[drnkonrum]

I was hoping to introduce myself to the forum on a happier not, but here I am. I picked up my new 2018 Bolt Ev Premier last Saturday and have enjoyed driving it to and from work for the past week. Mostly driving in L to get max regen. I have been charging it nightly off 120v at 8A and noted no issues other than the occasional hiccup when applying the throttle.

Yesterday my wife and I decide we were going to go run some errands, the Bolt had other ideas. As I was approaching a light at a busy intersection I noticed the regen was not working as usual and applied the breaks. The gauge cluster read limited driving capability(or something like that). As I came to a stop the car shifted itself to park and applied the parking brake. I attempted to shift into drive and take off the parking brake, with no success. It just told me to go back into park. I tried reverse and neutral with no luck. Everything else appeared to work. I tried turning it off and back on, but when pressing the start button the car rebooted showing a globe like graphic which said something to the effect of "re-initializing". nothing worked to get me moving. On go the hazards and there I sat. I hit the Onstar button, the called the local police ( who arrived promptly to block the lane behind me). Onstar told me they were running a diagnostic, which showed nothing wrong. They then told me they would get me a tow truck to take me to the nearest dealer, a dealer I knew was not authorized to work on my car. The cop getting inpatient asked if I wanted him to have dispatch get me a tow, which I did, and he did. The tow he called arrived quickly, and I then received a text from Onstar telling me a truck would be there in a couple of hours. I had the tow truck take me to the dealership I purchased the car at. The dealer told me they would get back in tough with me on Monday.

I later saw that I had an email from Onstar stating:

"Dear Thomas Larsen,
An issue with the Engine and Transmission System in your 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been detected. Please service your vehicle within 7 days.

Please disregard this message if your vehicle is already in for service. Inaccurate notifications can be generated during service.

Please see your dealer for service."
​

So here I sit one week after purchase, with 265 miles on the car with an ICE loaner and no clue what is going on. Did I get a lemon? Is it an easy fix? Is the problem 12v? Or is it high voltage system related? Who knows. (only thing I know now is onstar is useless for towing. I will try to keep this thread up to date in case it helps anyone in the future. As for now I just have to sit here and wait.

 

[Bikenanigans]

Ack! Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it can be sorted out in short order and you can get back to new EV owner bliss. Please keep us updated!

 

[NewsCoulomb]

So a couple of things, but before I start, this isn't to justify how the Bolt EV reacted.

First, if you do not immediately need the Bolt EV's full range, enable Hilltop Reserve Mode. Doing so will ensure that you consistently have full regenerative braking available, even when you've charged to "full." It will also increase the life of your battery (for how long... no one really knows). https://youtu.be/VpQxd23dpvc

Second, it sounds like you said you've had occasional "hiccups" during acceleration. That shouldn't happen period. That was really your first warning that something was wrong with your Bolt EV (though the car should have provided some indicator at the time that something was wrong).

Either way, good luck with this. Keep us posted. Hopefully, it's a quick fix (module needs to be replaced under warranty or something).

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

Our sympathies, drnkonrum. Things tend to fail when new (infant mortalities) or when they wear out (end-of-life failures). You got the former, while we all hope for the latter. Hopefully you will get a service guy who is familiar with the inner workings of the Bolt.

 

[Sean Graham]

Please do let us know! Maybe you just have a bad HV battery pack, that has been known to happen.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Did I get a lemon? Is it an easy fix? Is the problem 12v?

Hope you didn't get a lemon. More then likely it's some stupid part that was manufactured or assembled improperly, and once it's fixed or replaced your car will be as reliable as Old Faithful.

Hope it's an easy fix. Even if it's not, it'll be covered by the warranty.

Very unlikely to be a 12V battery problem - when the car is "on" the 12V is supplied by the DC-DC converter from the high voltage battery.

