[2020 Bolt NJ]

My Bolt is a 2020 LT on a 3 year lease ending in 2 years. I am a two time Bolt owner and am seriously considering buying it off lease due to the inflated prices of new cars and the minimal miles it has been used thanks to COVID restrictions.

Are there any gurus on our forum who might be able to offer a guesstimate as to when I will be tapped for a new battery?

Thanks in advance and apologies if this might already be covered in the forum elsewhere.

 

[Herbie Bolt]

I’m not the timing guru your looking for but I bought my 2018 at the end of the lease and have no regrets.

 

[2020 Bolt NJ]

Just a ps......I am torn between hoping for a new battery one week prior to the expiration of the lease to get essentially a new Bolt off lease versus an immediate change to get rid of the range limitation asap. Just wondering where on the continuum I am likely to fall. Give the fact the Bolt is a 2020 with a US battery and very low mileage whether I like it or not I think I probably have a very long wait for my new battery.

 

[AdrianC]

Some discussion here:

(61) Recall Quarterly Report 2021-3 | Chevy Bolt EV Forum

TL,DR
We're waiting for the next quarterly report from GM to know the battery replacement rate.

 

[ARob]

They will probably complete most 17-19 models by this summer and start on newer ones at that point. But GM is not providing much detail.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BoltCanuck]

My Bolt is a 2020 LT on a 3 year lease ending in 2 years. I am a two time Bolt owner and am seriously considering buying it off lease due to the inflated prices of new cars and the minimal miles it has been used thanks to COVID restrictions.

Are there any gurus on our forum who might be able to offer a guesstimate as to when I will be tapped for a new battery?

Thanks in advance and apologies if this might already be covered in the forum elsewhere.

After my local GM dealer bough back my 2020 Bolt LT, I asked the dealer person how long will they have the Bolt parked for and he told me GM mentioned they won't get new batteries for the stranded inventory until late in the Fall this year. Coming from a dealer person, take that with a few pounds of salt, but the timeline does seem to make sense and seems aligned with what other people in this forum have mentioned.

 

[RoadTripBiker]

Bought my 2020 so don't the the lease question but figure I'm in for a long wait. Like the OP i'm torn between wanting a new battery and wanting to wait a long time so get more life from the old battery. Wednesday going to drive up to Scottsboro AL and will go vey close to Donohoo Chevrolet but with the range limitations too much risk so will burn some gasoline. I drove it recently on a 106 mile day trip and got back at 66 miles left after leaving at 85%. It's those occasional trips it cannot do that are frustrating and make me want a new battery.

 

[jefro]

The new software is supposed to detect models that may have issues. GM is trying to get the ones that they believe may be a hazard first. So, waiting isn't a terrible thing.

You did get software didn't you?

 

[Boltsport]

I just had my first recall on my EUV---setting to 80% full charge (about 234 miles at 40 deg F) and modifying the electronics to detect problems (?). They tell me it's OK to charge and store car in my garage, which I was doing anyways at 85% full charge. They also replaced a part in the shifter (took a week to get it) which the electronics was telling them was a potential problem that was not yet a problem I had noticed. Other than that, the car has been perfect.

Today, I parked next to a Bolt EV. Got out and compared both in size. My EUV is about an inch higher, an inch or so wider and a few inches longer. It definitely looks bigger eyeballing both. It is not as wide or long as an Equinox, which soon will be available as an EV. I'm looking forward to driving it at some point.

 

[2020 Bolt NJ]

The new software is supposed to detect models that may have issues. GM is trying to get the ones that they believe may be a hazard first. So, waiting isn't a terrible thing.

You did get software didn't you?

Yes. I was desperate to use my garage again.

 

[Kevy1971]

After my local GM dealer bough back my 2020 Bolt LT, I asked the dealer person how long will they have the Bolt parked for and he told me GM mentioned they won't get new batteries for the stranded inventory until late in the Fall this year. Coming from a dealer person, take that with a few pounds of salt, but the timeline does seem to make sense and seems aligned with what other people in this forum have mentioned.

I talked the owner of a local dealership in my hometown here and he said that unfortunately I'm looking at the late fall of 22, he said it sucks cause they have inventory on lot that has been paid for and people tapping their feet wondering when they'll be able to take them home.

 

[AdrianC]

What we know from GM is that at the end of 2021 in the US: Cars to be Repaired 109,757, Remedied 8,312.

There's is also a data point, not directly from GM, that nearly 19,000 new batteries were sent out by GM as of the second week in January.
At that rate one could speculate that GM could have sent out about 40k batteries by now. It doesn't feel like that many cars have been repaired, though.
With new car production starting in April it seems like LG can make batteries at a much higher rate than they can be transported to and installed by dealers.

