@alabamatubers it was pretty silly. I called several dealerships and they all insisted that they had to inspect it first. The next step on the 42-page document was order the battery. I think they had it for a full week but once they got it in they got it done in a day. The technician and I agreed the right thing to do would have been to let the customer take it home for a few days while we wait for the battery to come in. I haven't really found any dealerships in San Antonio area that have a full understanding of the process.
And in about 3 days America BANS BYD ELECTRIC CARS That are made in the USA "" yes you heard it right BANNING ELECTRIC CARS ""
I had my 2019's battery modules replaced about 3 weeks ago. It took the dealership about 5 hours to do the job. In order to minimize the time, they had advised me to bring my Bolt for replacement with the battery almost empty, which I did. In the meantime, the dealership provided a loaner - a gas car for a change. A good reminder of what a noble steed my Bolt is.
So, GM have kept their promise and gave me a brand-new, bigger and safer battery covered with another 100,000-mile warranty - a great addition to an already excellent car. Kudos to them and "on the road again" for me. 🙂
I accepted a very generous buy back offer for my 2017 Bolt. The process took about 4 months. GM gave me the full out the door cost of my vehicle less a state mandated mileage depreciation, which was about $1200. This car had already had two battery replacements due to the first battery recall in 2017/18 and a loss of range in 2019. I used the money from the buyback to buy a lightly used 2020 Bolt and am awaiting that car to have a battery replacement.
While all of this has been a hassle, GM has stood by the Bolt. They have made a huge loss on me as an owner, but they stood by their product.
As seen here ** it`s not impossible to make a new battery, like this person making new Nissan Leaf batteries using 18650 cells... Thus someone needs to start making them for cars out of warranty or self replaced packs using 3rd party companies...( I fear the Hummer will have the same fate)
** ruclips.net/video/MwuZchZDGIQ/видео.html&ab_channel=AleksandrLoginov
Wishing Everyone at Transport Evolved and fellow Subscribers a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Tack!
I bought a 2017 Bolt (Ruby Red) last year for $20k USD which is a great buy considering I've never put gas or oil in it and there is NO maintenance schedule other than rotating the tires and replacing the in-cabin air filter which is laughable when you compare it to the typical maintenance schedule of a non-EV vehicle. At any rate, aside from this car being extremely economical to own it is a lot of fun to drive.
The new battery pack was installed a few days ago and GM paid for a rental car the whole time the dealership had our Bolt EV. They were extremely professional throughout the entire process. I was very impressed by the way it was handled by them.
Our new battery gives us a range of just under 300 miles which gets us anywhere we typically drive (for several days on a single charge). I've never been the type of person who does "cross country road trips" (I don't know anyone who does those actually) so having a really long-range, let's say a 1,000-mile range wouldn't benefit me at all. I drive to the airport if I want to go that far. Ours has leather seats, both front and back seats are heated as is the steering wheel. It has a really nice stereo too and the hatchback with folding rear seats means we have a ton of cargo space. The Bolt is a STEAL at $20k used especially when you're driving past gas stations.
On a side note, you really should think about lowering your seat. I'm two meters tall and my head isn't as close to the ceiling as yours is. This is very dangerous. The airbag is not going to deploy correctly if you're sitting that high up. It will hit you in the chest instead of your face so you'll end up with a broken neck because there is nothing stopping your head from moving forward. This happens often. Short people who sit very close to the steering wheel are also severely injured by airbags. Please look into this for your own safety.
Got my 2018 Bolt back last week from the replacement. It took about two days. From the time I first contacted the concierge to the call to bring the car in for replacement was about 1.5 months. I got a free Hertz rental and a full charge on the battery. It showed a Max range of 300 miles. No weird noises or behavior. The console computer seems a little more stable than before, but other than that, the only difference that I see is the ability to use the full battery (I bought it after the fires and recommendations to partially charge).
Be careful with Hertz Rental - Rental car company Hertz is facing allegations from customers who say they were falsely arrested because the company reported the cars they had rented as stolen. ruclips.net/video/yfniAzbev2M/видео.html&ab_channel=CBSMornings
I have a 2019 Bolt, that I purchased October 2018 and I was offered a buy back ,but 3 months later I call them and they said that GM had decided to decline my offer because GM was going to replace my battery. I asked them why hadn’t they called me to tell me that they had decided to decline the offer, no response. Then I get a call from GM again telling me that they had a battery for my Bolt and they sat up a day for replacement and that I should call Hertz for a rental and they would pay up to $45 per day . So I call Hertz for a rental and took my Bolt in for replacement battery. When I go for my replacement the Chevy dealer tell me that they did not have a battery and that they Would Call me when it comes in. I told them that I had put in for a rental and Hertz would not refund my $95.85 . They said that they would take care of it, but they have not. Now I get a call from GM again saying that I had a new person and that my back offer was still good but, I had to send in my paper work, I told her that I had sent it earlier,but she said that I had to send it again. I told her that that the right hand don’t know what the left hand is doing. Never again. Eugene Jemison last GM car. Very disappointed !!!