 

[Pike Bishop]

I will try to keep this thread up to date in case it helps anyone in the future. As for now I just have to sit here and wait.

drnkonrum--I know the pain. There are a few threads on the forum where Bolt drivers are surprised by a 'dead' car. It could be battery pack imbalance shutdown, 12V failure, or MSD (Manual Service Disconnect) defects (my case).



The challenge comes when a hard problem meets a dealer who does not see too many EV problems. GM appears to have a good internal channel to escalate issues, but communications with the customer is sometimes lost. As you said, you just have to sit and wait.


To help people in the future, you should report your unexpected loss of driveability to the NHTSA at this page

A report takes about 5 minutes and only requires your VIN.



Filing a report helps all EV drivers because loss of driveability is considered an ASIL Class C or D risk event (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) under ISO 26262. As GM is building a 'world car' with the Bolt EV, the company needs to be held accountable if no action is taken on ASIL levels.



For more reading on ASIL, here is a good introductory site (LINK), with an illustration of typical risk areas and their ASIL rating:

As you can see, anything that affects engine (motor) management is automatically a Class C, and possibly a Class D (severe risk).


Good luck and keep the forum posted.

 

[Sean Nelson]

As you can see, anything that affects engine (motor) management is automatically a Class C, and possibly a Class D (severe risk).

That's an interesting graphic, thanks for posting. But it looks to me like it's only uncommanded acceleration that's class C to D. There's no mention of power failure.

On the other hand, I suppose that having the parking brake come on once you've stopped might fall under the "Unintended full power braking", a class D offence.

 

[sddcny]

Same/Similar Problem With New 2018 Bolt

We experienced what appears to be the same or a very similar problem yesterday (8-26-18) with our new 2018 Chevy Bolt. While driving we noticed a slight hesitation/skipping. Later that day, when driving a second time, the car suddenly lost power and a reduced propulsion message came up. I pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park and turned it on and off. When I turned it back on, it would not let me select drive or reverse. The service car soon symbol on the dash illuminated and there was a message that conditions were not appropriate to shift. At the same I, I received a text from OnStar that stated: "Diagnostic Alert: Service the engine and transmission system in your 2018 Bolt immediately." While we were waiting for 4 hours for a tow, at the end of the time, the car did "start" - shift into reverse/drive. The service your car soon icon still illuminated on the dash. The car has 151 miles on the odometer. The service department at the local Chevy dealer called late this afternoon to report that they found a loose connector and bad wiring harness at the transmission. They ordered parts and should be in Wednesday. We are hopeful that this will completely resolve the problem.

 

[Pike Bishop]

That's an interesting graphic, thanks for posting. But it looks to me like it's only uncommanded acceleration that's class C to D. There's no mention of power failure.

On the other hand, I suppose that having the parking brake come on once you've stopped might fall under the "Unintended full power braking", a class D offence.

Sean,


Good observation.


The graphic is from a general discussion on ASIL levels and ISO 26262. There is a much more detailed discussion by Bureau Veritas, an quality auditor and certification entity at this (LINK) that covers battery electric drive trains.



ASIL C and D are speed dependent. An ICE that stalls pulling out of the driveway on a cold morning may be an ASIL B level, simply because speeds are very low.


A BEV that loses power at 55mph+ on a high speed road may put the occupants in a fatal accident.


Bureau Vertias prefers to see ASIL C and D qualified electric drive subsystems with an average design failure rate of 1 event per 100 million to 1 billion hours of use.



If there are a series of Bolt EVs losing power at an early age, it's just responsible to notify the NHTSA.

 

[drnkonrum]

I just wanted to post a quick update. First, thanks for all the info and moral support everyone. My dealership service writer called me on Monday to tell me that it looked like the "transmission needed to be replaced". I didn't want to push to find out what that meant in the case of an EV, as he was just the service writer and not likely to be a qualified EV technician. So, I have no idea what that really means as for a fix. He also mentioned that he wasn't sure GM was going to let them do the fix themselves. I take this to mean he doesn't think they are capable without assistance from GM technicians. He also implied that a fix was going to take quite a while. I'm going to call again and tomorrow and see if there are any updates.

