GM tells 50K Chevrolet Bolt EV owners to park outside due to fire risk

General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are warning owners of the 2017 to 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV to park their cars outside immediately after charging them and to not charge them overnight due to a risk of fire.

Two recent fires sparked the recommendation, including one that happened to Vermont State Rep. Tim Briglin, whose car caught fire the morning after it was fully charged in his home.

Last year, Chevrolet identified a manufacturing defect that could cause a short in some battery packs that could lead to a fire when fully-charged and developed software to restrict their state of charge to 90%. It later issued diagnostic software to identify the issue before it manifested itself so repairs to the packs could be made. However, both Briglin’s and the owner’s car had recently been fixed.

“We are moving as quickly as we can to investigate this issue,” a GM spokesperson told the Associated Press.

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 50,932 cars were sold in the U.S. with the affected battery, while some 2019 Bolts and all later ones use an updated pack manufactured at a different factory that does not have the issue.

The 2022 Bolt EUV is not part of the safety action.