[seanw]

Hi all,

just wondering if others have had a problem with their link stabilizer bars? I am in a 2018 Bolt EV currently with 32,000 KMs. Last winter (2020-2021) was this car's first time out in winter roads here in eastern Canada. Noticed a clunking at the end of April and brought it into the local dealer. Thought that it was a sway bar and wanted it looked at before the warranty ran out. The fix turned out to just be one of the link stabilizer bars, also found out that the sway bar replaced by the previous owner, I was concerned that this was the issue and could be very $$$. Fast forward to this winter which has been fairly mild and again I am having a clunking noise, diagnosis is both link stabilizer bars. One will be covered under the repair warranty of last April but one will cost me about $100 installed. I asked the dealer what is going on and they said there was a fair bit of ice under the car that may be causing these to fail. Suggested I try and avoid getting ice under the car (huh?). At this rate I may be back for a repair again in a year or less. I am cautious and as much as possible avoid pot holes. Does this make any sense? Are these parts that prone to fail on icy Canadian/US roads?

 

[TheCyberKnight]

Hi all,

just wondering if others have had a problem with their link stabilizer bars? I am in a 2018 Bolt EV currently with 32,000 KMs. Last winter (2020-2021) was this car's first time out in winter roads here in eastern Canada. Noticed a clunking at the end of April and brought it into the local dealer. Thought that it was a sway bar and wanted it looked at before the warranty ran out. The fix turned out to just be one of the link stabilizer bars, also found out that the sway bar replaced by the previous owner, I was concerned that this was the issue and could be very $$$. Fast forward to this winter which has been fairly mild and again I am having a clunking noise, diagnosis is both link stabilizer bars. One will be covered under the repair warranty of last April but one will cost me about $100 installed. I asked the dealer what is going on and they said there was a fair bit of ice under the car that may be causing these to fail. Suggested I try and avoid getting ice under the car (huh?). At this rate I may be back for a repair again in a year or less. I am cautious and as much as possible avoid pot holes. Does this make any sense? Are these parts that prone to fail on icy Canadian/US roads?

Had mines changed after about 18 months. Now, it just started making this noise again, about 24 months later.
I read at the time that it's a "weakness" on the Bolt. Seems right.

For what it's worth, I started noticing the issue at the beginning of this persistent cold wave.

Luckily, it's not expensive.

 

[SteveWilson1983]

Revive!
2018 here, 70k km. My passenger side seems gone, and I mentioned to a buddy who has a '17, and he has had the same noise for over a yr, just didn't know what it was.

They were recalled in S Korea due to being crap.

Your dealer is a moron btw, its not ice. Quite possibly the one first replaced is still fine. Some ppl say to replace them in pairs, so that might be why they're doing both now. Either way, that one's free, so don't argue.

I'm gonna do mine myself, and hope the new parts aren't equally sh*tty

 

[BobBolt]

Hi all,

just wondering if others have had a problem with their link stabilizer bars? I am in a 2018 Bolt EV currently with 32,000 KMs. Last winter (2020-2021) was this car's first time out in winter roads here in eastern Canada. Noticed a clunking at the end of April and brought it into the local dealer. Thought that it was a sway bar and wanted it looked at before the warranty ran out. The fix turned out to just be one of the link stabilizer bars, also found out that the sway bar replaced by the previous owner, I was concerned that this was the issue and could be very $$$. Fast forward to this winter which has been fairly mild and again I am having a clunking noise, diagnosis is both link stabilizer bars. One will be covered under the repair warranty of last April but one will cost me about $100 installed. I asked the dealer what is going on and they said there was a fair bit of ice under the car that may be causing these to fail. Suggested I try and avoid getting ice under the car (huh?). At this rate I may be back for a repair again in a year or less. I am cautious and as much as possible avoid pot holes. Does this make any sense? Are these parts that prone to fail on icy Canadian/US roads?

Answer is yes...2023 EUV. If you do a search under stabilizer links and I think the other is clunking noise/strut or something like that you should pick up the threads.
The stab links are of questionable quality based on the number of failures...I think mine was around 20KM but I would have to go look now.
I've also heard they are pretty low cost and once you get a couple of good ones maybe you are OK I don't know.
I'm a GM factory extended warranty kind of guy so I covered it for 6 yrs 160KM so I don't really care because I've paid all that I'm going to pay up front and they can replace as many parts as many times as they want....as long as I get a free wash and vacuum every time!

 

[SteveWilson1983]

If anyone runs across this thread in the future, check out this one:

Link kit

You want to change your link kit (stabilizer bar link) but you would like to opt for a much more resistant model than the original model with the plastic ends? No aftermarket parts (jobber) exist according to the parts listings (Carquest, Napa, etc etc). Coming from the automotive world, I...

www.chevybolt.org

that non-oem looks way better! I'm prob gonna get one and give it a shot.