The Vermont Chevy Bolt fire
The latest Chevy Bolt to experience the issue with fire was a 2019 model owned by a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. Timothy Briglin is an EV advocate and member of the state's House Committee on Energy.
Briglin's Chevy Bolt caught fire while it was charging. This has been the case with other Chevy Bolt fires. Because the fire occurred while Briglin was charging his vehicle, there were thankfully no injuries.
While these issues may look bad for the Bolt and perhaps EVs in general, Briglin otherwise had only good things to say about the Chevy Bolt. He noted that the car's performance had been great, and he admired the efficiency of EVs.
Recalls for the Chevy Bolt
In response to this fire as well as at least one other recently documented Chevy Bolt fire, GM has issued a recall. The recall affects 69,000 vehicles from 2017 through 2019. Out of these, 50,000 are in the United States.
This is the second recall of these models of the Chevy Bolt, and the first recall was for the same issue of vehicles catching fire. In November 2020, GM recalled the vehicles for fire risks, but the issues seem to remain. Timothy Bilgrin's Bolt was repaired during the November recall, and it still caught fire.
What to do if your car is affected
If you drive a vehicle that has been recalled, it can be disheartening. However, you should be able to have the issues with your vehicle addressed with as little stress as possible. When a recall is issued, repairs are made to your vehicle from the manufacturer at no cost to you.
Electric vehicles are set up to be the future of the automotive industry. As the Chevy Bolt has demonstrated, though, the transition to electric is not perfect. Timothy Briglin of Vermont's incident demonstrates that issues can happen even when someone cares about a vehicle.