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Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

66

Complaints

4

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV have filed 66 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2021 and March 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 33 of them (50%). The typical failure was reported at 2,700 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 5 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (5)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

24V812000 · October 31, 2024

Park outside until repaired

The 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.
The risk
A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
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 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N242470160.

General Motors, LLC · up to 107 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

24V481000 · June 27, 2024

Park outside until repaired

The 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.
The risk
A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
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 1-833-382-4389. GM's numbers for this recall are N242443000 and N242443002.

General Motors, LLC · up to 72 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

23V845000 · December 14, 2023

The 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.
The risk
A fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
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 (1-833-382-4389) (TTY 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or Customer Service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232421970.

General Motors, LLC · up to 6,771 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

22V930000 · December 15, 2022

The 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.
The risk
A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
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.

General Motors, LLC · up to 111,242 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

21V650000 · August 20, 2021

Park outside until repaired

The 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.
The risk
A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
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 Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall 21V-560. GM's number for this recall is N212345940.

General Motors, LLC · up to 52,414 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 66.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 33 50%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 15 23%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 18%
POWER TRAIN 10 15%
STEERING 8 12%
ENGINE 4 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 5%
AIR BAGS 2 3%
SUSPENSION 2 3%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 2%
SEAT BELTS 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 25.

2021 2026
2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

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.

NHTSA complaint 11717938. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

crash · towed · 2,700 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated while parking the vehicle and placing it into park, the vehicle lunged forward which resulted in the contact hitting the vehicle in front of them. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,700.

NHTSA complaint 11430469. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

While involved in a side impact collision, and significant force, airbags failed to deploy.

NHTSA complaint 11447358. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · towed

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 pedal down and repeatedly selecting a different mode on the transmission selector, could not be stopped and still wanted to accelerate. The vehicle traveled an estimated 250 feet through a parking lot, crossing a street, hitting the curbs at high speed and through a field. The vehicle stopped against some concrete debris in the field pushing in

NHTSA complaint 11655690, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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 affects the car’s performance and reliability. I’m concerned this could be a safety issue involving the battery or propulsion system. The dealer repairs it temporarily, but the warning keeps returning, and the problem has never been fully resolved.

NHTSA complaint 11721358. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11714633. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11688686. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11681730. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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 independent service center? Yes. Quoted $2,700 to replace rack and pinion. I refused service as vehicle has less than 40k miles. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they

NHTSA complaint 11662463, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Bolt EV

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 59 3 —
2022 59 7 —
2020 173 8 —
2019 175 6 —
2018 88 5 —
2017 342 4 —

Other 2021 Chevrolet models

Silverado 1500 782 Tahoe 432 Trailblazer 189 Suburban 184 Blazer 125 Equinox 89 Traverse 86 Malibu 85

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst