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2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems & recalls

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and owners have filed 323 complaints. The most-reported area is electrical system (111 complaints). 5 complaints describe a fire and 9 complaints describe a crash. 2 recalls tell owners to park outside until it is fixed.

Recalls
4
Complaints
323
Crash reports
9
Fire reports
5
Injuries
4

Recalls (4)

Dec 14, 2023#23V845000

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.

Fix: 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.

Dec 15, 2022#22V930000

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.

Fix: 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.

Jul 23, 2021#21V560000⚠ Park 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.

Fix: 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.

Nov 13, 2020#20V701000⚠ Park 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.

Fix: 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.

Owner complaints (323)

What owners reported to NHTSA, by component. One complaint can name several components.

  • Electrical system111
  • Steering110
  • Fuel/propulsion system68
  • Unknown or other32
  • Power train23
  • Service brakes19
  • Engine14
  • Visibility/wiper10
  • Vehicle speed control8
  • Suspension7
  • Wheels5
  • Lane departure5

Complaints over time

Mar 2017: 1 complaintApr 2017: 0 complaintsMay 2017: 1 complaintJun 2017: 0 complaintsJul 2017: 2 complaintsAug 2017: 2 complaintsSep 2017: 3 complaintsOct 2017: 6 complaintsNov 2017: 2 complaintsDec 2017: 2 complaintsJan 2018: 4 complaintsFeb 2018: 2 complaintsMar 2018: 0 complaintsApr 2018: 2 complaintsMay 2018: 2 complaintsJun 2018: 1 complaintJul 2018: 2 complaintsAug 2018: 2 complaintsSep 2018: 2 complaintsOct 2018: 1 complaintNov 2018: 0 complaintsDec 2018: 2 complaintsJan 2019: 2 complaintsFeb 2019: 2 complaintsMar 2019: 0 complaintsApr 2019: 2 complaintsMay 2019: 2 complaintsJun 2019: 1 complaintJul 2019: 0 complaintsAug 2019: 1 complaintSep 2019: 1 complaintOct 2019: 0 complaintsNov 2019: 2 complaintsDec 2019: 0 complaintsJan 2020: 0 complaintsFeb 2020: 0 complaintsMar 2020: 0 complaintsApr 2020: 0 complaintsMay 2020: 1 complaintJun 2020: 0 complaintsJul 2020: 2 complaintsAug 2020: 0 complaintsSep 2020: 0 complaintsOct 2020: 1 complaintNov 2020: 5 complaintsDec 2020: 3 complaintsJan 2021: 3 complaintsFeb 2021: 4 complaintsMar 2021: 3 complaintsApr 2021: 4 complaintsMay 2021: 5 complaintsJun 2021: 4 complaintsJul 2021: 63 complaintsAug 2021: 15 complaintsSep 2021: 11 complaintsOct 2021: 1 complaintNov 2021: 1 complaintDec 2021: 4 complaintsJan 2022: 0 complaintsFeb 2022: 1 complaintMar 2022: 4 complaintsApr 2022: 6 complaintsMay 2022: 7 complaintsJun 2022: 1 complaintJul 2022: 6 complaintsAug 2022: 5 complaintsSep 2022: 5 complaintsOct 2022: 7 complaintsNov 2022: 4 complaintsDec 2022: 5 complaintsJan 2023: 5 complaintsFeb 2023: 3 complaintsMar 2023: 2 complaintsApr 2023: 2 complaintsMay 2023: 2 complaintsJun 2023: 1 complaintJul 2023: 1 complaintAug 2023: 1 complaintSep 2023: 7 complaintsOct 2023: 4 complaintsNov 2023: 4 complaintsDec 2023: 3 complaintsJan 2024: 3 complaintsFeb 2024: 4 complaintsMar 2024: 2 complaintsApr 2024: 1 complaintMay 2024: 3 complaintsJun 2024: 1 complaintJul 2024: 0 complaintsAug 2024: 4 complaintsSep 2024: 0 complaintsOct 2024: 5 complaintsNov 2024: 2 complaintsDec 2024: 2 complaintsJan 2025: 0 complaintsFeb 2025: 2 complaintsMar 2025: 3 complaintsApr 2025: 5 complaintsMay 2025: 9 complaintsJun 2025: 0 complaintsJul 2025: 3 complaintsAug 2025: 0 complaintsSep 2025: 0 complaintsOct 2025: 0 complaintsNov 2025: 0 complaintsDec 2025: 0 complaintsJan 2026: 0 complaintsFeb 2026: 0 complaintsMar 2026: 0 complaintsApr 2026: 0 complaintsMay 2026: 0 complaintsJun 2026: 0 complaintsJul 2026: 0 complaintsAug 2026: 3 complaintsSep 2026: 3 complaints201820192020202120222023202420252026
Complaints filed per month. Peak: 63 in Jul 2021. Hover a bar for its count.
Complaints filed per month
MonthComplaints
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Recent owner reports

