GM Recalls 68,000 Electric Chevy Bolts Over Battery Fire Concerns
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Gm Recalls 68,000 Electric Chevy Bolts Over Battery Fire Concerns - The Verge:
General Motors issued a recall for 68,667 Chevy Bolts after several battery fires were reported, according to The Detroit News. The vehicles affected by the recall were manufactured between 2017 and 2019. The automaker is working with US auto regulators to identify the causes of the fires, the report states.
There have been at least five incidents of fires involving Bolts with fully charged or almost fully charged batteries, the News reports. Three of those fires are under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle defects. GM has found two reports of injuries due to smoke inhalation. The batteries are manufactured by LG Chem at the South Korean company's facility in Ochang.
According to NHTSA, 50,932 of the affected vehicles are based in the US. "The affected vehicles' cell packs have the potential to smoke and ignite internally, which could spread to the rest of the vehicle and cause a structure fire if parked inside a garage or near a house," the agency said in a statement. Chevy Bolt owners are advised to keep their vehicles parked outside.
[...] In the meantime, Chevy is advising Bolt owners to change the charge settings on their vehicle to enable either "Hilltop Reserve" (for 2017 and 2018 model year vehicles) or "Target Charge Level" (for 2019 model year vehicles) using their vehicle's infotainment center. Changing these settings will temporarily limit the vehicle's state of charge to 90 percent. Customers who can't make these changes should avoid parking their car in their garage or carport until after they have visited their dealer, Chevy warns.
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