I own a 2019 Bolt. My battery was replaced mid November, the first one my dealer did. The actual replacement took less than a day, but due to a software change from Chevrolet that didn’t come when the battery did, I couldn’t take it home until the afternoon of the next day. I like my Bolt a lot and don’t plan on parting with it anytime soon. I am in Idaho and my winter time range with freezing temps is about 160 miles. This is similar to last winter. Have to wait for next summer to see what top end range will be. I have owned it 2 years with no problems other than the battery recall. I frequently drive 100 miles in a day.
Tesla owner blows up his car due to battery issue , the car was 10 years old... the battery could of been repaired(as seen on RUclips) or replaced for less then the quoted price... but nope he was to low in the IQ department to do that so took the most extreme measure of getting rid of it....
Just curious but in the summer time, do you find your mileage goes down if you go through a mountain range? I.e if you were to drive from Idaho to Utah, how far does it go before the battery gets low?
@@vezner haven’t had summer since the battery replacement, but I have not taken a long trip with my Bolt since I got it 2 years ago. I stay within 70 miles of home in the Snake River valley. I have no experience taking it over large mountain ranges. I imagine the uphill climb would drain battery faster, but the downhill would only partially mitigate this.
I owned a 2017 Chevy Bolt Premier (bought used) , after having issues driving it from NC to SC I decided to drop it off at the dealership in SC and about 6months later got a buyback for what I paid and GM paid for my gas cost ($1500) on my ice car while the Bolt set at the dealership.
Once I received that check, I turned around and purchased a 2021 Bolt Premier because at the time they were not recalled. Once they followed suite to recall all Bolt 😡. I asked GM for a MSRP swap. So now I’m in line for a 2023 Cadillac LyrIQ. I am super excited 😊 for the Cadillac and a bit nervous to see what the future hold for the new Ultium batteries. Luckily TN has better lemon laws.
Side note. I will eventually buy another Bolt or similar when I see the stability on the new battery packs.
Just got my 2017 Bolt back last night after the battery change, dropped it off Monday and was supposed to get her back on Tuesday but they had never done a 2017 before so the cooling line adapter was an issue.
Got to the dealership last night after many delays and expected a fully charged battery only to find out I had 60 miles of range , to get home I need 40 miles so that was a bummer considering it's winter and god forbid I need to defrost the windows on my way home! After a stressful and cold trip home I was well into the orange of the battery range arrived with just under 20 miles left and fogged up windows so I plugged in the car for the night expecting a full charge in the morning only to see the battery at 80% with the hill top reserve off . It appears that the software upgrade that was supposed to allow charging at night and the ability to drive below 70 miles of range but with charging limit of 80% was installed (I have heard others complaining about this happening and it took weeks to resolve) On this video when you were looking at the android app I could see the range indicator on your Bolt and it looked like the car was not fully charged when your app said it was at 54+ kilovolts, I suspect the same thing happened to you Nicci , you might want to look into that.
I will be calling the dealership today after they open up to see what's up and when they can deal with it, for now I'm just happy to have over 200 miles of range.
Wish me luck
Eddie
I bought my Bolt in June. Perfect car here in CA, because it wasn't expensive to buy, but gas is now around $5 a gallon here. I was spending $120 a week just to get to and from work 5 days a week. Since I got my Bolt, I've only had to fill up my other cars once. Because one I have only driven once since I got my Bolt, and it was to drive to an from SF, which took about a quarter of a tank. My wife uses the SUV we have to take our kids to and from school (less than 5 miles away) and that is only on days when I can't take them or pick them up. I pay about $300 a month for the Bolt. But if I was driving either of my other cars to work, I would have spent over $3000 in gas alone.
Bolts catching fire has never concerned me. There have been a total of around 16 Bolts that have caught fire in its production run. Over 100,000 sold in the US alone. It's like being scared of something, that will likely never happen to you. And it's not like other cars are incapable of catching fire either. But if Chevy wants to replace the battery free of charge, I'm not going to stop them.
Radiator? I didn’t think EVs had a radiator.
I’m happy with my 2017 Premier. Got my battery December 15th. The replacement only took one day and now it is better than ever. Never have any issues. Under the circumstances with pandemic and supply chain issues I am cutting GM some slack.
I got my 2019 Bolt battery replacement back in November. It certainly gets more range. The first time I charged it to 100% it registered 300 miles! I have only taken one longer trip. Trip was 217 miles and I believe I had 74 miles left when I arrived. So it seems pretty accurate. It is definitely more than the advertised amount of 259 miles. I am very pleased about that. No other issues except it appears I have to go back for the software update as it was not available when the battery was replaced. I hope that doesn't prove problematic.
