NHTSA Complaint #11428351 — 2018 CHEVROLET BOLT EV

The battery system has a defect that GM admits could lead to a fire. Since November 2020, they advised me to not charge the car above 90% of capacity. They now are also advising not to discharge below 30%, to not charge overnight, and to park outside once charged. One car fire involved a vehicle that regularly only charged to 75%, so, to be safe, I won't charge to more than 70%. That leaves me with only 40% of my battery (24% in winter). My system in my garage only has power during overnight hours, so no charging overnight means I can't charge my car. GM has a final remedy that involves analyzing the battery for defective modules and installing advanced diagnostic software to detect performance issues before they cause a problem. The huge problem with that remedy is that there have been two fires in cars that had their batteries analyzed and had the diagnostic software installed. That means their system for detecting and preventing fires DOES NOT WORK. In the final remedy, GM will only replace modules that they find are defective. After the remedy work is done, GM says customers can charge their vehicles to 100% with full confidence. If their detection system is faulty, as evidenced by subsequent fires, how can anyone confidently go to sleep at night and charge to 100%? Their detection system relies on software to detect issues. My vehicle has had software problems that include charging to full when only programmed to charge for 2 hours, infotainment system fails to initiate, vehicle fails to recognize key fob, cruise control fails to initiate, touch screen won't respond which prevents operation of all systems controlled through the screen. I have no confidence that GM can detect the known battery defect in modules with 100% certainty. Anything less than 100% means I can't charge my car in my garage and still sleep at night. Also, GM has no idea when final remedy will be ready, and I shouldn't have to live with 40% of my battery for an unknown time.