Sep 26, 2026Steering

The steering rack is binding and has malfunctioned. The steering wheel does not return to center after turning and vibrates or wobbles while driving, which may impair steering control and makes the vehicle unsafe to drive. The problem was diagnosed and confirmed by a certified automotive repair shop. No warning lights or messages appeared. The only prior symptom was progressively worsening steering-wheel operation over time.

Sep 25, 2026Unknown or other

I have this exact issue with my car, this is service Bulletin No.: 21-NA-064 published on the NHTSA web site. The dealership wants to charge me hundreds of dollars to fix this problem, it is a software problem. This impacts safety as this heater is also necessary to safely defrost the windows. I have called GM and they are telling me they will not repair the software defect for free. This creates incentive for the car manufacturer to create bad software that will need updates. It's an easy fix, but they prevent the customer from being able to do this simple software fix which any reason…

Sep 1, 2026Steering

I am reporting a potential steering system safety defect involving my 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The problem began at approximately 22,800 miles. The steering wheel developed a grinding noise, a noticeable catching/binding sensation when turned, and would not return to center normally after a turn. The condition could be felt even while the vehicle was stationary and not running by turning the steering wheel back and forth. While driving, I could feel the steering pull and catch when turning left or right. The problem gradually became worse over about two months. There were no warning lights or d…

Aug 30, 2026Steering

The steering rack on the Chevrolet Bolt EV does not return to center on turns. Over the course of the past 25k miles, my particular model has slowly began to lock up on deep turns. This occurs on sharp rights, lefts, and on both on and off ramps - especially the ones that loop around. The steering rack gets stuck on sharper turns and continuous turns, requiring force to return back to center or to get out of the turn. With hands off the wheel, the vehicle maintains its turn radius and without driver input, would inevitably turn into a barrier, object, or even another vehicle. Issues began arou…

Aug 27, 2026Unknown or other

Without any warning, the INFO-TAINMENT COMPUTER SYSTEM on the dashboard (BOLT EV) fails to come on, sometimes lasting up to 5 minutes. This has happened intermittently for the last 8 years and can be problematic. When the computer info-tainment is not on, I cannot control anything on the dashboard. For example: I have no back up camera and cannot see when I back up from my garage. I cannot control the heating/cooling system/ audio/ defroster(which can be dangerous because I cannot see through my front/back windsheild). The system reboots itself afer approx. 5 mins, but in the meantme, drivi…

Aug 22, 2026Steering

COMPONENT: Electric power steering (EPS) steering gear / rack and pinion assembly. WHAT HAPPENED: The steering gear binds internally. After a turn the wheel does not return to center and must be forced back to straight; steering feel is stiff and clunky. On at least one occasion the wheel felt stuck in place partway through a turn and I had to fight it to finish the maneuver. I nearly lost control of the vehicle. Exact date, location and speed of that incident: UNKNOWN. The condition is chronic and has worsened over time. I own two Bolt EVs (2017's); both have this defect and I am filing a se…

Jul 31, 2025Steering

STEERING WILL NOT RETURN TO CENTER. STIFF AND SLUGGISH.

Jul 3, 2025Steering

Steering wheel is not returning to center after a turn. It can be dangerous in certain situations where you would expect the steering to center after making a turn. Took it into a mechanic and they said its a common issue on the bolts. Power steering rack is faulty. This needs to be investigated.... Lots of complaints online!

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall and complaint records, updated Oct 1, 2026. Complaints are owner reports and are not verified by NHTSA. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.