I just squeezed 300 miles out of one I rented from Turo 2 weeks ago. I doubt that it had yet gotten its battery replaced.
Please Niki don't park it in your garage or near your house DON"T TRUST GM please we want you around for a long time.
As for range after a main battery change: the Bolt service manuals from GM say the power modules need time to adjust to the new power levels. It is suggested to run the battery through a full-charge to low-power warning to help speed up the "learning" of the power modules (there are 2 in the Bolt). When the main battery was changed those power modules were placed into a "fast" learning mode but giving those modules exposure to a full range of full to empty to full again accelerates the learning.
My 2017 was a brick for 55 days due to a melted anode. After contacting multiple dealerships, including the one i bought the car from, i ended up getting my car to Power Chevy in Sublimity Oregon, which is 40 miles away from home. The battery finally arrived two weeks ago and the replacement process went well. The only issue was the rear seat was not fully re-seated. I put the back rest down and pushed down with considerable force and it popped into place. No biggie, i suppose. I came out of this whole process wondering why GM didn't have certified techs and equipment BEFORE selling a single car. I contacted about 7 dealerships before finding one that could due the task. The car is operating great now and i am grateful to have her back.
I feel sad for Bolt owners, Hyundai on the other hand, I cannot praise enough. They were open with me and kept me up to date with the results of their investigations, and when they decided around May of this year to change all the cars possibly affected, they used the same criteria as GM are now doing, first made first changed. When at the end of August they swopped my Kona battery, another 5 vehicles had the work done in the same afternoon, plus a $530 voucher given to me to be used at my pleasure. Yes, Hyundai have my vote !
Why feel sad? Out of 150,000, bolts sold, less than 20 have caught fire. And because chevy is taking responsibility, they are replacing everyone's battery for free. And then they will extend the warranty. So even of people have some degradation on their battery, they get the battery replaced, and the battery's warranty will be extended beyond that. Looking back, I should have bought an older bolt, with more features. It would have cost less. But my battery would have been replaced anyways.
I'm in Brazil and here GM has no plans for battery replacements, so I unfortunately opted to sell my Bolt EV even though I lost some money.
Actually no, there has never been a point where I regretted getting my 2017 Bolt. I knew I was an early adopter when I bought it so I knew there would be growing pains, and it suits my needs and life style much better than any EV out there. As for the fires, a dozen or so out of 140,000 does not have me worried. Moreover, I have no garage so I have to park it outside. And, I end up with e newer, better battery!
Similar feelings and scenario with me and the Kona Electric 2019.
I agree, the Bolt is such a solid car that when the new battery goes in my 2020 I'll have basically a new car again with a new battery warranty. This is my second Bolt and my lease is up next January so I have to decide if I want an EUV or another Bolt EV or just keep this one.
I know there is a relearn process that often gets skipped. Our local dealer messed up the process on a friend's Bolt and ended up with less than 40kWh. After they tried to fix it again, failed, and told him it would sort itself out in a couple months, he brought it to a different dealer who was able to get it to relearn the proper capacity without issue.
After a crazy year with GM where they were supposed to repurchase my used 2017 bolt. After being hung up on and asked why I wanted to repurchase 4 times and then hung up on again (I was only courteous never cross nor angry) I contact GM about 2 weeks ago. They told me the 2017 bolts are eligible for the software update (80% max but able to discharge to 0% usable). Well last week my local Chevy service manager called and well, my new battery for my 2017 Bolt is coming in. I too am keeping the bolt until my F150 Lightning Pro is ready which is solidly 2023 from what I understand but eerily I received my get ready to see your options email from Ford on the same day the dealer called. Still really looking forward to the greater range! I bought my bolt 3 weeks before the recalls started I really enjoy the car but GM? No thanks.
We have two 2019's, one with the new battery pack and the other is scheduled for replacement next week. Mine had the replacement and I managed to squeeze out 320 miles out of the first charge. I live in sunny Los Angeles, ( raining today,) where the temps are warm and the conditions are near perfect for testing the range of my car. So far so good, I still love my Bolt.
Your new cars are going to be rad. A Mach-E and an F-150 Lightning.
Happy Holidays Transport Evolved crew. I enjoy your videos. I purchased a 2021 bolt premier in February and decided to go the buyback route in September. I finally finished the process December 2nd and what helped get the process moving was filing a complaint with BBB. Highly recommend doing that after waiting a few weeks or so for GM to respond to your buyback request.
After filing complaint with BBB, deadlines are established to settle the buyback which GM followed.
Now I have no more Bolt payments plus a few grand in equity that I can apply to the Silverado EV if I can wait that long. I’m also liking the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe.
8:10 My 2019 MY Bolt EV took like a month to see the extra range. I think if they forget to trigger the battery relearn in GDS2 it takes a *lot* longer for the car to detect the capacity change. You still use the 2017-2019 PID's on a 2017-2019 Bolt EV.
