2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems, complaints & recalls

2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalls (6)

• Recall 23V845000Dec 14, 20236,771 vehicles
  SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER · STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

  General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. This recall includes certain vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under NHTSA recall number 22V-930. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.

  Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect both front seat belt pretensioners and, if necessary, install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust. Certain vehicles will also need a pretensioner cover installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2024. These vehicles were previously recalled for this same issue under recall number 22V-930 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may contact GM EV Concierge at 1-833-EVCHEVY (1-833-382-4389) (TTY 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or Customer Service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232421970.

• Recall 22V930000Dec 15, 2022111,242 vehicles
  SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER · STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

  General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.

  Risk: A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.

  Remedy: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between January 23, 2023 and April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N222383790.

• Recall 21V560000Jul 23, 202157,414 vehiclesPark outside
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles previously recalled under NHTSA recall number 20V-701. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.

  Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.

  Remedy: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Activate either the Hill Top Reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or Target Charge Level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Defective battery modules will be replaced by GM, free of charge. Interim notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N212343880.

• Recall 20V701000Nov 13, 202050,932 vehiclesPark outside
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling all 2017-2018 and certain 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.

  Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.

  Remedy: This recall has been superseded by recall number 21V-560. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V-701 will still need to have the new remedy under recall 21V-560. GM will notify owners, and as an interim repair, beginning on November 17, 2020, dealers will reprogram the hybrid propulsion control module 2 (HPCM2) to limit the full charge to 90%, free of charge. Owners are advised to activate either the Hill Top Reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or Target Charge Level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, or park outside, until the software update is completed. Owners were notified of the interim repair beginning November 17, 2020. The second notice was mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N202311730.

• Recall 20V184000Mar 26, 2020897 vehicles
  LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. The door-handle cable inside the rear doors may be too long, allowing contact with the window when it is opened, possibly damaging the cable. A damaged cable may cause the rear door to open unintentionally when the rear window is opened. Additionally, it may cause the rear inside door handle to not work.

  Risk: If the rear door opens while driving, or the door handle fails to open the rear door, there is an increased risk of injury to the rear passengers.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear inside door-handle cables, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is A202298320.

• Recall 18V576000Aug 30, 2018210,628 vehicles
  SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.

  Risk: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.

NHTSA defect investigations

• DP22005Opened Jan 27, 2023Closed Aug 7, 2023led to recall 22V063000

  Pedestrian alert sounds

  NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after Marc…

• PE20016Opened Oct 9, 2020Closed Feb 7, 2022led to recall 20V701000

  Electric Vehicle Battery Fires

  In October 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on 2017-2020 Model Year (MY) Chevrolet Bolt vehicles based on complaints received alleging that the vehicles caught fire under the seating area while parked and unattended. At the time, ODI had received 2 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and several field reports. All complaints alleged vehicles caught fire during or after electrical charging.ODI's review found vehicle thermal events occurred during and/or at the end of the battery module charging cycle. The information learned from NHTSA and Gen…

NHTSA 5-Star safety ratings

Recent 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Sep 21, 2026NJBrakesWheels & Tires

   I am reporting a recurring safety defect with our 2019 Chevrolet Bolt (~80,000 miles). On multiple occasions the left front wheel has overheated severely while driving, accompanied by a rapid, severe side-to-side steering wheel wobble and a burning smell. On XXX after ~35 miles of driving (10+ miles at 50-63 mph), the steering wheel began shaking. We had to pull over and drive slowly along the shoulder, stopping twice to let the wheel cool. The left front wheel measured…

   NHTSA complaint #11765956 · source
2. Filed Sep 17, 2026CAOther / Unknown

   A rear passenger side door handle/latch stopped working. The door cannot be opened from the inside, only from the outside. It’s a safety issue and it has affected other 2019-2020 Bolts which resulted in their recall. Why not this one?

   NHTSA complaint #11765061 · source
3. Filed Jun 13, 2026CASteering

   Steering wheel does not return to center after making a turn. Over time the steering rack fails leading to a steering wheel that will not return to center even when force is applied to wheel. The dealership is charging $3-4k to fix this safety issue.

   NHTSA complaint #11743944 · source
4. Filed May 18, 2026NCBrakesSteering

   when driving my car from the airport at Bradley International in CT (parked for a week), I experienced a terrible vibration in the steering wheel which has been intermittent. The vibration went away at lower speeds. I brought the car in to the shop on 5/18/2026 with 74,000 miles on the car. They told me I had to replace rotors, brakes, calipers, brake fluid, and do a front end alignment because the rotors have failed internally. The EV doe not use braking as frequently and…

   NHTSA complaint #11738509 · source
5. Filed May 12, 2026MISteering

   The steering wheel takes more effort to turn than it should and does not return to center after making a turn. It has been like this since I bought the car used, and I did not realize until recently that it should not be like this. Comments on some online forums indicate that this is a common issue with Chevy Bolts, usually requiring a steering rack replacement. This is a complex operation requiring certified EV technicians (I am told) and very expensive. I am not sure if GM…

   NHTSA complaint #11737320 · source
6. Filed May 11, 2026PASteering

   The steering wheel locks and stiffens on turns to the left or right refusing to come back to center on its own. In the middle of the turn the wheel locks up. Been told by multiple dealerships and forums I've read online it's a known issue with the car needing a steering gear replacement. A job that costs $4-5k per GM based on labor. There's no warning lights. GM has reproduced issue And based on this forum multiple accounts of this have happened to others [XXX] INFORMATION…

   NHTSA complaint #11737197 · source
7. Filed May 9, 2026AZAirbagsDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Issue: Total failure of Frontview Camera ADAS sensor, disabling Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Front Pedestrian Braking, and Lane Keep Assist. Technical Evidence: GDS2 telemetry confirms a "No Communication" status for the camera hardware. Core safety modules including the Electronic Brake Control (EBCM) and the Inflatable Restraint (Airbag) Sensing Module report active communication failures (DTC U026A/U216A). These safety-critical modules are currently unable to…

   NHTSA complaint #11736792 · source
8. Filed Apr 9, 2026WASteering

   What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The steering gear in this vehicle began to fail around 40K miles. It clunks at low speed, doesn't roll out of turns, and recently has begun to oscillate during straight driving. I will keep the old part for inspection once replaced. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The cars steering does not return to center during a turn. Now, the steering is shaking…

   NHTSA complaint #11730090 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology