Another class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors over its temporary fix for the Chevy Bolt EV battery fires, which reduces the maximum capacity of the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery pack by 10 percent.
This latest class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the plaintiff in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Keller Rohrback L.L.P., Markovits, and Stock & DeMarco, LLC. The suit accuses GM of concealing various defects with the 60 kWh lithium-ion battery pack found in the electric vehicles, which can allegedly cause the battery pack to overheat when the vehicle is nearly or fully charged.
This lawsuit references the recall that GM issued for 2017 to 2019 model year Chevy Bolt EV models last year. That recall, which involved over 69,000 units, was sent out after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received numerous reports from owners of Chevy Bolt EV models who claimed their vehicle spontaneously caught fire when it was parked and/or charging. GM eventually issued a software update that prevented the batteries from overheating, however this update will reduce the battery capacity to 90 percent of its original limit, diminishing the vehicle’s usable range.
The plaintiff says that GM’s temporary fix means owners aren’t getting the same range out of the vehicle as was originally advertised to them. It also says the vehicles have lost resale value due to GM’s apparent inability to properly address the battery issues.
GM Authority reached out to Chevy this week for an update on the Chevy Bolt EV recall. The automaker told us it did not yet have a permanent fix for the solution, but expects to have one ready by April.
“We have hundreds of engineers working around the clock on the issue and we have made progress on identifying the cause and potential remedies,” a Chevy spokesperson said.
A separate class-action lawsuit was filed against GM over this matter in December of last year. That suit was filed in Illinois and accuses GM of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, as well as committing fraudulent concealment/fraud by omission.
We’ll provide continuous updates on the Chevy Bolt EV recall situation as GM prepares to roll out its permanent fix in April. For now, be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Bolt EV news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
We sure live in a world where filing a law suit is just as common as blowing your nose. Nobody wants to take any responsibility for anything and point the finger at anyone else. Then contact one of the many ambulance chasers.
This practice isn’t really a new thing. Cell phones and other things that are charged have been telling us for a long time that the best practice is to charge to only 80-90% for best battery life. And…..most of these people jumping on this law suit probably never come close to using the full range anyhow. Just looking for deep pockets.
This will be thrown out. GM is working on a fix seems some people aren’t patient enough. Most people also don’t realize the batteries are never fully 100 percent charged. This is done on purpose so the vehicles can get the range for many years, otherwise they would slowly lose miles as the years pass. GM can give them option to take the software update off and then leave the customer liable if they catch fire. I bet none of them would take that option until a fix is installed.
I would gladly have full capacity again GM are idiots
It’s obvious you don’t have a Bolt because they aren’t artificially holding any capacity back like you say they are, and they do slowly lose miles due to battery degradation. That’s why the warranty allows 40% capacity loss in 8y/100k miles, because they do degrade from both time and usage. My 52k mile car that was supposed to have a 60kWh battery now states that it calculates it has 52.8kWh capacity.
Are you using Torque Pro to monitor this?
We paid for 100% fix it or compensate me. If you bought a house and after living there for 6 months they told you we are taking away 10% of your property after the fact I’m sure you wouldn’t just say sure here take it.
The real problem is that it is significantly more than 10% !
Even 10% becomes a bigger deal once winter comes and battery life drops
Just look at it for what it is. Auto manufacturers and dealerships promise the moon and get a lot of our money. Plaintiffs lawyers will jump on any class action suit because of the deep pockets. On the other hand, GM still hasn’t repaid the bailout from 2010 so inefficient and unreliable automakers need to let the invisible hand guide them out of business if they can’t change or keep up. I have a 2017 Chevy Volt and really like it, it’s a a shame so many people are buying trucks and big SUV’s when they drive one or 2 people around most of the time and don’t hail anything.
Just another day in paradise I guess. Lawyer! Lawyer! Lawyer!.
Have you ever watched daytime television? It’s littered with class action lawsuit advertisements.
Ahh, the expectations of entitlement just continues to grow in this world. When will prople learn to be satisfied?
Typical EV buyer, “I want an EV because it’s the best technology in the automotive industry and I want it discounted because I think it’s better for the environment.” Then literally two years after owning one, “I’m gonna sue because my EV is wildly inconvenient just as everyone knew it would be.”
Yet lowercase gm is going to continue dumping money into a car that sells only 20k units a year in the U.S. which seems like a crazy misappropriation of funds to me…
Yea burn more fuel get with it dude
How do you think they mine heavy metals to make batteries? They burn fuel, misuse water resources, and strip mine, while exploiting conflict zones (sound familiar).
How do you think they power the grid to charge EVs? They burn fuel.
How do they recycle the heavy metals in batteries? They burn fuel to grind them down and smelt the metal in some “humane and eco-friendly” plant in China, then they probably bury what isn’t profitable to recycle somewhere else in China.
The most recycled item in the US isn’t soda cans or beer bottles, it’s cars. I guarantee you that recycling 1,000 lbs of heavy metal is a lot more dangerous and less eco-friendly than recycling an iron or aluminum block.
