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Compensation

14K views 68 replies 29 participants last post by  boltage  
#1 ·
For owners of 2017, 2018 and 2019 Bolts, getting a new battery pack is a great deal. A fantastic deal. You should all be very happy.

I have a 2021 Bolt. I already have a new battery pack. But if I follow GM''s guidance I can only use 60% of its range and I can’t park my brand-new car in my garage.

There’s no telling when I might be able to use the car as advertised. Does LG/GM owe us some sort of compensation for this lost usage? Are there any examples of other manufacturers compensating customers for lost usage?

When Apple was found to have been slowing down older phones with weak batteries, they gave huge discounts on new batteries for the customers affected. We got new batteries in our iPhone 6's for $30. The phones are still working years later.
 
#2 ·
Does it adversely affect your usage of the car? I still park and charge my car in the garage. I do follow the charge limit guidance but that does not impact my daily usage. I only requested a buyback when GM put out that silly 50ft criteria and Bolts started being banned from parking garages and there was a real likelihood of not being able to use my car. At this point I probably will not take the buyback and just wait for a new pack. I expect by then I will have another 5-10k miles on the car and will have real value in getting a new pack.

All things indicate that you will be getting a new pack, it is just not as good a value for you as it is for someone else Ceis la vie . If that bothers you then maybe sell your 2021 and buy a 2017.
 
#4 ·
I got on chat the other day and asked the person if there are any plans for compensation. They said that they currently do not have plans for this, but will gladly get me a rental car. I don't need a rental as I have other vehicle options, but the point of getting the Bolt was so I don't have to buy/burn gas.

I will say that the charging pattern recommendation HAS impacted my ability to take my car for certain runs. I have to think about how many miles the round trip is and if that would put be below the recommended minimum. This happens several times a week.
 
#5 ·
I feel for you and I understand your feeling of injustice but do realize that us 2017-2019 owners have been playing in this movie for literally a year now with only a recent "known resolution". Also, "new and improved batteries" are just a happy accident as they can't manufacture the old chemistry anymore so that's all they can give us, it's not a perk.
Some specific month 2019s will get the accelerated treatment (which I'm not part of) for the rest of us it will be a waiting game. I think the important part to remember is that a resolution in the works (a final-final-final one!)
 
#8 ·
I feel for you and I understand your feeling of injustice but do realize that us 2017-2019 owners have been playing in this movie for literally a year now with only a recent "known resolution". Also, "new and improved batteries" are just a happy accident as they can't manufacture the old chemistry anymore so that's all they can give us, it's not a perk.
Some specific month 2019s will get the accelerated treatment (which I'm not part of) for the rest of us it will be a waiting game. I think the important part to remember is that a resolution in the works (a final-final-final one!)
No, no. No feelings of injustice at all. I'm happy for y'all.

I just want to get out of this whole, so I can go buy an EV from a manufacturer who knows what they're doing. A buy back would be preferable, but that's not happening.
 
#6 ·
Supposedly you will get back to full and normal usage once they have the enhanced diagnostics to install, supposedly next month sometime. They stated the intention was that for the cars that pass these diagnostics to eventually get them back to 100% charging and parking indoors again. Though they did leave the wording quite vague and there have been conflicting reports on if this will be a single software update or multiple to get to that point. So I can't say for sure, but hopefully soon.
 
#7 ·
I would love to get some free cash as well.
I mean, that is how I feel - it is an easy way to milk them for money.

I invested into heat sensor, updated - although it was not otherwise necessary - all smoke detectors in the house, just to get an early warning if something is going on. I spent some money myself.

I do not limit my discharge. Besides - what is 70 miles? On summer my 70 miles is about 20% SOC while in winter as "low" as 50%.
I regularly drain it till about 25%, maybe down to 10%, and recharge to 90%.
The car is insured. The house is as well.
I am waiting for GM to get ready for my car to replace the battery.

What I would rather get from them is extension of the bumper to bumper warranty by another couple of years.
 
#18 ·
I'm with @PLP. We are not suffering. My wife drives it a minimum of 80 miles a day. We charge back to 90ish percent daily.

Recently we went on a 200 mile trip. Charged to 100% just before leaving. As the GOM hit 70 I was wondering if we were going to turn into a supernova fireball, but we didn't so we kept driving to the next EA(at a Walmart...those always seem to work in my area) and arrived at 30 miles range showing. Fast charged to about 60% while we hit the Walmart bathroom and grabbed some snacks. Repeated the same thing(charged to 100% just before we left friend's) on the return trip a couple days later.

We are generally following the rules, but crossing the line as needed. You know...common sense.

If GM offers a money gift we will accept it. If they give us a new battery and warranty we will accept it. We are spending more time driving and enjoying our Bolt than we are hating and worrying.
 
#20 ·
For me, the only difference is I now charge it during the day and after it is done at 90% I move it outside. That and keeping it above 70 miles is it, and I think I'm following the rules/advice from GM. I don't expect or want compensation; I think I'm being treated well by GM and LG. I love my car; it is the best car I have ever owned and I expect when the recall is finished it's going to be a great car that lasts quite a while.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I read all this and have to ask, don't you have the thought in the back of your mind asking will today be the day? It's like the anti lotto, your playing and don't want to win. I have my rental, parked my bolt and waiting for the offer. So far no one at Chevrolet can answer any questions with straight answers and I have recieved more information from people posting here.
 
