At 58k miles my bolt started giving an error code, "service high voltage charging system". I took it to a chevy dealership and they said it was not their fault and that I had hit something that dented the bottom of the car and damaged the battery. They told me it will be $20k to replace the battery. I feel so cheated because I didn't even have an accident or anything and now my $28k car is totaled. Maybe I went over speed bumps too quickly? I am just going to let the dealership I bought it from come repo it. This has really turned me off of electric cars and I think it was a huge mistake to have ever bought this car.
Battery Stopped Charging and Chevy Says They Are Not Responsible
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Jordan Shackelford
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Agreed.
In this case though with the photos provided and the documentation from the dealer there is no where near enough cause for them to deny a warranty claim or to continue to look for other issues. They put it up on a lift, found a small dent in the case and said, look there's your problem without ANY other investigation.
No mention of Cell Voltages, no mention of resistance in the pack, no mention of clearing codes and attempts to charge. They did the absolute bare minimum to get him to go away.
I bought an SVT Contour new in 2000. Put a K&N oiled air filter in the car. It fouled the MAS. Dealer was very kind and replaced the MAS under warranty but told me in no uncertain terms not to use it again or it would not be covered. Known cause, known solution on something they wanted to deal with.
There are not enough Bolts and not enough dealers interested in them for them to have actual trained people. They don't want them coming back. I believe this is what is happening here.
Once we have data on the state of the battery and other actual tests are performed other than a visual inspection my opinion may change.
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82 Posts
Look how big that gap is...
I am not arguing with you regarding whether or not GM should look further into this particular Bolt. I am questioning what the OP knows about when and how the dent got there. I think he knows more than he has admitted to, including something about a speed bump (wouldn’t the dent go across the width of the car?) that sounds like BS. Which means we are getting a story in smaller or larger part, and it’s probably probably closer to 100% BS.
Getting back to GM, I think they might want to study why this Bolt stopped working after such a minor looking dent. Given how much damage running over a alternator laying in the road shouldn’t total a vehicle.
Getting back to GM, I think they might want to study why this Bolt stopped working after such a minor looking dent. Given how much damage running over a alternator laying in the road shouldn’t total a vehicle.
From what I have gathered in this thread.
1. OP took car to dealer because no chargy chargy.
2. Dealer said, we no fixy, look, here is denty.
3. OP without seeing photos said, musta been when he was uber lyfting over speed bumps at 50mph
4. Dealer provides photos showing a dent that in no way was caused by #3
5. OP pays hostage fee for return of car.
6. We provide OP with options to self diagnose issue for little $
7. I argue with troll about warranty claims not really at all related to OP's problem.
8. OP begins to see the light after discovering the huge void in the case between where dent is and the battery.
9. OP may be omitting things or may just be frazzled because almost millineal.
What we still need from OP
1. Did you buy this car new or used?
2. What year is the car?
If used
1. How long ago did you buy the car
2. Was it bought from a dealer or individual
3. Do you have a history report?
4. Could this be pre-existing damage?
You can get an OBDII scanner from Amazon next day. This is your best next option. I would send you one of mine but shipping costs more than the device from Amazon.
I will bet 10 doge that this problem is not related to that dent and with info from the OBDII readings you will either verify a battery problem or find no battery problem. Either way you will have done more than the dealer, will have evidence for them or another dealer to pursue further and may even gain actionable items to request your money back for their worthless diagnosis.
Also, never ever ever tell any mechanic you are about to pay to fix your car what you think the problem is or what you may have done to cause it. Tell them the problem and let them diagnose. Any speculative information you provide will bias their opinion. Once they offer a diagnosis and repair suggestion then you can offer input.
1. OP took car to dealer because no chargy chargy.
2. Dealer said, we no fixy, look, here is denty.
3. OP without seeing photos said, musta been when he was uber lyfting over speed bumps at 50mph
4. Dealer provides photos showing a dent that in no way was caused by #3
5. OP pays hostage fee for return of car.
6. We provide OP with options to self diagnose issue for little $
7. I argue with troll about warranty claims not really at all related to OP's problem.
8. OP begins to see the light after discovering the huge void in the case between where dent is and the battery.
9. OP may be omitting things or may just be frazzled because almost millineal.
What we still need from OP
1. Did you buy this car new or used?
2. What year is the car?
If used
1. How long ago did you buy the car
2. Was it bought from a dealer or individual
3. Do you have a history report?
4. Could this be pre-existing damage?
You can get an OBDII scanner from Amazon next day. This is your best next option. I would send you one of mine but shipping costs more than the device from Amazon.
