reports, GM is restarting production following a recall for 2017-2022 model year Chevy Bolt EVs and 2022 Bolt EUVs, totaling about 140,000 units. The issue? The Bolt could potentially catch fire due to battery defects.

The Chevy Bolt’s battery fire risk

GM and LG identified two manufacturing defects in the batteries supplied to the Bolt as the root cause of battery fires in certain units. As part of the

recall

, the automaker stated it will swap the defective lithium-ion battery modules in Chevy Bolt EVs and EUVs with new lithium-ion modules.

GM stopped production of the Bolt in 2021 and pulled existing vehicles from dealer lots after NHTSA investigated a number of battery module fires afflicting the small EV. It expanded its recall in August of 2021.

MORE: GM Buying Back Chevy Bolt EVs that Face Risk of Fire

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Safety precautions for Chevy Bolt owners

While customers were awaiting repairs, GM instructed them to limit the charge state of the Bolt to 90 percent. Additionally, the automaker recommended Bolt owners charge their vehicles more frequently and avoid draining the battery below the 70-mile range threshold.

Perhaps the most telling recommendation—echoed by NHTSA—was to

leave the vehicle outside

after charging—and not to leave it charging overnight indoors, lest the battery defect set it alight.

To its credit, GM later pushed a software update that limited the charge state automatically so owners wouldn’t have to

keep as close a watch

on their EVs.

Re-branding unlikely

It’s not likely that GM will re-brand the Bolt or drop it from its lineup entirely anytime soon—otherwise it probably would’ve abandoned production outright following the first work stoppage. Swift action by the automaker to address the issue is what might have saved it from a worse public reaction.

In fact, GM seems pretty optimistic of the sales performance of the Bolt following the resumption of production;

CNBC

reports that GM was aware of just 19 vehicles affected by battery fires.

The automaker’s marketing VP even predicts record sales numbers for the Bolt EV and EUV despite the recall. It probably helps that—battery issues aside—the Bolt was named one of the best electric cars for 2021.

But automakers haven’t always been so keen on keeping their customers safe when the bottom line is at stake.

Automakers have fared worse

Perhaps the most egregious example of an unsafe vehicle that comes to mind is the Ford Pinto. According to a report in

Mother Jones

(MJ) in 1977, the Pinto was rushed into production in the 1970s despite rear-end crash tests showing that low-speed collisions could rupture the fuel tank.

The publication alleges that Ford found the defect after production lines were already tooled up and proceeded to build the car anyway, despite having a patent for a safer gas tank.

Per MJ, Ford lobbied for years against federal safety standards that would’ve required the automaker to abandon the Pinto’s dangerous fuel tank altogether. Estimated burn deaths caused by Pinto fires range from anywhere between 500 to 900, according to MJ—numbers Ford later denied, claiming the actual deaths were far lower.

NHTSA later

reported

in 1978 that it could confirm just 27 deaths directly related to the Pinto’s fuel tank damage and subsequent fire. The Pinto was involved in the largest automotive recall and multiple lawsuits in the years to follow.

So it isn’t unprecedented to see what path Chevy is taking with the Bolt. Time will tell well becomes of the company’s most controversial electric vehicle.

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