#23 ·
The responses here are so interesting. Philosophical, even. “Don’t worry, be happy, use your Bolt, enjoy it, don’t hate…”

I live my life by those kind of philosophies. I do not sit and fret about the fire risk. I occasionally park my 2021 in my garage to charge, as winter sets in it becomes more difficult to use the driveway.

Yet I 100% agree with the OP that there should be compensation. Cars are not cheap, even the Bolt. We spent (are spending, with loan payments) a large chunk of cash on this vehicle that we can’t use as advertised.

It makes me shake my head in wonder that some people don’t “get” that simple concept that there are such things as promises/expectations set out by the manufacturer, that they should live up to. (I own a business, and am very careful, always, of not making promises I can’t keep… doing otherwise is a way to invite the FTC in the door).

This is not about asking for a handout. It is not a “cash grab.” It is a simple fact: we had a contract with Chevrolet and their dealer to get X product in exchange for Y money. Since X product does not work as it was promised — which, for example, caused me to cancel a road trip and pay for airfare instead — then the other party has violated their part of the “X for Y” trade.

All the original poster is asking for is how can we reduce Y correspondingly to the diminished value of X? It is simple math.

This is not about hate, malice, or anything else. It is about maintaining an equitable exchange of value according to the law, and to norms of exchange present since the dawn of commerce.
 
#24 ·
The responses here are so interesting. Philosophical, even. “Don’t worry, be happy, use your Bolt, enjoy it, don’t hate…”

I live my life by those kind of philosophies. I do not sit and fret about the fire risk. I occasionally park my 2021 in my garage to charge, as winter sets in it becomes more difficult to use the driveway.

Yet I 100% agree with the OP that there should be compensation. Cars are not cheap, even the Bolt. We spent (are spending, with loan payments) a large chunk of cash on this vehicle that we can’t use as advertised.

It makes me shake my head in wonder that some people don’t “get” that simple concept that there are such things as promises/expectations set out by the manufacturer, that they should live up to. (I own a business, and am very careful, always, of not making promises I can’t keep… doing otherwise is a way to invite the FTC in the door).

This is not about asking for a handout. It is not a “cash grab.” It is a simple fact: we had a contract with Chevrolet and their dealer to get X product in exchange for Y money. Since X product does not work as it was promised — which, for example, caused me to cancel a road trip and pay for airfare instead — then the other party has violated their part of the “X for Y” trade.

All the original poster is asking for is how can we reduce Y correspondingly to the diminished value of X? It is simple math.

This is not about hate, malice, or anything else. It is about maintaining an equitable exchange of value according to the law, and to norms of exchange present since the dawn of commerce.
Well said. I didn't drive to Michigan because of the Bolt limitations.
 
#27 ·
Another worry I currently have: what happens when my boss or my customers ask me to politely park my Bolt somewhere else. Only a few people at work have asked me about my Bolt fire recall, but based on that I have been actively looking for parking spaces as far as I can from others.

I also didn't like the guidance of parking somewhere far from my house after charging, hence a $140 J1772 extension cord. I don't know about you, but after a day's work, my charging doesn't finish until I'm well asleep (5 hrs after I get home). I'm not waking up just to move my Bolt, especially if it's raining/cold/snowing.

Some compensation is expected because we're expected to adhere to GM's new Bolt handling guidance.
 
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#30 ·
I was seriously considering upgrading my EVSE but had a little hope that GM would ultimately replace the battery or I'd get an acceptable buyback/swap. My current Leviton 20A EVSE w/12' cable does the job for me great and I already spent $290 on it. I don't need anything faster so I split the difference and got a 20' J1772 extension cable. That extra 8' bought me a lot of peace of mind after watching how flames whipped away from burning Bolts and other cars.

As for my customers, I'm not making a sale. I'm tech support (IT) so it's more about keeping the customer rather than making one.
 
#40 ·
Guessing that 60% of people are going to keep their Bolt. That is 140k * 60% = 84000 no change. So 56K cases to deal with across the US. They have been at this at least a month if not more so... If you don't want to you hire out to a data processing firm you can hire a web company to make a webpage for you and the people can enter in the data themselves. The entry points are year of car. MSRP of Miles on car State and what laws apply and mileage depreciation applies. Its not rocket science. You punch it in and the form letter goes out and they will contact you ASAP your number is XXX in the queue. You can check your place in the queue via the web and no time wasting on hold.
That gives you time to work out a dealer or whatever else needs to be done and you can be ready on the day they call.
 
#49 ·
If you are going to an experienced EV service dealer, I would not be too worried. Most EV service dealers have done at least one or two module replacements (in high volume areas, likely several). The module replacement has all the steps of a full battery replacement, plus quite a bit more. So if the dealer has ever swapped a module out, they have been through this process. And from what I understand, it is actually pretty simple if you have the right equipment. GM pays the dealer 4.5 hours to do the work, and much of that time is going to be allocated for unpacking the new battery, handling, and repacking the old battery.