Chevy Bolt Brings Spontaneous Combustion to Georgia
Reports of electric car fires have been all of the news for awhile now. A Chevy Bolt catching on fire in Georgia is just one of many stories we’ve seen lately in the news, but is this trend really that deadly or is it being blown out of proportion?
has become synonymous with recall alerts recently. The serious battery issue means that owners should exercise caution with their Chevy Bolt. In September 2021 in Georgia, a Chevy Bolt went up in flames, nearly taking a whole garage with it.
Luckily, the firefighters showed up in time to prevent the garage from melting and taking out all the vehicles inside.
GM has warned that Bolt owners should definitely not park their cars indoors, as this can exacerbate the battery fire problem and cause chain fires.
In addition, Bolt EVs should be parked at least 50 feet from other vehicles. In a lot of places, this can be a difficult condition to meet.
It is possible that the Bolt owner was either unaware of the safety warning, or simply ignored it.
The Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services said that the Bolt was parked close to a 2017 Ram pickup truck. Luckily, no one was hurt from the fire, but the Ram did get smoke damage.
Needless to say, many Chevy Bolt owners are fearing fire risks and are selling their cars back to GM.
GM is working hard with their battery supplier LG to find a fix for the battery problem in the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV.
The Chevy Bolt has a high-voltage battery pack located under the back seat. That lithium-ion battery can catch on fire unexpectedly, which is a dangerous fire hazard.
So far, GM has found that the source of the defects were battery plants in Korea and in Michigan, run by LG Energy Solution.
Due to the numerous incidents involving this EV, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating the situation.
This Chevy Bolt battery fiasco has cost GM around $2 billion already and its production has, of course, been halted as the automaker works around the clock to fix the situation.
More than 140,000 vehicles are estimated to be affected. There isn’t an official solution to the battery problem yet.
Until then, it is recommended that even if you have received a recall repair for your Chevy Bolt already, you should heed the official parking and safety recommendations. Repairs don’t mean there’s not still a fire risk.
Park the Bolt outdoors and away from any nearby structures that could be set on fire.
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MORE: New Law Would Ban Selling Used Cars With Open Recalls
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