8:33 My 2019 MY Bolt EV also had the noisy coolant. It means they didn't pull a vacuum on the coolant system. It will calm down in a few hundred miles. I DCFC'ed and it didn't seem to impact my charging speeds. Chevy mentioned in their latest TSB revision that failing to vac the cooling system may result in low coolant and a customer return.
I just got my battery replaced this week, I immediately embarked on a 350 mile roadtrip. Detecting a 10 percent range increase is difficult given the limited metrics chevy provides however it did not seem one had occurred. Further, I was unable to charge beyond 45kw during any of my 3 dcfc sessions despite ideal weather and SOC.
Just executed a repurchase of my 2017 Bolt EV. I was very satisfied with how GM handled it. Yes, it was an ordeal at times, and I had to send in the same paperwork every time the case went to another level. But when it was all said and done, the repurchase deal was too good to pass up. I also have a Mustang EV on order, due to be built in 2 weeks. Who knows when it will actually arrive?
re: "it was an ordeal at times, and I had to send in the same paperwork every time the case went to another level." exactly, you were being SLOW-WALKED and it's not "accidental" but a deliberate technique to see how BAD you want the resolution. logic dictates, there'd be no need to RESUBMIT (multiple times) paper work they should already have in their possession as being/staying organized is not that difficult. no, they just recognize that consumer psychology is such that we are naturally inclined to MISREAD/MISINTERPRET their actions as being "incompetence", which of course works FANTASTICALLY for them. the Big Banks did the same during the 2009 Mortgage Crisis.
@@phillyphil1513 Sounds like the old secret "A-hole warrenties" where cars would be repaired under warrenty, but only if you acted like an A-hole. Nice people were our of luck.
Getting a whole new FREE battery pack was my wish and dream from the first recall notice.
I had my 2019 Bolt battery pack replaced about 10 days ago. I definitely noticed increased range even in the colder weather. My replacement was delayed by about 2 weeks due to shipping delay which GM and the dealer kept me well informed. Took about a day with an overnight to put a full charge on it (required by GM) . Quite pleased so far... may buy the car off lease with this new pack .
As of this month we've owned Angel, our 2019 Bolt 3 years now (where has the time gone? 😲) and I've loved it every day from day 1. It's charged indoors in a heated garage attached to the house and I haven't lost a minute's sleep
Distributed computing
Got the pack in ours (early '19 - probably built late '18) replaced Thursday last week. Dropped it off the afternoon before, expecting to pick it up after getting back from Xmas with the inlaws, but we got a call already the morning after saying it was ready for pickup. Haven't had time to see how range has been affected yet, and this being a European version, aka Opel Ampera-e, there were no messages as Onstar was abandoned over a year ago leaving us without any app connectivity. No error messages in the car itself though. The local dealer (Opel/Hyundai) seems competent and friendly, even though we bought ours 2nd hand privately on the other side of the country.
This is really sad to here. It just shows that GM has no idea what it is doing.
i believe you mean they are the leaders of the ev revolution....
@@laloajuria4678 Hahahaha
I'm sure there are plenty of people at GM that know what they are doing. The problem seems to lie in a less-than-optimal corporate culture.
@@BixbyConsequence Correct. And the way they have treated their customers is atrocious.
I love your channel and thanks for the battery update. We had our battery replacement last week and everything went fine. They kept it for two days and returned it with a full charge. It had an indicated range of 205 miles. We live in mild climate. Also we have not been able to find hilltop reserve anymore. So now I’m wondering did we get extra range or do we still have the recall charging restriction software loaded. Currently I’m waiting to see what internet says before I contact the dealership. Happy Holidays!
the suspicion is gm will have to push out a new software, which they havent made yet.....leaders of the ev revolution.
re: "Also we have not been able to find hilltop reserve anymore." good or bad you won't, it had already long been eliminated back at the end of 2019 for the M.Y. 2020 update (which first got the newer packs).
Nope. I bought my bolt this year and I absolutely love it. I am driving it right now and it has saved me over $5,000 in gas this year
Wow! You drive a lot!
@@usa-ev I do doordash so yes I drive a lot. I have put 40,000 miles on my bolt since I got it in February
@@UlexiteTVStoneLexite That's great! Glad it is working for you!
Will be interesting to see how long it lasts, if you keep it long term.
@@UlexiteTVStoneLexite wow! Nice to see a fellow dasher using a Bolt. I also got it this year, but I have 15,000mi on it. You are hard-core. Happy dashing on the holidays!
@@UlexiteTVStoneLexite 100+ miles a day.... 7 day/week.... for 10 months. We have a new Road Warrior!
Merry Christmas thanks for all ur vids and information and help this year, hope u have an amazing festive break x
Congrats on the new battery pack! It would be super interesting to see if there are any changes to charging or range.
