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Major repair on my 2018 Bolt

14K views 54 replies 28 participants last post by  kendallg 
#1 ·
I’ve had my 2018 Bolt for 2 years and I’ve put over 86000 miles on it. I’m a Lyft/Uber driver.
I started hearing a rattling noise from the left front side and took it to the dealer today. They said the gearbox is shot and the struts need to be replaced.
Total cost $2700!
Of course the warranties have all expired.
I unfortunately leased this vehicle and have to come up with $25000 plus taxes next year. I hope I didn’t lease a lemon.
Anyone else had similar problems?
 
#2 ·
You may be covered under the 8-year, 100,000 warranty, which covers a lot more than just the battery.

The warranty booklet for my 2020 Bolt lists “Electric drive unit assembly electric motors, and all internal components“.

The “gearbox” is a single unit, the electric drive unit assembly, which has both the electric motor and the fixed gears in one housing.

I’m not a GM warranty expert, but I would find out exactly which components have failed and need repairs, and then contact Chevy Customer Assistance Center, 1-877-486-5846.

With a $2,700 repair bill it’s certainly worth a phone call. Also, check your 2018 warranty booklet for the exact wording in that booklet, it may not be identical to what I have for my 2020 Bolt.

In my warranty booklet the pertinent paragraph is headed Electric/Hybrid Drive Unit.

Good luck!

Also, manufacturers sometimes extend free or reduced cost repairs even if a vehicle is no longer covered under warranty. That may or may not be the case for your repair, but asking doesn’t cost anything.

Please provide an update once you know more, as others may encounter this same repair issue down the road.
 
#52 ·
The last time I even heard about someone honest enough to stand at a service counter and say; Hey, my car broke but I didn't use it within the guidelines of the warranty, etc. I'll pay cash for that repair, thank you. Well, that person was portrayed in the movie the Ten Commandments.

And if you want proof without opening that can of worms. You don't have to leave this forum to find plenty who think breaking your own charge port by bending the pins because you are a gorilla and don't have a clue how to excercise 'due care' is warrantable. (And yes, I agree that they should cover it as a customer satisfaction thing ONCE per car, NOT under warranty). But my point is, bending the pins is not warrantable and yet you'd be surprised at how many people who are so buried under the self entitlement blanket don't understand that.
 
#36 ·
There are plenty of heavier cars out there, not as small perhaps but the engineering knowledge and parts to deal with a heavy load are certainly well understood. I really don't see any reason to expect the suspension on the Bolt to be any worse than other vehicles. I have a 1993 Plymouth Grand Voyager that I've owned since new - it's heavier than the Bolt, has had its front and rear shocks replaced exactly once, and nothing else in the suspension has been an issue.
 
#37 ·
In my opinion, struts / shocks at 86000 miles is not unheard of for a vehicle of any kind or weight.

Not ideal sure, but I've had to replace struts at 70k on a Maxima that was regularly driven on a poorly paved suggestion of a road.

Also I guess I'm looking at the gearbox repair from a different class expense of former vehicles, because if it includes everything in one unit that TimBolt describes, that doesn't seem too bad. Honestly a cost I would pay to keep from buying another car.

What makes this really hurt for the OP is the lease agreement.
 
#39 ·
Well, I have a 2013 Volt with 130k miles that has needed NO repairs. My Bolt has 80k and no repairs either. But road conditions and winer I guess can make a difference. Living on California and driving on pretty good highways probably makes things a bit easier on my cars. Still, I'm impressed that neither my Volt or Bolt have any interior squeaks or rattles either.
 
#40 ·
It could be that the OP lives in a pothole-ridden city like San Francisco, with most of those 86,000 miles driven during commercial operation with an average weight of 2+ passengers, and maybe sometimes in a hurry, hitting potholes and speed bumps with as much as 1000 lb total cargo in a car that is already heavy.

Uber drivers rarely realize just how poorly they're paid because they don't take vehicle depreciation and maintenance into account when looking at their "profit".

But a lemon? It obviously does not meet the definition for that. It may not even be a surprising failure.
 
#42 ·
This is the classic case of not exceeding your lease mileage limits. There is no way he had a lease that allowed 40,000 miles per year! Although this is not a common failure this is always a possibility in any vehicle. Lease costs always look so good but don’t ever exceed the mileage limit. I hope the motor gear box is covered for this guy but I do wonder if the commercial use of this vehicle will be an issue.
 
#45 ·
I had a similar thing happen to my 2017 Bolt. It was at the end of 2019 and I was at 58k miles. The dealer found it was rear strut. Had to be replaced. I had to talk to ‘experience manager’ and call Chevrolet and make a big stink about it. They ended up replacing under 60k powertrain warranty. I suspect you might have a harder time with it due to your mileage. All cars have suspension parts which wear out and if you compared to an ICE car with same use case you would be looking at even more maintenance such as brakes, engine, and etc. Thank you for driving an EV and helping us confront global warming. Rest assured when you fix the issues you will have a fully sorted vehicle. I would take it to another dealer and not mention you are ride-share driver. Best of luck, keep us posted.
 
#53 ·
I wonder if the OP was actually a true/real problem.

No follow up responses. No update on the problem or repair.
 
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