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Estimate- when will I get my new battery?

15K views 116 replies 37 participants last post by  MichBolt 
#1 ·
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.
 
#3 ·
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.
 
#5 ·
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.


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#14 ·
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.
 
#6 ·
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.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#9 ·
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.
 
#12 ·
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.
 
#13 ·
[ . . .]

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.
 
#15 ·
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.
 
#27 ·
The battery issue doesn't seem to have changed the used Bolt prices one bit. Could be the $3 gallon gas maybe.

I suppose some law firm is working in each state to get a class action on range or such. In the end of those deals the customer may not end up with much.
 
#29 ·
The problem with this approach is presuming that every battery is defective. The statistics simply do not bear this out. Only %0.01 or so of the Bolt population ever caught fire including one single 2020 Bolt. There hasn't been a fire since last August even though there are thousands of unmitigated Bolts with at least a part of the population not following any guidance whatsoever from GM.

The simple fact is that a uncompromised battery will not catch fire even if charged to 100%. And that a compromised battery only has a slight chance of catching fire if it's charged to 100%. The risk would be better mitigated by putting the detection software on more cars which gives a better chance to catch it. But there is a subpopulation of Bolt owners who have the stance "You'll only get my top 20% of range when you pry it from my cold dead hands."

If the entire population had the detection software, there would be a slight reduction in the possible risk. But as it stands there's a 99.99% chance a Bolt will never catch fire. So, as many others, is it worth losing the flexibility of the vehicle for a vanishingly small possibility that the detection software catches a bad battery. Especially when the vast majority of those owners aren't charging above 80% on a regular basis anyway.

The gain is too small. The risk is very, very, very low. And the loss of flexibility is painful. So, why not offer detection software without a change in the top charging level?

ga2500ev
 
#30 ·
The simple fact is that a uncompromised battery will not catch fire even if charged to 100%. And that a compromised battery only has a slight chance of catching fire if it's charged to 100%.
We don’t know that second part, do we? We don’t know how many batteries are “compromised” (I am interpreting this has having the manufacturing defects). I think I read here that GM said <1%, but that still leaves a lot of interpretation and I am not sure they really know. Yes the total number of fires has been small. But I don’t think we REALLY know if that is ~20 fires out of 1,000 compromised Bolts or 100.
 
#36 ·
The GM rep just called me, as she does almost weekly to ask if I have any questions or concerns. She mentioned that they are starting to replace 2020 batteries. I asked if the replacements were based on the individual diagnotic reports from the new software, and she said no. The 2020s getting new batteries are happening at dealers who have no more customers with 2017-2019 Bolts needing replacements, and that the dealerships have gotten really efficient at performing these battery swaps.
 
#37 ·
That is odd, since not every 17-19 has become eligible yet, and not every customer is choosing to have the work done at their selling dealer. So how can GM have a list that comprehensive?
My local dealer, for example, has been stalled out just waiting for more of "their" customers to become eligible. They still have multiple 17-19s waiting.
 
#38 ·
.9 cents is still becase $3.89.9 makes people think it is only $3.89 like a $199 sofa isn't really $200.

My dealer said they only let the tech change batteries every other day so as to not wear him out. Sheeze.

GM didn't say they had a problem by the way. They said the LG batteries have a problem.
 
#44 ·
I only can talk for my experience. So fallow me.

I live in apartment, second floor. For the restrictions I have to park anywhere except the garage I rent to change and keep the car.
I connect an extension from my bedroom, get true the window (no way to secure the window), to the ground level, run true a green are, parking lot, connect the converter and plug to the car. And all that in reverse wen I have to drive away.

Some letter come on the mail with instructions. I set the appointment (as the letter say) and service from the dealership canceled, 3 times, I call to the manager of service. He tell me they have a lot of customers (I purchased the car in this specific dealership) What you call that? And say he call me in two weeks (November 23 2021) I’m waiting the call…

Any way the same day I call to GM, and ask to go to another dealership. In two weeks I get the new battery.

I have a 2019 BOLT, I think you get you battery before June.

I love the Bolt, is funny to drive, is quite, is responsive, is fast, just the best car I own ever.

I think is an excellent idea own the car, for the quality, technology, well the pain is excellent to.

I keep my Bolt.

In few weeks I be purchasing a Polestar 2 because the Bolt is no for sale. But I really prefer buy another Bolt.

All this is only smoke, I read so many bad things about GM, the Chevy Bolt, but really is excellent car.