I was fortunate to talk to the Bolt engineers. When one said we knew we were bucking and could have lost our jobs but we are engineers and dammit we are CHEVROLET engineers!! When you have that much pride, you know you are getting the best. Other than the seat I have NEVER been disappointed. There is a Ferrari driver out there with his jaw on the ground when my White Lightnin with AI in the electronics ( like Tesla) was pacing him at speed. I did it so effortlessly. Just bang and whoosh!
I just got my battery replaced in my 2019 Bolt and I was told by the service tech that the car has to "relearn" it's range, so you might not get an accurate read on the car or your Torque app for a little while. Give it a month or 2 and look again and see what it says. Glad you got it done! I've noticed that my range has gone up also! 🙂 It took right around a day to complete. I took it to Concord Chevy, in Concord, CA on a Tuesday and got it back the next day on Wednesday.
The only regret is the communication from GM. Very poor. Car? Love it. Concerned about the battery? Not much. Gas cars are 30 times more likely to burst in flames.
re: "Gas cars are 30 times more likely to burst in flames..." ...while being 100x easier to EXTINGUISH (using readily available agents) and using 100x less water.
The big difference is that IC cars usually catch fire while you are driving them. EV's catch fire in the middle of the night while they are being charged.
@@fafner1 re: "EV's catch fire in the middle of the night while they are being charged."
So happy to hear that Artemis is back in action!
I had a 202l cheverlet bolt LT. I got a msrp swap for a gmc canyon. I tried to call the ev concierge numerous times and was never able to get ahold of anybody. I finally contacted the BBB SEPT 17. The BBB helped allot finally got a case specialist a.d got the ball rolling. It was a long process. I finally completed everything completed Dec 6th. For anyone doing a swap you will have to call and call your case rep. Otherwise they will put you on the back burner.
Got my 2017 battery. Lots more range. The dealer was very efficient. 24 hours. Most of that was to level 2 charge to full.
I purchased my 2017 Bolt in November 2017. In the summer of 2021, I placed an order for a Tesla Model 3, but planned to keep the Bolt as a second car. Out of curiosity, I started the buyback process in August 2021 and received an incredible buyback order in November 2022. Based on what I paid, less tax credits, I came out over $2,000 ahead of the net purchase price. My Tesla was ready, so I went ahead and said a tearful goodbye to my cute Bolt. This trade was definitely NOT due to fear of battery fires, but impairment of future trade-in value. I wanted more range, and my partner found that Bolt egress was too difficult. I am super pleased with the Chevy buyback process, and am open to purchase a Chevy EV in the future.
BTW. A friend took the buy-back on his 2017 Bolt (>60K miles) and then purchased a new 2022 Bolt with the proceeds. He had over 60K miles on the 2017 Bolt. He is way ahead cost wise due to tax credits and a rebate from Chevy and is happy with his new Bolt.
Another friend had their 2019 battery replaced. Shortly after battery pack replacement, it has had to go back to the dealer twice. The charge receptacle locked out the charger, thus no way to charge the car! The dealership in town did not know how to fix the problem, so an out-of-town dealer means a rather difficult time getting the issue fixed. We are unsure if the problem has been properly addressed.
I'm wondering if there is any change to the DCFC charge rate. While my 2020 is rated at 50 kW, I've never seen it charge at that rate. At best, it has charged at about 42 kW on an Electrify America charger rated at 350 kW. Now, in the winter, if the battery isn't conditioned (having driven it for about 50+ miles), the charge rate is, at best, 23kW.
Thumbs up for your decision to try to remove air travel.
No, I have never wished I didn't own my Bolt EV despite the battery issues and the overreaction by many to the extremely low risk of fire. I look forward to getting a new battery pack and continuing to enjoy our EV.
Had our 2019 Bolt battery pack replaced in November. Took two visits to the dealer and three days for them to get it done. After the replacement, the high voltage charging system failed. Took the car in and they purged air from the battery cooling system. A week later, same error with the high voltage charging system. Took to dealer, and they did same fix. Assured me all would be good. Battery charge readout glitched a couple times, telling me that the car was at 100%, when it was really only at 40%--disconcerting, but when I turned the car off and then on again, the system then properly reported the charge state. Now the high voltage charging system isn't giving me any error messages, but the car won't charge properly. Tried four different high voltage charging stations--EvGo twice, Electrify America, ChargePoint--starting the charging with the car at 25% charge, and each time the car only charged at about 20 to 30 kW, and then the charging stopped when car reached 40 to 50% charge. Anyone else having these kinds of problems?
Fellow Bolt owner here! I would take it back to the dealer ASAP. It appears they didn't put the new software onto the car. My car showed 62.2kwh from the TorquePro app immediately after the battery install and was picked up charged to 100%. The air in the system should subside overtime, but it also means that they likely didn't use the proper vacuuming tool needed to bleed the system. Mine is making some noise too so I will keep an eye on it as well. Best of luck to you!
