Those that’ve owned or leased a Chevrolet Bolt EV from the 2017 through 2022 model yr are likely eligible for an amount starting from $700 to $1,400, as a part of a $150 million settlement amount against GM and LG Energy Solution.
The Michigan class-action case is the consolidated version of eight class-action cases filed in various U.S. District Courts vs. GM in late 2020 and early 2021 and, in settlement documents posted by CBS, lays out eligibility and amounts.
In keeping with the settlement, Bolt owners who installed diagnostic software that temporarily affected these models’ driving range are eligible to get $1,400, provided they installed it by Dec. 31, 2023, while those that owned or leased a Bolt prior to the treatment can claim $700.
2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV
The $1,400 amount is similar that GM offered to pay 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV owners in October 2023, in exchange for the installation of diagnostic software limiting capability (and range) to 80% of the unique over a period of 6,200 miles. That was considered an early settlement amount and required signing a legal release.
The category motion settlement also excludes customers who opted for a buyback from GM, which was on the table for some customers early on within the diagnosis and recall process. But it surely doesn’t exclude drivers who already got a brand new battery.
The 2021 recall effort eventually spanned all the roughly 140,000 Bolt EV and Bolt EUV vehicles in North America, after two specific manufacturing battery defects in cells supplied by GM partner LG led to at many fires. GM said that it might replace all battery modules in 2017-2019 Bolt EVs. A few of those owners of earlier Bolt EV models got a totally recent pack, leading to more range than they originally had.
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV review update – Portland OR
Bolt EV drivers were inconvenienced. For a lot of months before a recall treatment was announced, GM asked Bolt EV drivers to park 50 feet away from other vehicles—a challenge for a lot of its drivers, who are inclined to live in urban areas. It also instructed customers to set their vehicles to a maximum 90 percent state of charge, charge their vehicles more continuously and never allow range to drop below 70 miles, and park their vehicles outside immediately after charging.
The incidents were generally when the vehicles were parked and nearly fully charged but still attached to a charger, not after they were being driven.
LG eventually agreed to pay GM $1.9 billion for the problem—effectively covering the associated fee of the recall itself, but not other aspects like repute.
A brand new-generation Chevy Bolt EV is about to exchange the Malibu at GM’s Kansas plant, likely arriving later in 2025. It’s expected to make a switch to GM’s Ultium EV platform and will probably be GM’s first U.S. product to make use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells on that platform.
This Article First Appeared At www.greencarreports.com