I really think before the end of June, they are really fixing this, with the new battery I get more capacity, change faster, accelerate faster to!!! I loved. My car is 2019, so I estimate.

About the options to buy the lease, excellent idea.

I need a extra car, is a shame is no Bolt options, between markups, no flexibility to change on 110v, of course or less distance or bigger price, etc. I’m thinking in a Mini Copper electric (Only 2 doors) is almost free.
 
#45 ·
After many calls to the GM Bolt team, they finally found me a dealer who is trained and has the tools to replace my 19 bolt battery. I live in Arkansas and its my guess that not many bolts were sold here or Missouri or Oklahoma. I took the car in yesterday. its the chevy dealer in Columbus Kansas. Jim Hatfield. They have a guy who has done a few Bolts. He got the training necessary and the lift. the service dept is making money on the jobs. I drove app. 80 miles one way to get there and thanks to a buddy, he brought me home. They had no loaners. They assured me the car would be reprogrammed and back to full range plus apparently the new battery has an extra 5 kilowatts. I love the car or I would have given up a long time ago.
 
#49 · (Edited)
Is there some sort of order they are using to prioritizing who gets the swap and when? I bought my 2017 in Jan 2017 and it shows a build date of 11/2016 on the driver's door jamb sticker. Shouldn't it have come up for replacement by now? I see numerous folks here mentioning their replacement on cars built much later than mine. What gives?
 
#51 ·
Is there some sort of order they are using to prioritizing who gets the swap and when? I bought my 2017 in Jan 2017 and it shows a build date of 11/2016 on the driver's door jamb sticker. Shouldn't it have come up for replacement by now? I see numerous folks here mentioning their replacement on cars build much later than mine. What gives?
First, have you checked your VIN in the Chevy Recall website?

You are looking for a recall number ending in 881 and status of "Incomplete" - you are eligible for a replacement battery, and can contact an EV-certified dealership to schedule the replacement.

If the recall number is 880 or 833, or the status is "Incomplete: Remedy Not Available" - you are still waiting.

Second, GM has said they are prioritizing specific Bolts for replacement based on battery lots and charging data (presumably accessible to GM via OnStar). It's possible that your particular Bolt, even with an earlier vehicle build date, did not fall into one of those higher risk battery lots, or that your charging behavior doesn't place you in a higher risk group, or that your Bolt is going to become eligible shortly.
 
#50 ·
If there is some sort of order or priority GM is using, they haven’t shared it. This is the biggest gripe I have about all this. They aren’t keeping us informed. Like you, I would have expected your Bolt to become eligible by now. I assume yours still says “INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE” on the recall site, right? While that rep may be saying they are about to start on the 2020s, I would take that with a very large grain of salt. I would love that to be true, but I am not expecting my 2020 to become eligible for a battery until about October 2022 at the earliest.
 
#53 ·
Car dealers are generally scum bags.

But the guy who programmed my Bolt is a sharp cookie. I trust him to install a battery.

Being close to Charlotte, NC helps supply good techs. Who have experience with electric cars.

The techs work there for the money. I don't know if they are loyal Chevrolet owners.

My guess is no.
 
#62 ·
FWIW, from the Facebook group yesterday:

DS: "As of a month ago, Chevy had replaced 16,000 batteries and had shipped 24,000 batteries to dealers. They have been ramping up at a furious pace, but we are obviously a long ways away from wrapping this up. My sources say that the GM engineers wrote a program prioritizing your position in line based on the individual vehicle Onstar data - how you drive and how you charge."

DC: "Where did you get the information on the programming and the completion numbers? It's great stuff and I'd love to verify the source. Thanks."

DS: "He is a GM exec deeply involved with this recall and I'm sure he would not want his name out there. I trust his info 100% though."

8500 in 2021 Q4, another 8000 in January 2022?
8k/month seems reasonable.
 
#64 · (Edited)
Yes. Not being able to park in our attached garage was the worst part of the recall for us. Luckily we got no big snowstorms in NJ prior to us getting the software reflash done.

I can't say I am delighted with losing 20% of the range I leased (why no 20% rebate on my lease payments GM?) but not being able to keep the car garaged in the NJ winter was an enormous irritant. And since I have a 2020 under the present rate of battery replacement I am likely to have to live with the 20% range reduction for the remaining 2 years of my lease. This will all weigh heavily in our next purchase decision when we carshop in 2 years.
 
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