Where do “repurchased “ cars go? Are they sold as used? Will they be identified if on the market?
They will get auctioned after the recall is completed. Or, the battery will be recycled and the chassis parted out
Watch for the coolant bubbles in the battery.... its been problematic.
I just had my battery replaced on my '17 and I checked the capacity after the work was done and they did remember to reset the capacity on mine. I also verified it's a separate step. It now reads 64.8kWh. :-) Did you ever go back and get yours updated?
It's such a shame that GM dropped the ball on this car. I was actually looking at a Bolt EUV before the recall news came out. Now, I'm probably not going to consider a Bolt in the future. Perhaps a Tesla or some other EV..from companies that put their all into the technology. Sad to say that neither GM or Ford seem to have their hearts in it. I heard horror stories of dealers charging up to $10k more than the sticker price for Mach E's. One even told a prospective buyer that they should buy a Tesla instead. This is not good PR for Ford and shows you that although they talk a good game about EV's, their hearts don't seem to be in it. Sad.
They din't drop the ball they are fixing the problem and these cars will come out to be one of the best.
The Bolt is a decent car. The battery issue seems to be the fault of LG Chem alone, so while I'm in no way a GM fan I have few complaints about the car. Its Achilles heel is the slow DC charging - 50kW just isn't good enough for long trips, and GM not upgrading this when refreshing the Bolt/adding the EUV version is almost as bad as Nissan not adding proper battery thermal management when they came out with the LEAF V2.
Currently they seem to be replacing packs on the Ampera-e, my dealership expects my car (may 2019) to be swapped in early 2022.
Chevy Bolt owners are starting to sound like abused spouses who won't press charges.
Thank for a GREAT 2021 and Merry Christmas to you and yours and a very SAFE New Year!!!!
I have a 2020 bolt and every time we drive it we like it more. (10000 miles) We have no plans on giving it up. Sorry you are letting your bolts go. Would of been interesting to hear how they would last long term.
Just got my new battery on my 2019 Bolt - TorquePro estimates battery capacity at 67 KWhrs. I also hear more noise while parked and ignition on.
Love the video Nikki. Dear RUclips, I like, I subscribed, I have clicked the bell. Why am I now seeing transport evolved content that is a month old that I could not find over the last month? Please support content producers like Nikki and let me watch what I want to watch.
I hope all goes well for you all with all your EV's.
Brilliant to hear that you’ve had or been offered battery swaps, better news about the F150 and Mach E. A whole new series of videos will be no doubt forthcoming when they arrive. Happy New Year!
My little 2019 Bolt(Bolty) is running fine with new pack replaced Nov 16th here in Ontario Canada. I was surprise to get it done so soon. I was anticipating sometime in the new year.
I dont pay attention to details but I dont think I am getting anymore range than before. The dealer had no idea about the new warranty and had to look it up.
I am happy enough with GM that I would buy another EV from them if they bring something out that suits my needs -- I need a small electric truck.
All the best to the TE gang.
Cheers
We sold back our 2017 and 2018 Bolt EVs in June, purchased 2 Tesla model Ys and received them in late October. There were many reasons we changed over and are very happy we did. Our bolts were fantastic cars that got us started on EV and am happy for the experience they gave us.
Does it give you pause that the company that killed the electric car is now making these? I know you are all in on EVs as I am but is the bolt a step change better than an equivalent ICE car? Will this car convert owners to lifelong EV drivers or turn them back to ICE cars...
I am not saying I know the answer but I think it's important to ask the question. This company has a long history of investing money to kill competition from street cars - Yes GM killed street cars across the country, to Crushing EV1s...
I would not put it past GM to make lackluster cars that are EVs so they can later say see no one wants these... Reminds me of the absolutely terrible diesel engines made by GM in the 80s... After that no one in the US wanted Diesels... very few at least.
Thank You for All that you are doing for World Peace and for our Planet...
Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Paz.. Namaste ..
🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌🌷 ☮️ ❤️ 💐 🕊
I would appreciate less click-baity headlines than this one. Also a bit more rigor in validating the state of the vehicle. If you have not actually set up checking capacity correctly, how can I interpret a headline that says "But is it really fixed?" as anything other than worry/fear mongering? Update your phone / app! Do some homework before posting! Arrg.
I am getting new battery swapped out next month. Did they replace with 60kw or better? Thanks,
I went for the buyback. I hope to settle within the next 2 weeks.
At least GM is finally sorting out this mess. It's been shameful and brand damaging.