No idea what that means as far as 2020, 2021 and 2022 cars go. I do know that I'm not looking to do another winter with 80% of range.
I believe that in my state I have two years to initiate a lemon case. What I'm not clear on is if this qualifies. The car works just fine and we like it a lot.
It just doesn't have the range we purchased.

 

[Bolt Action]

[ . . .]

No idea what that means as far as 2020, 2021 and 2022 cars go. I do know that I'm not looking to do another winter with 80% of range.
I believe that in my state I have two years to initiate a lemon case. What I'm not clear on is if this qualifies. The car works just fine and we like it a lot.
It just doesn't have the range we purchased.

My understanding is they sold you a car based on the available range, and now that the range is hobbled because of a lingering and stalled safety recall, your (and my) car qualifies as a lemon.

 

[shocker]

They will probably complete most 17-19 models by this summer and start on newer ones at that point. But GM is not providing much detail.

Considering that the largest number of Bolts were sold in MY 17 and 18, once that wave is past the US battery packs should go pretty quickly.
Status on my November 2017 build, battery ordered, awaiting delivery. It's about the 10th business day so I should be hearing from the service dept shortly.

 

[atc98092]

Lemon laws vary by state. In most cases the car has to be unavailable for use (i.e. at the dealer for repair) for a certain number of days, or a certain number of attempted repairs without success, before the lemon law would be triggered. In my case, my car has never been unavailable, nor has it been in the shop more than once overnight to install the software update. I doubt that would meet the requirement.

 

[AdrianC]

Considering that the largest number of Bolts were sold in MY 17 and 18, once that wave is past the US battery packs should go pretty quickly.
Status on my November 2017 build, battery ordered, awaiting delivery. It's about the 10th business day so I should be hearing from the service dept shortly.

From GM: US cars to be repaired:
N212343880 (2017-2019) 57,414
N212345940 (2020-2022) 52,414

 

[SpicyBolt]

It just doesn't have the range we purchased.

Our 2021 doesn't currently have the range we purchased. It's only temporary, for perhaps one year to 18 months, or at most 20% of the time we plan on keeping the car. And, we will ultimately end up being able to offload up to 18 months of natural degradation, and pick up that much more battery warranty too.

So the temporary inconvenience now, will be at least partially offset by the benefits of a new pack. To me, a lemon is a car that's bad, and it's not going to get better.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The new pack and added warranty, is the lemonade. It's just really really hard for me to complain about a temporary 20% range loss, with what's going on in Ukraine right now.

 

[Kevy1971]

What we know from GM is that at the end of 2021 in the US: Cars to be Repaired 109,757, Remedied 8,312.

There's is also a data point, not directly from GM, that nearly 19,000 new batteries were sent out by GM as of the second week in January.
At that rate one could speculate that GM could have sent out about 40k batteries by now. It doesn't feel like that many cars have been repaired, though.
With new car production starting in April it seems like LG can make batteries at a much higher rate than they can be transported to and installed by dealers.

No idea what that means as far as 2020, 2021 and 2022 cars go. I do know that I'm not looking to do another winter with 80% of range.
I believe that in my state I have two years to initiate a lemon case. What I'm not clear on is if this qualifies. The car works just fine and we like it a lot.
It just doesn't have the range we purchased.

That's the news all be it bad that I got from my local dealership, they said that LG is making batteries at a rate higher than they can be shipped out to service departments for the recall, therefore they started producing new vehicles at the same time.

 

[bil1024]

Getting my battery installed tomorrow, have a 2017, waited about a month after I gat the letter

 

[ga2500ev]

Yes. I was desperate to use my garage again.

I continue to try to wrap my head around this idea. The battery hasn't been swapped. The advanced diagnostics hasn't activated, right? So, doesn't that mean that your Bolt has exactly the same risk of catching fire now in your garage as it did when it was sitting outside?

I'm always trying to figure out if the objective is to have someone to blame, in GM, if the Bolt does catch fire after the software update, as opposed to actually trying to protect from the potential fire itself.

There has been exactly one 2020 Bolt fire. Ever. The chances of one catching fire is along the lines of being hit by a car while being struck by lightning.

I think that many folks are letting their fear override their flexibility. The chances of a 2020 catching fire when normally charged to 80% or less is virtually zero. But doing so without the software update facilitates using 100% of the battery when needed.

It's interesting to see the software patch as a placebo effect. Fundamentally it does nothing to change the situation. But it seems that folks just feel better having it.

ga2500ev