 

[drnkonrum]

I'll also make sure to file the NHTSA report. If this is a trend it definitely needs to be addressed.

 

[DucRider]

He also implied that a fix was going to take quite a while.

Didn't see that you posted your location, but in many States the lemon law puts a limit on shop time before they have to buy it back (or give you a new car). Worth looking into and letting the dealer know the clock is ticking.

 

[BruceA1923]

Wow....how unfortunate...and disturbing for you...and the rest of us. Please keep us updated...best of luck!

 

[Bob Armstrong]

I went out to my Bolt recently and got in the car and noticed there were no lights on. pressing the power button did nothing. Ugh oh. then I realized I had left my flashers on overnight and the 12V battery was DEAD. I connected it with jumpers to my truck and as soon as I connected it, everything came on fine. I'm so used to the power button turning EVERYTHING off that I didn't realized the flashers were still flashing.

It made me wonder about 12V charging...if I leave the car OFF but plugged into my charger, will that charge the 12V battery too? or does that battery only charge when the car is ON.

let us know what is wrong. sorry for your bad experience. the above is my only mishap after almost a year.

 

[raitchison]

I went out to my Bolt recently and got in the car and noticed there were no lights on. pressing the power button did nothing. Ugh oh. then I realized I had left my flashers on overnight and the 12V battery was DEAD. I connected it with jumpers to my truck and as soon as I connected it, everything came on fine. I'm so used to the power button turning EVERYTHING off that I didn't realized the flashers were still flashing.

It made me wonder about 12V charging...if I leave the car OFF but plugged into my charger, will that charge the 12V battery too? or does that battery only charge when the car is ON.

let us know what is wrong. sorry for your bad experience. the above is my only mishap after almost a year.

Per the owners manual if you're plugged in the car is supposed to keep the 12V charging circuit active. Of course if your 12V battery is already dead that won't help because the electronics won't be able to "wake up" enough to start charging.

Also, if you had hilltop reserve turned on before your 12V battery died check to make sure it's still on. When I disconnected my 12V battery my hilltop reserve got turned off and I didn't realize that until the next time I charged and it went all the way to 100%!

 

[SparkE]

I believe that the Bolt simply checks the state of the 12V battery more often when plugged in - it doesn't continually apply charge to the accessory battery. It checks the voltage (about) every 2.5 days when *not* plugged in, and every few hours when plugged in. At least that's how I remember it. (An excerpt from the service manual on that subject was posted here many months ago.)

 

[Sean Nelson]

I'm so used to the power button turning EVERYTHING off that I didn't realized the flashers were still flashing.

The Bolt has this rather odd (to me) quirk that when you power the car off the click-click-click of the flashers also stops. So there's really nothing obvious to indicate that they're still on. I'm guessing it's because the "click" sounds aren't coming out of a relay but are rather a software-generated waveform that's being fed to the speakers.

 

[Bob Armstrong]

The Bolt has this rather odd (to me) quirk that when you power the car off the click-click-click of the flashers also stops. So there's really nothing obvious to indicate that they're still on. I'm guessing it's because the "click" sounds aren't coming out of a relay but are rather a software-generated waveform that's being fed to the speakers.

Thanks! that makes sense. I was wondering how I hadn't noticed that the flashers were still on.

 

[PhilBo]

The Bolt has this rather odd (to me) quirk that when you power the car off the click-click-click of the flashers also stops. So there's really nothing obvious to indicate that they're still on. I'm guessing it's because the "click" sounds aren't coming out of a relay but are rather a software-generated waveform that's being fed to the speakers.

You are correct on the sound source. My 2013 Chevy Cruze had a bad negative battery cable which caused the signal to work properly but there was no ticking sound.