No battery for mine yet, but it's a 2020. Mine was also recently in an accident, only very minor, with just some scuffs on the front bumper. However, the car has forward collision detection and braking and it did not work. My wife was driving and said there was no warning, and clearly there was no braking done. I've always felt that GM's ADAS systems don't work properly, it regularly gives false alerts or doesn't alert when it should, but now I have physical evidence of that. I can't imagine trusting GM's Supercruise.
re: "I can't imagine trusting GM's Supercruise." correct you shouldn't trust it, nor trust Ford's Blue Cruise, and you sure as hell can't trust Tesla/FSD. see something that's quickly been forgotten in this IMMATURE, SELF-ABSORBED, DYSTOPIAN culture that we now find ourselves (year 2021) is that getting/maintaining a DRIVERS LICENCE is a "privilege" and NOT a "right" which means WE (John Q. Motorist) are 100% responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle (not a "dumb" computer). notice how no announcement altering this has been made by any DMV in any state in this regard...? nor has any announcement been made by any Traffic Court or State/Local Police Department in this regard...?
I have a 2019 but I haven't gotten a replacement pack yet. My guess is they're doing 17s and 18s before they get to US pack 19s?
Happy Holidays everyone! ❤️
A co-worker just got his 2017 Bolt battery replaced this week and he picked up. This winter he will be testing the long distance range in colder weather.
Merry Christmas to all!
Congratulations! My 2019 also got a battery replacement. I brought it in on a Wednesday AM and there was some problem getting the code to the battery. It was finished Monday end of day. I’ll be testing the range soon. I considered an exchange for a newer model but I went with buying it off lease.
Hey I see you have a Red Rocket. I have a White Lightnin. I have loved my 2017 LT ( good choice with an almost audiophile quality sound system tuned for the middle of the back seat- when you sit there, you don’t even have to close your eyes to imagine you are there. Try Bluetooth with an iPhone 6S at 75 percent drive volume Henry Mancini Peter Gunn, Lujon, Thorn Birds, Royal Blue-float away on that one- great when coming down Palomar mountain in the evening just after sundown. Try Tina Guo Wonder Woman, Theme from Game of Thrones, Green Sleeves, and more. Try Toccata and Fugue with Virgil Fox. Bombastic deep with no distortion. Have you noticed the AI in the electronics that molds itself to the way you drive and the way you charge? One time charged to 369 miles with Regen down Palomar Mountain. I can show you the display.
Very happy with our battery replacement on my 2017 Bolt, just completed 2 weeks ago and it was a seamless experience and completed over one day. Haven't tested the DC-fast charging to see if the curve past 50% has changed at all, but I suspect it hasn't without a BMS update (but would be nice if it was no longer the step down is).
Our 2017 Bolt EV was built in Nov 2016. Just before we left on a Holiday trip, we were contacted by our dealer that they had our replacement pack. The dealer offered to do the swap and keep our car until we return.
Our battery has been replaced but will not be able to test it until we get back home.
Congrats on booking the 2 eFords!! F-150 Lightning and the MachE. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Mine is an early '17 Premier also and this week it changed to 881 battery available to order. But I told the GM lady I'm sticking with the buyback for now to see what the offer is first so hopefully they are doing the math over the holiday and I'll get the amount soon. If it isn't reasonable for a 27K mile car I will either go with their 2022 trade or just do the battery repair on mine. Probably the trade if it is a pure key for key trade and having a new warrantied car would be nice. I see the 2LT trim is pretty much the spec of my Premier, or the EUV but I don't really want to add any cash into the deal.
Either way, I have an appointment for the new software on Thursday so that will at least provide for more range so I don't have to charge it every day, having a whole 37 miles of Chicago winter range (I blast the heat) now if I stay within the guidance.
I heard Ford can't fulfill their orders and the dealers are extorting about $5k in cost
yeah just read ANOTHER story about that too, hopefully she'll be one of the lucky few that gets to side-step that experience. in the meantime, WELCOME TO LATE STAGE CAPITALISM FOLKS unfortunately it's what we "asked for" so what that means in practice is we don't get to whine/complain about it when it "doubles back" to bite us in the ass (and it is).
@@phillyphil1513 Those of us who have *been* complaining about capitalism may continue to do so though
@@EarthCreature. re: "Those of us who have been complaining about capitalism may continue to do so though" indeed, this is after all the PREMIER definition for Insanity, ie. "Exhibiting the same behavioral patterns OVER AND OVER but expecting different results".
@@phillyphil1513 You're confused. "It always seems impossible until it is done." Is the correct context. Your quote doesn't apply here. You can be a legacy auto lemming-fool all ya want🥱
@@EarthCreature. re: "You're confused." nope, simply educated with the decades of work/life experience to back it up, and perhaps more importantly the confidence to do so, this can be disconcerting. "The More Things Change, The More Things REMAIN THE SAME." - Jean Alphonse Karr (1808-1890). re: "It always seems impossible until it is done." well that's what i keep hearing in the context of FSD (mostly from Elon) but yes that's what i keep hearing. #GRIFTECONOMY
Good for you. The local Chevrolet dealer who's handling our recall, keeps"loosing" our information. We've started over, at the back of the line, twice now.
