2021 Chevrolet Bolt Ev problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (18) · Fuel/Propulsion System (10) · Power Train (8)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Bolt Ev model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery Thermal:management:software 2024-10-31 · campaign 24V812000 · 107 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Bolt EUV vehicles previously repaired under Recall 21V-650. The installation of advanced diagnostic software may have failed. As such, the high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Dealers will reinstall advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 3, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-
Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery 2024-06-27 · campaign 24V481000 · 72 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles that were previously remedied under recall number 21V-650. The advanced diagnostic software may have been incorrectly installed and fail to detect defective battery modules, possibly resulting in a battery fire.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Dealers will reinstall the advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 1, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2023-12-14 · campaign 23V845000 · 6,771 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. This recall includes certain vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under NHTSA recall number 22V-930. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both front seat belt pretensioners and, if necessary, install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust. Certain vehicles will also need a pretensioner cover installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2024. These vehicles were previously recalled for this same issue under recall number 22V-930 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may contact GM EV Concierge at 1-833-EVCHEVY (1-83
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2022-12-15 · campaign 22V930000 · 111,242 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between January 23, 2023 and April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N222383790.
Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery 2021-08-20 · campaign 21V650000 · 52,414 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Defective battery modules will be replaced by GM, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 1, 2021 and June 23, 2023. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concie
Service bulletins (506)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-20 · PIC6551C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates to dealer to perform a mec reset for wireless projection issues
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-19 · N252530430-01 · Service Campaign
certain vehicles may have a condition where a false diagnostic trouble code (dtc) is set. dealers are to reprogram the hybrid powertrain control module 2.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-06-23 · PIT5966F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates an issue with an ota pending message still displayed after an ota event and how to reset/clear the message.
Showing the 6 most recent of 506 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-26 · Steering“the electronic steering gear (steering rack) on my 2021 chevrolet bolt has malfunctioned, causing the steering to feel rough, stiff, and sticky. crucially, the steering wheel fails to naturally return to the center position after completing a turn, forcing me to manually pull the wheel back straight. this poses a severe safety hazard, as the vehicl…”
2026-03-02 · Vehicle Speed Control“my 2021 chevy bolt keeps showing a battery or power-propulsion warning light related to the high-voltage system. the warning keeps coming back even after multiple repairs. the first repair was on april 28, 2025, the second was on december 17, 2025, and it is scheduled again for another repair on march 3, 2026. the light is the same every time and a…”
2026-02-13 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“i was in a car accident on february 9th, in which my airbags did not deploy, however, i did receive an error in my chevy app that my air bag system requires attention. i sustained facial injuries due to impact with the steering wheel. i believe the airbags should have deployed, but did not. …”
2026-01-31 · Steering“steering rack binding. becoming progressively harder to turn over time. steering wheel doesn't return to center. clunking in front end occasionally heard when hitting bumps.…”
2025-09-21 · Steering“the steering wheel will not return to center and feels like its binding on something, sometimes its tough to steer other times not. does not feel safe. no warning lamps and nobody has inspected or worked on it yet.…”
2025-08-19 · Steering“steering gear is bound up due to a documented manufacturing error. steering is increasingly stiff at speed, and will not return to center without significant driver input. this is a widespread issue that has been documented and causes a major safety concern to chevy bolt owners and should be addressed and repaired by the manufacturer.…”
2025-05-21 · Steering“what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? steering rack. steering wont return to center at 38,000 miles. how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? car handles unpredictably posing safety risk to others and myself. has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or i…”
2025-04-20 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“video available and was given to usaa insurance company. this 2021 gm chevrolet bolt ev premier trim vehicle experienced a sudden uncommanded extreme acceleration when i selected "d" (drive) mode on the transmission selector after using "r" (reverse) to back out of a parking lot parking space. the vehicle, despite my stomping and holding the brake…”
2025-03-15 · Unknown Or Other“12v battery warning light and ion lucian battery light came on manufacture does not want to buy back and apple car play keeps breaking.…”
2024-10-25 · Steering“steering geer having issues of the steering wheel coming back to center after the turn. now need to replace steering geer…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.