Last month, GM confirmed that certain buyers of the 2022 Chevy Bolt EV and 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV would receive a retroactive discount of roughly $6,000 after it significantly lowered the price of both models for the 2023 model year. While this was viewed as an act of goodwill by GM towards its EV customers, it appears as though the offer comes with a rather questionable stipulation.
A Jalopnik reader who owns a 2022 Chevy Bolt EV recently tried to register to receive the retroactive discount, which requires submitting the VIN through a dedicated Chevrolet web page. However before the customer can register to receive the retroactive discount, they must first agree to the terms and conditions of the retroactive discount. These terms include a clause that waives the customer’s right to sue GM or LG Energy Solution over defects related to the vehicle or its battery pack, safeguarding GM and LG from potential future legal action.
“By nonetheless agreeing to this Release, I—both on my own behalf and on behalf of my heirs, agents, servants, beneficiaries, legal representatives, assigns, wards, executors, successors, and administrators—forever waive and release all claims, damages, or causes of action, either known or unknown, regardless of the legal or equitable theory, that I may have now or in the future arising out of or in any way relating to my Bolt vehicle(s), the battery defect, or the battery recalls,” the terms and conditions say.
Jalopnik spokes to a legal expert, who noted that this clause does not completely shield GM from future recall campaigns that may involve the Bolt EV or Bolt EUV. If the battery defects that previously plagued these vehicles were to re-emerge, or if a new kind of battery defect was discovered, GM would still be obligated to repair the affected vehicles at no cost to the owners. Those owners would not be able to sue GM over any potential defects related to the hypothetical recall campaign, however, and would also be barred from participating in class-action suits against the company.
A GM spokesperson confirmed to Jalopnik the Bolt reimbursement program contains a clause that waives claims against GM, but said this is a “common practice,” in the industry with programs such as this.
GM had replaced more than 27,000 Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV battery packs as of early May as part of its recall campaign for the vehicles. NHTSA also closed an investigation into the Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV fires in February.
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Comments
Now *this* is what I call a fire sale.
Just more JUNK in more JUNK out. True GM crap. 😂😣🦼
What a joke.
Just sign here and your car won’t burn up!
well this is better than what you get when your ICE car burns up , and they do at a far greater rate than any electric car.
I am really Amazed why there are so many haters that take the time to post mostly BS on this site.
If they dislike GM so much , these folks should go buy a competitor vehicle and then post on those sites
why are they on this site at all!! They certainly are not GM fans , and judging by their comments most have never owned or driven the vehicles thy post about.
These are the people that wake up in the morning and say what can I hate today. I already hate my spouse, my kids, my relatives and my dog. Oh! Let’s see what posted on the internet today so that I can trash talk that too.
I was not interested in a Bolt before this & certainly not now. This is typical corporate CYA. So GM has some but not a lot of faith in the battery used in the Bolt?
To all my friends, if you have a 2022 Bolt take the money and run. To all the JERKS that leave comments I’m sorry for you.
Gm does not make the batteries for the bolt, LG does. I have had 2 volts and I love them. I know that it isn’t 100% electric but it does have batteries. Different batteries are used in the bolts that are new and when new comes into place things go wrong and they are corrected. Buy the bolt if you want one take the $6000.00 and if anything goes wrong GM will fix it. Look at Tesla they cost more money and can catch your house on fire also and I don’t see where they are giving any money back and people are still buying them.
Now would be a good time to buy an electric car since everybody doesn’t own one. Instead of worrying about the batteries you need to worry about the OLD POWER GRID.
What does this mean in Canada where we don’t get the discount?
This is just the beginning. We are at the beginning of the EV push, and technology is being fast-tracked to mitigate sales losses in each segment. All the auto makers are scrambling to put out the next EV so they don’t fall behind. We are going to see lots more fires, recalls, and who-knows what else? EV’s are still a very small percentage of registered vehicles. imagine the scale of problems if there were 30 or 40% EV’s on the road? I really wish we would slow down and do this right. Too much push for everybody to go green, without a sustainable plan to be sustainable! Time needs to be invested to create safer batteries, and batteries that do not require rare earth metals that are controlled by unfriendly countries. SLOW DOWN… incentivize new technology, but don’t kill current energy that is keeping our economy alive.