I think the SOH reading in Torque is influenced by external factors like battery temperature. It's best to compile many readings over time in a spreadsheet. You can also completely empty the battery and recharge it to full and note the kwh used. Get home with the range reading LOW, put the heat and fans to MAX and let the car die. I would do that a couple times a year. It's the best way to get real battery SOH.
Just got my battery on 12/23/21 in my very early red 2017 as well. I see a range increase in line with the new capacity. In Torque I also see 194 Ah and 62 kWh, but there's different pid codes depending on model year. The 2019+ said -0.82
Also we're a mixed Mach-E and Bolt family. The Mach-E is a much more pleasant road tripping vehicle, especially if it's got the bells and whistles.
We have a 2020 Bolt EV, but haven't been offered a replacement battery pack yet. We only charge over 80% if we are making a long trip. It will be nice to charge to 100% again without worrying.
Thank you for the update!! I'm still waiting for my Bolt EUV. Now hoping it will come before the end of next summer.... one day I'll dump the pump !!!
I own a 2021 Bolt EV which I just received firmware upgrade availability. When roads clear I will get it in for the upgrade. I currently use the car within the prescribed charge profiles and have had zero issues with Mutt, my cars name. I intend to keep the vehicle and use as intended. I love my Mutt.
Mt 2017 Bolt LT is vastly improved with the battery replacement. The only real issue remaining is that my car doesn't have DCFC and I can't believe they sold cars without it.
Doesn't seem to slow me down in putting miles on the car. 15k miles in 9 months. But it would be necessary if I wanted to use the car for longer trips.
We had our 2019 batter pack replaced. First one done at our dealership. Had to try three times after that was done to get the computer properly reprogrammed to allow 100% charging. GM needs to do a better job training the personnel at its dealerships on how to do the replacement, and the need to reprogram it to un-do the "recall fix" programming. What a pain! But, we now have 250+ miles of range after full charge. :-)
Congrats on getting the new battery pack update. I'm surprised (not surprised) that you are hearing noises from the coolant system after the process, but that's on par with GM's whole handling of this process. I opted for the buyback a couple of months ago. While I do miss the driving experience of an EV, I don't miss not knowing if my car was going to catch fire while charging and just the whole process of dealing with GM this year during this saga. For now, it's back to an ICE car until something more affordable and reliable presents itself. Unfortunately, that's probably still years away. . Thanks for posting this update, and have a great holiday. I look forward to seeing the Mach E and F-150 Lightning in the future!
Holidays, so nice to hear that word for a change. I listen to a lot of North American podcasts, where holiday is not mentioned.
Great channel. Can you have a look at the Chinese cars coming in 2022? BYD, XPeng etc are predicted to revolutionise the EV industry and you haven’t really covered it like the Electric Viking does in his channel. Even Sandy Munro has mentioned this coming tsunami as like the Japanese car invasion in the 1970s which I’m sure Nicky is aware of.
Looking forward to your reviews on your new Fords when they arrive
Alright! I can't wait to see your long term take on the Mach E.
ugh, still waiting on my battery.... i keep checking the chey website ....no luck yet
I very nearly owned a chevy bolt myself. But, chevy couldn't make the deal work, with a fwd too heavy car, in a place where awd is pretty essential. I would have to say, hind-sight made this rather an easy deal. I hope the new awd option isn't a huge vehicle(though I suspect it will be) and ...as such i've still no interest. It's been helpful to see how GM has been horrid to their consumers, as is keeping with tradition, so I've really no need for them. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is seeming a fine replacement for my current, but ...we shall see. I've the reliability of my current legacy vehicle to thank for the lack of need for BEV replacement yet.
re: "I hope the new awd option isn't a huge vehicle" if you mean the "crab walking" Hummer EV...? oh yeah THAT'S HUGE...!!! ref: 9,000 lbs. Silverado will likely be 7,000 lbs since the Lightning is 6,500 lbs (while high-tech using aluminum).
I don't understand the connection between the damage to the car before you bought it and your getting the battery pack replaced more quickly than most 2017s.
Still waiting on a buy back number from GM. I started the process in July. The latest contact from GM (2days ago) indicated the request is in the final department. Mine is a 2017 and no contact from GM about a battery replacement yet. Thanks for keeping us updated on your Bolt dealings with GM.
Your advisor should be able to give you your 6-digit number that begins with a "6". I had to keep calling the concierge number about every four days for a couple months as I had no contact and was escalated to other advisors. I finally got one that was responsive, so be the squeaky wheel. Gm sucks at communication so hang in there. I got to the repurchase dept 11/1 and only received a call last Monday to confirm my chosen option, and now I assume they are doing the math and I won't hear anything for another few weeks.
David McCarthy I have been squeaking ;-)
Be persistent. We started in July and got ours a few weeks ago. The offer was literally too good to refuse.
What diagnostic tool did you use to get the update to your Bolt as a new owner of a 2017 LT i wanna get a diagnostic tool for it to check the battery on it.