2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Complaints about this year name battery far more often than the model's other years — 26% of them, about 64× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 172 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 58 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Involving a fire | 4 |
| Recalls | 8 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 118 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- local dealer — 12.2% of this year's complaints, against 4.3% across the model's other years (2.8×). Owners wrote it as: local dealer, dealer unable, mats.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- amount time — 20% of complaints, 11× usual
- time recall — 18% of complaints, 10× usual
- made aware — 17% of complaints, 10× usual
What owners wrote
notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V650000 (Electrical System) and 22V930000 (Structure, Seat Belts) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recal…
It has been 21 months and I still have not received a new battery for this Chevy Bolt.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 20V184000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES Fixed free of charge.
- 20V808000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 20V811000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V650000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 22V930000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 23V845000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 24V481000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 24V812000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chevrolet Bolt EV was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV? What happened to yours?
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