You make some very valid points. I am all for the environment but the support structure for EV’s is in the beginning stages. It is going to take a major effort to have charging stations and connections for the home ready for the EV change over. It will not be easy to prepare cities for the personal EV vehicle. In a city such as NY are they going to set up charging units like parking meters? Our electrical grid is basically 50 years + and needs major upgrading. Another question comes up how will the batteries be dealt wil after there useful life is over with? Used & depleted bateries have to be recycled so another environmental problem is not created. SLOW DOWN… is absolutely correct. It is better to begin with electric buses, cabs and delivery & long distant trucks. Improve the availability & quality of mass transit . Introduce EVs while continuing ICE. I wrote that it could take till 2030-I am going to correct myself-it will probably take till 2040 -2050 to have the support structure complete for EV’s to be in place . Another very good point was made that need safer batteries and ones that require less rare earth minerals. Our foreign policy since WW 2 has had to deal in large part with oil -so what we are going to be caught in the same trap only this time it will be for rare earth minerals? Oh-don’t forget another reason-why do you think catalytic converter theft is on the rise? There is $$$ in those converters and soon it could be EV batteries. Watch the insurance premuim increase on EV vehicles especially the expensive ones such as the ones that Cadillac has planned. No solution to the climate change situation will be easy or go down a smooth road. The onslaught of EV’s with such vehicles as Volvo & Cadillac going all EV could create more problems than they solve. One more point as more companies jump on the EV bandwagon watch for more & more technology to be built in requiring a whole new generation of mechanics to deal with that situation.
Umm. We DID start with electric buses, trolleys, shipping, trains… Like 50 years ago now… We have been developing the batteries for about 20 years. We have already moved away from cobalt, and are still working on new chemistry to eliminate lithium. Also – do a bit of research – no rare earth minerals are used in batteries. That is just a line that certain people use to make it sound more dramatic. There are already companies prepared to start recycling batteries – it will be a big business opportunity. Did you know that business opportunities are a major driving force for economies? It will take very little effort to prepare even my old home (fuse panel on 100amp service) to charge an EV. I need to upgrade to 200 amp service, and a circuit panel – both good ideas regardless of what I drive. With modern appliances, and A/C, 100 amp service is barely managing.
I would love to see what kind of set up a thief would have to steal the battery out of an EV – do you realize what you are talking about? A catalytic converter is a 2 minute grab and run job. Pulling a battery which is a structural component out of an EV in someone’s driveway – good luck.
Just a lot of fear-mongering.
Has GM lost its mind? This is unbelievable. That’s how much GM thinks able the Bolt. I would never own a car that has a LG battery in it. That means VW, BMW, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, and GM. And that is why I own Tesla and Nissan Leaf. I had a Bolt that GM bought back.
Yes, and what did Tesla do for the owners of their battery fires?
Almost all of the popular cars have batteries made in South Korea. They might not be manufactured in the same building, but they all use the same processes and basic chemistry. Mistakes can and will happen, just like they do on any other mass produced item. Tesla has people brain-washed into thinking they have magical properties. They don’t. They are just another mechanical and electronic device that has been mass produced with methods and objectives designed to maximize profit.
SO now there is a recall on hummers and the commercial vans , battery terminals corroded and water getting into the battery, is this the same battery thats in the Bolt ? when is GM going to learn that LG makes crappy batteries, I had ordered a 2023, but now I am having second thoughts
No Jim. It is not the same battery. It isn’t even made by LG – it is GM’s proprietary Ultium battery in both vehicles.
Also – the issue is NOT with the battery. It is with the connectors to the battery. They were not properly sealed. This kind of issue can happen with ANY vehicle. Corrosion on battery connectors for the 12v battery on ICE’s is common.