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Another Reason to Not Buy Electric

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
GM issues 2nd Bolt recall; faulty batteries can cause fires
By TOM KRISHER, Associated Press
Jul 23, 2021 12:28 PM CDT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling some older Chevrolet Bolts for a second time to fix persistent battery problems that can set the electric cars ablaze.

Until repairs are done, GM says owners should park the cars outdoors, limit charging to 90% of battery capacity, and not deplete batteries below 70 miles of range. The company says the Bolts should not be charged overnight, and should be parked outside immediately after they are charged.

The second recall comes after two Bolts that had been fixed under a previous recall caught fire, one in Vermont and the other in New Jersey. It covers about 69,000 Bolts worldwide from 2017, 2018 and part of the 2019 model year. All have batteries made by LG Chem in South Korea.

The recall is another bug in a growing global rollout of electric vehicles by all automakers to replace internal combustion vehicles to cut emissions and fight climate change. Ford, BMW and Hyundai all have recalled batteries recently. Also, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigated a series of fires in Tesla vehicles and earlier this year said the high-voltage lithium-ion batteries pose safety risks to first responders after crashes.

GM says in a statement Friday that the faulty Bolt batteries can have two rare manufacturing defects in the same cell at the same time. So GM will now replace any defective battery modules and possibly the whole battery pack.

Spokesman Dan Flores says engineers are still working around the clock on how to find the battery defect and what the repairs will be. He said GM doesn’t know how long it will take to develop the fix. The number of Bolts with the defect is likely to be small, Flores said.

The previous recall announced in April didn't fully fix the problem. It was diagnostic software designed to look for battery anomalies. If one was found, GM said it would replace faulty parts.

Some 2019 Bolts and those from the 2020 and 2021 model years are not affected. Their batteries were made by LG in Holland, Michigan.

“We understand that the previous recall and this recall significantly inconvenience our customers,” Flores said. “We appreciate their patience and we understand their frustration.”

GM will handle customer complaints about the inconvenience and lower travel range on a case-by-case basis, he said.

The company says owners who haven’t had the first recall repairs done should still take their cars to dealers to get the fixes.

The first recall came after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the fires last year. The agency said in a statement Friday that it is evaluating GM's recall repairs and the fires.

GM says it has confirmed battery fires in nine Bolts. NHTSA said two people suffered smoke inhalation and the battery fire spread to one house.

Once the final recall repairs are made, the Bolts’ full range will be restored. Older Bolts can go about 238 miles (383 kilometers) per charge.
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Old news. All electric car manufacturers have had problems with the Lithium ion batteries being prone to catching on fire.
Agreed, I am sure when we went from horse drawn to gas powered cars they were plagued with issues. The issues with electric will go away as the technology matures. Electric really is going to take over for combustion engines. As much fun as I have with combustion engines even I know its coming. It is still early and the early adopters are paving the way for the rest of us.
 

torga

Autocross Champion
No way to hop it up so they'll all be the same.
Definitely ways to hop it up! Increase voltage, better cooling for batteries (to handle increase voltage), better "LSD" software, etc., etc.
We won't be hopping up EV powertrains in anywhere near the same way, but there are still ways.
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
No way to hop it up so they'll all be the same.
Not true, plenty of ways to make them faster. Tesla made theirs faster. The now available Tesla Plaid:
0-60 just under 2 sec
1/4 mi 9.23
1020 peak hp
200mph top speed
And it has a 390mi range

And this is without modification, just as it comes from factory. Name any cars you can buy from the factory at 150K or less that runs low 9sec quarters.

Can't think of any other production car under 140K that is faster and we are just in early days of electric vehicles.

I have modded gas powered cars for years but electric motors hold much more potential. The gas combustion engine is showing its age compared to what you can do with electric motors and computerized controls, even with the lagging development of batteries.

  • McLaren 720S: 9.9 seconds @ 148.2 mph. ...
  • Porsche 918 Spyder: 9.8 seconds @ 145 mph. ...
  • McLaren P1: 9.8 seconds @ 148.9 mph. ...
  • Ferrari LaFerrari: 9.8 seconds @ 149 mph. ...
  • Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 9.7 seconds @ 145 mph. ...
  • Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: 9.65 seconds @ 140 mph.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Definitely ways to hop it up! Increase voltage, better cooling for batteries (to handle increase voltage), better "LSD" software, etc., etc.
We won't be hopping up EV powertrains in anywhere near the same way, but there are still ways.
I guess we'll see if that's possible.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Not true, plenty of ways to make them faster. Tesla made theirs faster. The now available Tesla Plaid:
0-60 just under 2 sec
1/4 mi 9.23
1020 peak hp
200mph top speed
And it has a 390mi range

And this is without modification, just as it comes from factory. Name any cars you can buy from the factory at 150K or less that runs low 9sec quarters.

Can't think of any other production car under 140K that is faster and we are just in early days of electric vehicles.

I have modded gas powered cars for years but electric motors hold much more potential. The gas combustion engine is showing its age compared to what you can do with electric motors and computerized controls, even with the lagging development of batteries.

  • McLaren 720S: 9.9 seconds @ 148.2 mph. ...
  • Porsche 918 Spyder: 9.8 seconds @ 145 mph. ...
  • McLaren P1: 9.8 seconds @ 148.9 mph. ...
  • Ferrari LaFerrari: 9.8 seconds @ 149 mph. ...
  • Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 9.7 seconds @ 145 mph. ...
  • Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: 9.65 seconds @ 140 mph.
I'm familiar with Tesla Plaid but Tesla is the one who made it faster and anyone else who has one will be as fast. I wish that I could afford one.
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
I'm familiar with Tesla Plaid but Tesla is the one who made it faster and anyone else who has one will be as fast. I wish that I could afford one.
Well yes but nothing stopping you from modding it but that is one hell of a base to start with.
 

torga

Autocross Champion

RisingFallens

Autocross Champion
Wish I could see an example.
Well really they’re doing mods to get the power down. A lot of stripping interiors, meaty tires that don’t kill range, things of that nature. I know unplugged performance just gutted the interior of a model 3, moved the driver to the middle and did a lot of track-pack items
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Well really they’re doing mods to get the power down. A lot of stripping interiors, meaty tires that don’t kill range, things of that nature. I know unplugged performance just gutted the interior of a model 3, moved the driver to the middle and did a lot of track-pack items
Yes, but the Plaid S is turning low 9s with full interior, no weight reduction 9.33. He did go faster after doing weight reduction.
 
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