I will bet 10 doge that this problem is not related to that dent and with info from the OBDII readings you will either verify a battery problem or find no battery problem. Either way you will have done more than the dealer, will have evidence for them or another dealer to pursue further and may even gain actionable items to request your money back for their worthless diagnosis.
Also, never ever ever tell any mechanic you are about to pay to fix your car what you think the problem is or what you may have done to cause it. Tell them the problem and let them diagnose. Any speculative information you provide will bias their opinion. Once they offer a diagnosis and repair suggestion then you can offer input.
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82 Posts
1. I bought the car exactly 1 year ago. It's funny my dealership sent me a "happy birthday" message for it being 1 year since I bought the car
2. Bought from Fowler Toyota in Tulsa with 4,605 miles on it approx
3. If you go to vincheck.info my license plate is JTM-285 and you can see the history there. Idk how conclusive that is compared to other reports
4. Pretty sure the damage is not pre existing. I noticed the black stuff hanging under the car a month or so ago.
I found an obd2 scanner available at the nearest Walmart for pickup today so I think I'm gonna go get that and run a scan on it tonight and post the results
2. Bought from Fowler Toyota in Tulsa with 4,605 miles on it approx
3. If you go to vincheck.info my license plate is JTM-285 and you can see the history there. Idk how conclusive that is compared to other reports
4. Pretty sure the damage is not pre existing. I noticed the black stuff hanging under the car a month or so ago.
I found an obd2 scanner available at the nearest Walmart for pickup today so I think I'm gonna go get that and run a scan on it tonight and post the results
Joined
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82 Posts
How do I clear the code?
Make sure the OBD2 scanner is the kind that connects to your phone via bluetooth. A regular scanner with it's own screen won't have the correct PIDs. See OkieBolt's detailed instructions above.
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82 Posts
This is the only one they have available at my Walmart
Attachments
That type won't work. You need one that is bluetooth and connects to your phone. What type of phone do you have?
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82 Posts
Galaxy s20
Fowler is a Toyota dealer in Tulsa. Was not sure if you bought it before or after the recall.
You need a Bluetooth OBDII adapter Veepeak. I own the one in the link and I know it works with the Bolt and Torque as well as iPhone apps. The one at WalMart will not be able to do anything but read and reset codes. You can have that done at O'Reilly's for free. If you can get the car there.
You need a Bluetooth OBDII adapter Veepeak. I own the one in the link and I know it works with the Bolt and Torque as well as iPhone apps. The one at WalMart will not be able to do anything but read and reset codes. You can have that done at O'Reilly's for free. If you can get the car there.
Joined
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82 Posts
I guess make sure you never run over a cement block.
It only works with Android but that is not an issue for you. The one I listed I know works with both Apple and Android and the Bolt. There is only $15 difference. Skip dinner tonight and buy the one I know will work.
My first suggestion is to check the 12 Volt battery. This is just a standard car battery. There are all kinds of stories on this site about strange errors occurring when the 12V battery gets low. If your Bolt was running, I'd say just take it to AutoZone and get them to check the battery - which I believe they do for free. But since it's not running, you need to find a friend with a Voltmeter ($15 at WalMart) and measure the voltage on your 12V battery under the hood. Low-hanging fruit.
That's a good, simple, worthwhile thing to do and I feel bad for not having suggested it already...
That space where the damage is contains the main AC charging cable that goes to relays inside that odd shaped
orange enclosure to the right. It is very possible that this cable or some relays were damaged enough to allow charging for a short while but then broke. We do not know if this car will DCFC if equipped and it is only AC that has failed. Would be nice to know if DCFC works.
orange enclosure to the right. It is very possible that this cable or some relays were damaged enough to allow charging for a short while but then broke. We do not know if this car will DCFC if equipped and it is only AC that has failed. Would be nice to know if DCFC works.
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82 Posts
It charges on DC and AC but it is very very slow, like 1kw to 3 kw
You need to get a complete trouble code read out from another dealer. These cars have a jillion trouble code paths to go down. You probably need something in your electronics fixed, maybe even in the battery. I doubt if you need a new battery. You got zero actionable information from the first one.
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52 Posts
I have this one and it works fine on my Bolt + Android.
121 - 140 of 438 Posts
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