E
World Of EVEditorial

2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems & recalls

NHTSA has issued 5 recalls covering the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV and owners have filed 67 complaints. The most-reported area is electrical system (33 complaints). 4 complaints describe a crash. 3 recalls tell owners to park outside until it is fixed.

Recalls
5
Complaints
67
Crash reports
4
Fire reports
0
Injuries
1

Recalls (5)

Oct 31, 2024#24V812000⚠ Park outside

Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery

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 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N242470160.

Jun 27, 2024#24V481000⚠ Park outside

Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery

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 1-833-382-4389. GM's numbers for this recall are N242443000 and N242443002.

Dec 14, 2023#23V845000

Structure › Body › Roof and pillars

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 (1-833-382-4389) (TTY 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or Customer Service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232421970.

Dec 15, 2022#22V930000

Structure › Body › Roof and pillars

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.

Aug 20, 2021#21V650000⚠ Park outside

Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery

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 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.

Owner complaints (67)

What owners reported to NHTSA, by component. One complaint can name several components.

  • Electrical system33
  • Fuel/propulsion system15
  • Unknown or other12
  • Power train10
  • Steering9
  • Engine4
  • Vehicle speed control3
  • Service brakes3
  • Air bags2
  • Suspension2
  • Seat belts1
  • Structure1

Complaints over time

May 2021: 3 complaintsJun 2021: 2 complaintsJul 2021: 3 complaintsAug 2021: 2 complaintsSep 2021: 10 complaintsOct 2021: 1 complaintNov 2021: 2 complaintsDec 2021: 2 complaintsJan 2022: 5 complaintsFeb 2022: 0 complaintsMar 2022: 0 complaintsApr 2022: 0 complaintsMay 2022: 1 complaintJun 2022: 3 complaintsJul 2022: 1 complaintAug 2022: 0 complaintsSep 2022: 1 complaintOct 2022: 1 complaintNov 2022: 0 complaintsDec 2022: 3 complaintsJan 2023: 2 complaintsFeb 2023: 2 complaintsMar 2023: 0 complaintsApr 2023: 1 complaintMay 2023: 1 complaintJun 2023: 3 complaintsJul 2023: 1 complaintAug 2023: 2 complaintsSep 2023: 1 complaintOct 2023: 0 complaintsNov 2023: 0 complaintsDec 2023: 0 complaintsJan 2024: 0 complaintsFeb 2024: 1 complaintMar 2024: 0 complaintsApr 2024: 0 complaintsMay 2024: 2 complaintsJun 2024: 0 complaintsJul 2024: 0 complaintsAug 2024: 0 complaintsSep 2024: 1 complaintOct 2024: 1 complaintNov 2024: 0 complaintsDec 2024: 0 complaintsJan 2025: 0 complaintsFeb 2025: 0 complaintsMar 2025: 1 complaintApr 2025: 1 complaintMay 2025: 1 complaintJun 2025: 0 complaintsJul 2025: 0 complaintsAug 2025: 1 complaintSep 2025: 1 complaintOct 2025: 0 complaintsNov 2025: 0 complaintsDec 2025: 0 complaintsJan 2026: 1 complaintFeb 2026: 1 complaintMar 2026: 1 complaintApr 2026: 0 complaintsMay 2026: 0 complaintsJun 2026: 0 complaintsJul 2026: 0 complaintsAug 2026: 1 complaint20222023202420252026
Complaints filed per month. Peak: 10 in Sep 2021. Hover a bar for its count.
Complaints filed per month
MonthComplaints
May 20213
Jun 20212
Jul 20213
Aug 20212
Sep 202110
Oct 20211
Nov 20212
Dec 20212
Jan 20225
Feb 20220
Mar 20220
Apr 20220
May 20221
Jun 20223
Jul 20221
Aug 20220
Sep 20221
Oct 20221
Nov 20220
Dec 20223
Jan 20232
Feb 20232
Mar 20230
Apr 20231
May 20231
Jun 20233
Jul 20231
Aug 20232
Sep 20231
Oct 20230
Nov 20230
Dec 20230
Jan 20240
Feb 20241
Mar 20240
Apr 20240
May 20242
Jun 20240
Jul 20240
Aug 20240
Sep 20241
Oct 20241
Nov 20240
Dec 20240
Jan 20250
Feb 20250
Mar 20251
Apr 20251
May 20251
Jun 20250
Jul 20250
Aug 20251
Sep 20251
Oct 20250
Nov 20250
Dec 20250
Jan 20261
Feb 20261
Mar 20261
Apr 20260
May 20260
Jun 20260
Jul 20260
Aug 20261

Recent owner reports

Aug 26, 2026Steering

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 vehicle will continue turning off the road or into oncoming traffic unless actively corrected, and the increased physical resistance makes precise lane adjustments difficult at highway speeds. There were no warning lights, error codes, or diagnostic messag…

Mar 2, 2026Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion 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.

Feb 13, 2026Air 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.

Jan 31, 2026Steering

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.

Sep 21, 2025Steering

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.

Aug 19, 2025Steering

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.

May 21, 2025Steering

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 the…

Apr 20, 2025Power train, Electrical system, 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 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 sp…

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall and complaint records, updated Oct 1, 2026. Complaints are owner reports and are not verified by NHTSA. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.