2023 Bolt EV - Plastic rear quarter panels warping (again!)

MisterJJ said:

Are there any windows near with reflective tint that could be reflecting the sun onto the panel? My previous home had that and it would toast the grass areas where it hit. That was outside of San Diego. I had the Bolt for a year in the Phoenix sun with no problems.

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We don’t get much sun in my part of San Francisco, but otherwise, yes, there is a window near the car but not one that would reflect directly onto the car throughout the day.

404 Not Found said:

Is it one side only? Maybe a defective part.

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Only on one side. My guess is a defective part, but it is still odd to see warpage of plastic like this.

jrharbort said:

This may be caused by a fastener coming loose. I had the same happen to the plastic trim on the rear passenger doors. I had to use a T20 or T25 driver bit (don't remember which) to torque them back down, and they never came back loose ever since. I'm not sure how the rear panel ones are secured, but some careful investigating might reveal how to fix it.

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I’ve looked under one of these panels on the 2020 Bolt. Secured by several plastic rivets, similar to the ones on door panels.

drdiesel1 said:

From the looks of it, you might have a fastener that missed a hole and is trapped
under the panel pushing it out when the sun warms the panel.

What do you mean "again" ? Is it the same car, same panel and has it been replaced already ?

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I had these same two rear quarter plastic panels warp like this, but this was on the 2020 Bolt and in a different city in Fresno CA. It showed up about 20 months into my lease ownership. I didn’t get these replaced, because I didn’t want to pay, and the dealership wouldn’t honor a replacement under warranty yet they didn’t have a good reason why it happened. Blamed me for it but also didn’t have a reason. GM charged me about $90 during the lease return process.

This time, this is on the 2023 Bolt EV (seems to be the exact same parts as shared with the 2020 Bolt) in San Francisco, CA (much cooler climate than Fresno) and only 2 months in. I can’t imagine foul play (different city, different neighbors), and the car only gets driven 500mi per month around the city mostly. At two months old and 1200 miles, I’m very puzzled.