General Motors is recalling up to 51,000 electric Chevrolet Bolt vehicles for the second time due to a potential battery defect that could cause a fire.
The company said the new recall affects the Bolt EVs from 2017-2019 that were previously recalled last November to get a software update to monitor the condition of the lithium-ion battery. Under the new recall, GM will replace the battery modules entirely.
At least one fire occurred in a vehicle that had received the software update. GM said it is aware of nine fires in all and two related injuries but no deaths.
Customers will be notified when replacement parts are ready, but in the meantime, customers are being asked to charge their vehicle after each use and avoid depleting the battery below 70 miles of range when possible. They are also being advised to park their vehicles outside immediately after changing and not leave them charging overnight.
GM said experts from GM and LG have identified two rare manufacturing defects in the same battery cell as the root cause of the battery fires.
The second recall follows an alert from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on July 14 urging Bolt owners to park their cars outside and away from homes. “The affected vehicles’ cell packs have the potential to smoke and ignite internally, which could spread to the rest of the vehicle and cause a structure fire…” NHTSA said. On Friday, NHTSA updated that guidance saying that 50,932 vehicles are affected.
Lithium-ion batteries are subject to overheating, smoking and potential fire if they are damaged or contain a manufacturing defect. The electric vehicle industry is working on a solid-state battery that would eliminate the need for traditional lithium-ion batteries.
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Other EVs have been subject to recalls and government agencies are still investigating the cause of more recent fires in Tesla models, including one where the lithium-ion battery case on the bottom of the vehicle had been cracked prior to catching fire.
After the initial round of Bolt recalls, GM said it had developed an onboard battery diagnostic system for use in future GM EVs. The company has plans to spend $35 billion by 2025 on 30 new electric models.
"We remain fully committed to an all-electric future," GM spokesman Daniel Flores said Friday in an email to Fierce Electronics. "We have a strong business relationship with our partner LG Energy Solution via our Ultium Cells joint venture and will continue to aggressively work toward our future vision."
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