I wish I was lying, but this is the reality of BEVs rn… They just aren’t as green as they seem, they’re just cheaper to make, so manufacturers are driving them down your throat.
Get with it dude? “C’mon man”
h4cksaw: You am I may not always be on the same page on here, but I’m one who can disagree with someone in one area and gladly side with them on another area. In this case, I totally agree with your point.
I’ve mentioned this on here before. Maybe 10 (ish) years ago, Toyota did a study comparing their own 4 Runner 4×4 V6 against the Prius. The overall “carbon footprint” of the Prius was larger than the 4 Runner. That’s the highly condensed version of course.
On the flip side, the one thing I really do like about electric cars (fully electric) is that over time, you have less maintenance and zero oil changes. No cooling system flushes. No transmission fluid changes. All those things do add up as well compared to the ICE. But overall, I still have oil running through my veins.
I disagree, I’ve looked at studies and compared gas vs EV’s. While the carbon footprint to make an EV battery is much bigger than a gas combustible engine, and the electricity to power it generally comes from coal or natural gas, and the end of life recovery of the battery is a factor, the EV wins after a few years of driving. Over the life of the EV car, (let’s say 10 years) every time you drive your car you are emitting 0 emissions from a source that uses 90 % of it’s power for propulsion. On the other hand, the gas engine only uses 30% of it’s energy for forward motion and burns off the rest. EV car standard grid = 35 metric tons, EV car all renewable = 15 metric tons, Gas car = 50 metric tons. 35 vs 50 is not what alot of going green advocates will preach, but it’s the first step in sustainable energy.
The power grid gets cleaner every day. The longer you have an ICE vehicle the more it tends to pollute as things get worn out. Recycling batteries is a lot more eco friendly than you suggest, it’s pretty obvious you don’t have any actual knowledge of how it’s done.
It’s not that you’re lying intentionally, it’s that your biases are leading you to make untrue assumptions.
What a mess, I’m sure glad I bought a Volt; the joy of 95+% electric driving in the suburbs with no range anxiety even on long trips; best of both worlds. And, as far as I know, no significant fire risk. I’m just one completely happy and satisfied EREV Volt owner. Too bad GM killed the Volt, they had a winner, but let it slowly die with poor marketing and dealer support, then killed the goose that could have laid golden eggs.
I love my Volt, just got it 2 months ago. Have driven 3,000 miles and only filled up 4 times. Currently getting 78 mpg.
I really don’t know what they expected GM to do diffetently. When the fires started, they didn’t know the cause. Once they found out, they issued a software update to prevent it until a permanent fix is found. They’re still working on that permanent fix (which I’m sure is costing them alot of R&D dollars).
GM has a fix. They will be installing a software in April to identify bad cells that need replacing. This will allow for original capacity of the battery to be restored.
If someone would do some investigating I’m sure this LLP and LLC, bringing this case to court, is not really interested in the consumer wanting 10% more out of their battery but probably some money made available by the fossil fuel industry to slow or halt the production of electric vehicles. It happened before and it will keep happening. If electric vehicles were that useless, why is everyone so afraid of them?
If electric vehicles were so useful you’d think that they’d account for more than 1% of the 146 million cars sold in the U.S. over the past decade. Even just this past year the Bolt has seen essentially no growth, or interest. Only Ponzi scheme Tesla, with their cult leader, has small sales growth, and I truly wonder if that will be sustainable.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s not a conspiracy theory and the fossil fuel industry doesn’t even have to try and slow or halt electric production because the demand for them is simply so small. The only way to make BEVs an attractive option is to manipulate the free market, which I don’t see as all too constitutional, but I’m sure leftist extremist have no problem doing it.
Maybe people aren’t afraid of electric vehicles, maybe they can just think for themselves and had determined that an electric vehicle doesn’t suit their needs?
I 100% agree with your last sentence. What I have a hard time agreeing with is the constant bashing of electric vehicles. What are you afraid of? That someone might purchase something that you never would. Why not let them think for themselves and determine that an electric vehicle does-doesn’t suit their needs.
Just and FYI the government manipulates the free market every time it subsidizes any industry, you know like the oil industry.
I’d like to know where I would charge up when I’m out off the grid for sometimes hundreds of miles?
Also if power goes out in your area and you need to charge, what then?
Am I missing something?
Since you clearly don’t understand subsidies and taxation…
On average, the oil industry pays a 45% tax rate when all state, federal, and foreign taxes are totaled up. By comparison the Healthcare Industry pays a total rate of 35% and the Pharmaceuticals pay an estimated rate of 21%. Based upon these numbers it’s hard to believe which business sector is criticized the most for “subsidies”. – Forbes
Also the BEV subsidies were and are truly a money grabbing racket for auto manufacturers. 80% of BEV rebates were given to households that make over 100k a year… And 50% of the rebates have gone to California residents. And that’s fine, just seems unsustainable is all.
I guess those rates would be higher without the subsidies. Getting a subsidy doesn’t necessarily mean your tax rate = 0%.
