On the 15th of July I bought a new 2020 Bolt LT after finding it with the Blue paint I wanted and DC2 for $28k. I test drove a Bolt with no DC2 but was still an LT. While on the drive they picked up the one I wanted from storage. I looked at it and it looked great so we did the paper work. The sales man forgot to inform me the battery was low and he had it connected to the L2 charger at the dealership. We went to dinner and got back to the dealership after they closed. Unhooked the charger and I noticed it was in transport mode. Disabled transport mode and off we started. There was a small orange light but it looked like it was a door jar icon so I ignored it. We drove 70 miles home and parked. looked up the light and realized it was a CEL. Ran a code scanner and got 8 codes for isolation issues. Called dealer at open. Dealer said to drive it until the 22nd. My L2 charger had not arrived yet so I took it to a DCFC but it would not charge with it. I was stuck waiting on the L1 charger for about 3 hours to make it home.
They wanted it back on the 22nd for the Bolt tech to look at. Brought it in and got a loaner. On the 27th I got a call sayin it was a "battery heater sensor" and one was on its way. NBD. Friday 31st it arrived and I saw that the car was driven a bit and put on charge over night. The next day the 1st I was told to come pick it up and started the 70 mile trip to the dealer. I got a call about 20 minutes later that it is not ready and the codes came back. Today(4th) I was told they have a "Fluke meter" coming from GM to further diagnose it.
I don't want to seem like a Karen but I am kind of concerned with what seems like guesses as to what the issue is. I have reached out to GM and they have contacted the dealer and are working with them but it is still disappointing that a new car is having this much trouble. Any had similar issues?
Welcome to the forum @BluJ. Hope the dealer figures it out. Hadn't heard of a battery heater sensor issue. An artifact from sitting in storage in transport mode?
Not sure, just hoping it is fixed soon!
Just finished installing a Chargepoint Home Flex. Fun story itself but with how cheap my home power is it will be exciting to finally be off gasoline!
And no oil changes too. In three years, I've only washed the car and changed the cabin filter once. Oh, I did have the dealer do one free tire rotation. I did have my beam twist rear axle replaced under warranty so there was that. But luckily my dealer is less than 10 miles away. Haven't been back since then. My 3 year bumper to bumper is up in a couple of months, but don't have anything on the radar to fix.
No solar, yet. Power here is $0.05 per kwh. Moving from a Smart fortwo so even with the 40MPG it got it is still a massive savings. Since it was only $5-7k more with a new warranty compared to used(Plus I know the battery hasn't been abused) it seemed like a pretty OK idea.
Dealer still has no clue what is wrong with it. GM has called me multiple times just to update me that they are unsure where the issue is from. Starting to lose patience with this situation. GM's only offer to remediate has been to buy the car back and I would still owe $5k afterwards.
Research the Lemon Laws in your state? Why would you owe 5K? Give them a deadline to fix it and ask for all you money back if not fixed by then. Surely they can't deny the car was defective when you bought it.
Ohio they have 30 days before it can be declared a lemon. They keep telling me I need to wait on the dealer to fix it. But now I've made a payment and had to pay insurance on what has been a glorified weekend rental.
Got tired of the waiting game and lack of communication. Drove to the dealer. Car is on the rack with all HV harnesses disconnected. Now they are saying it’s the AC compressor. Will know in the next few days if it fixes it.
Been way to long without an update and boy do I have a big one!
picked up the fixed car on the 13th of august (23 days in repair). Started the drive home and about a half hour in threw the same P1AF0 code. Called dealer and they just seemed put out. And would have closed before I made it back. Came back in the 15th to leave it. Dealer employees were very short with me and were trying to get me out asquick as possible. They would not talk to me about the issues.
I called GM to update on status and was told they would look into a replacement car.
I then opened up a BBB Autoline case to look into lemon. I then got a new advisor who is very very difficult to get a hold of and tries to get off the phone as quick as possible. Now I have been told that the car is not eligible for replacement because “it has not been out of service long enough” it has been 35 out of the 30days the state of Ohio requires. Dealer won’t give any info to GM. GM says they have to hear from the dealer. I now have supplied GM with repair orders because the dealer wouldn’t.
Had to open a case with the Ohio Attorney General to try and get somewhere. I have been very explicit on how I want this resolved. I am requesting the replacement but they can’t seem to understand that after what will be the second AC compressor I don’t have trust in this car. For my job I will be using the DCFC option about once a month.
I am very close to driving to GM corporate as it’s only 2.5hrs away. I can’t keep playing these games.
Has anyone had an experience like this?
@BluJ that is all very frustrating to hear, sorry that you are dealing with that. It is very unfortunate that the dealer has not been been more customer focused and that the technician didn't lean on GM tech support more heavily.
Good luck in getting it resolved to your satisfaction, hopefully the direction you are heading with a replacement vehicle...
Update!
Was told that the inverter was the issue per GM engineering. Friday towards the end of the day the part arrived. I was told they would install on Monday because there was not enough time.
Monday rolls around and they are having issues getting it to program, consulting GM. Tuesday the part is programmed and it was driving about 15 miles.
I requested that they try charging the car on a DCFC. Watching the map they took it to a Tesla supercharger about 30 miles away. They then try again to find one on Wednesday. Unable to find one they L2 it to 100% and assured me GM says it will work. They are ready for it to be picked up.
Drove it home with heat and AC switching back and forth to drain the battery faster. Ran fine on highway side DCFC. So far everything seems to be working perfect. I have a feeling they also changed the AC again as it is quieter and pulls less power(just as cold).
After 45 days in service over the 52 I’ve owned it, I think it is finally over. Now it’s time to really enjoy the car!
I was at the dealer today driving a 2020 Premier - it also had a check engine light! Not sure what is going on, but I guess I won't be getting the kinetic blue one now....