NHTSA Complaint #11701262 — 2017 CHEVROLET BOLT EV

POWER TRAIN issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number 11701262
Vehicle 2017 CHEVROLET BOLT EV
Component POWER TRAIN
Date of Incident
Date Filed
Mileage N/A miles
Crash No
Fire No
Injuries 0
Deaths 0
Vehicle Towed No
State IA

Consumer Description

My wife of [XXX] and grandson were driving our Chevrolet Bolt, crossing a busy 4 lane highway when suddenly and w/o any prior warning, the Bolt lost propulsion. Caught blocking 2 of those lanes, she was fortunate that men stopped their trucks and pushed her car up hill and into a church parking lot. She called me and I tried resetting everything to factory settings, and the Bolt seemed okay-for a short time. I hooked a diagnostic unit to the car and found an error code that indicated either the failure of the pre-charge resistor or the HV contactor-both in the battery pack. This was a pack replaced by the dealership back when Bolts were randomly catching fire and destroying themselves and nearby property. Now these packs are failing again and there are service bulletins addressing this fact and that it is common in 2017 and 2018 Bolts. GM however has not sent out warnings to its unfortunate customers warning them of this common failure and life- threatening problem. Luckily today I'm dealing with the Bolts warranty rather than two funerals. All of that took place on 11/22/25. In the hour following the first failure, this situation repeated itself 4 more times. The last time there was no restarting it, or the car would shake if put into drive or reverse. As it was Saturday we had to wait until today 11/24/25 to get it towed to the dealership for $140. This failure will require dropping the battery pack and running three tests, then replacement of the faulty components. This should be under warranty according to our and the dealerships records, but this issue need to hit the national news and all Bolt owners should be sent letters warning of sudden and unpredictable failures. This was life threatening for us and will be for many others. Imagine this happening at interstate speeds in heavy traffic. Lives will be lost. This is the second and more dangerous failure for these horrible vehicles, and GM should at this point replace these or refund every owner. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI

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