You are correct that the well off are the true beneficiaries of BEV tax rebate, as it is a credit against taxes owed only.
Wake up America , the only ones who will profit off this law suit will be the lawyers raking in millions and the owners of the Bolts will get $6.95 each if their lucky !
Ford cut me 2 checks for misrepresented mpg on my hybrid. GM should give $1000 rebate checks toward the purchase of your next gm ev.
I just don’t understand why people think that getting the benefit of a bargain that you paid for is “entitlement”. The buyers of the 2017 through 19 Bolts purchased them under the expectation of a given range. that range has been artificially altered by general motors to eliminate a defect that they created by their manufacturing. the alteration has caused the consumer to lose value in the car either through the inconvenience of the loss of the 25 miles or the actual loss of value in the market when they went to either trade or sell the car. and as in most markets it’s not likely that that loss of value is going to be recovered even in the case where GM does come up with a fix because it’s already baked into the Blue book value of the car. So we have a manufacturing defect and actual loss and a consumer trying to recover from that loss and that’s considered entitlement? SMH. No people that’s called the free market and that’s how it’s supposed to work.
Thr GM/LGChem batteries made in Michigan are not effected. Only Korean made batteries are.
Auto manufacturers (all of them, not just gm) are in a competitive rush to get into the EV market and will have to deal with the emerging technology. As a result, ‘unforeseen’ technical problems are going to occur, and this will be especially apparent when dealing with the issues of both vehicle range and charge time.
How the companies deal with these issues—specifically, the remedy they develop—will determine who eventually will lead the industry and who falls away.
As far as the legal aspects of gm’s current problems with EV range are concerned, that’s for the courts to decide. The only thing I’ll offer here is that if I were told I’d get ‘X’ amount of something for my money, I expect to get that amount, no less.
My bolt charged to 244 before the patch now it rarely gets to 166. That’s a lot mor than 10%🤣🤣
I’m guessing that has more to do with a change in efficiency than a loss of usable capacity.
That’s funny, mine gets the advertised 90%
I have a 17 Bolt, I have had for 3 1/2 years love the car I have charged it up to full charge always. still get the same amount of miles that I charge up to, as when I first purchase the vehicle. it is set on the hilltop now I took pictures of when full and now on the hilltop setting. how much damage does my Bolt have over three and a half years, of full charging on the battery packs that GM isn’t going to look at? just do a bogus software change, to change how much charge you can do on the battery pack, on the bm regulation, and balance of the battery. So will I have the same miles of driving as I had before the hilltop is turn off? our will my Bolt says full battery and fewer miles than what I have had over the years. Or what damage has happened over the years to battery packs. Is this going to be like the GM switch problem, that they had lost money paying out for not fixing the problem in the first place right? Pay now! our pay through the nose later?
Don’t get the patch
GM has a solution. They will be installing a software in April to identify bad cells that need replacing. This will allow for original capacity of the battery to be restored.
The patch takes away the Hilltop reserve
Know what I did today? Had the day off drove around to shops with my wife. Hit a public free charger with my Bolt. While charging sat in a nice little park and enjoyed a book. I do fun day trips all over my state and find fun places to charge for free or cheaply. It’s like when gas was a buck a gallon with my bolt. No maintenance no worries. Quit complaining we are early adopters stuff happens. I am enjoying the open road again…
Now let’s read what Hyundai has done, did a software update first. that has not worked ,battery made by the same company LG. That makes the battery for GM. So GM let’s stop the games get off your wallet. and get LG who made most of the first Bolts and do what should be done . stop wasting our time and your time time, and fix the Bolts, just the way Hyundai is fixing their vehicles replace the battery. CR just came out with the write-up on Hyundai. GM do what is right with the battery builder LG. Change out the battery pack stop the games.
Michigan assembled batteries are not effected by this.
GM leads the world in cutting edge automobile technology. The problem is GM rarely manufactures cars with their state of the art tech. If they do include advanced technology, GM’s marketing blunders generally doom production numbers. Two classic examples are cylinder deactivation in the early 1980s and a decent electric car in the mid 90s. When GM wins, America wins.
“….cylinder deactivation in the early 1980s….”
Good grief; that was a DISASTER. Cadillac in particular lost a lot of prestige because of that mess, and it took them YEARS to get over it.
I brought my volt in 2019 and was happy as ever until i discovered my range cut in half during the winter in the midwest. This year along with my reduced range because of a unusually cold and unusually hard winter my range has been cut again, when you add in the range reduction my car get 110 mph on a full charge. This is not what i paid for, i dont want to sue them out of business but i do believe they owe me money back and/the option to return my car…..
If don’t have thr Michigan assembled battery thry should have contacted you already.
These are LGChem batteries made in Korea. Hyundai is recall their same LGChem batteries also.
But Michigan made LGChem batteries are subject to recall.
2021 chevy bolt with 5800 miles any charges to 157 mile with no update software who do I talk to I am very upset with this car can not even use for my company i bought it for