I took my 2017 Chevy Bolt to my nearest dealership last week to apply the final fix for Recall #N202311731-01 (Safety Recall - High Voltage Battery May Melt or Burn). After nearly 6 hours of waiting, they reported that they had inspected the battery pack for the recall and concluded that a "battery pack replacement" was needed. However, they indicated that they do not currently have any Bolt techs on their staff. Therefore, they were unable to order the replacement parts or perform the repair. They referred me to another dealership.
I took the vehicle to the second dealership this morning. They indicated they could not use the diagnostic results from the first dealership and would have to start over and run the diagnostics themselves. (That makes sense to me.). However, after running the diagnostics, they reported that the vehicle passed and only needed to be reprogrammed. No hardware replacement was needed afterall!
Have there been other reports of inconsistent recall diagnostics? It is deeply disturbing that the vehicle can fail one day and then pass 4 days later. How confident should we be in the diagnostics?
How confident are you in the competence of each dealership? If the first dealership ran the diagnostic without "any Bolt techs on their staff," I might wonder if they really knew what they were doing. You could also ask the first dealership for a copy of the actual test results, and then call the Chevy Bolt concierge with your concerns (1-833-EV-CHEVY).
Based on the NHTSA recall docs, it might be possible that the problem shows up intermittently. There are apparently 2 new error codes in the software update, one for a "static" error, and one for an "intermittent" error. Either error will trigger the software to light the engine light on the dashboard, stop charging, and prevent the vehicle from starting (if turned off).
So the good news is that if your Bolt battery pack really does have an intermittent problem, the software update should detect it when it appears. The bad news is that if it does detect the problem, you won't be able to drive the car, and you'll have to get it towed to the dealership. That's a lot of extra hassle for something that the first dealership already diagnosed.
