2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical problems

85 complaints (47% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 15,000.

owner complaints: 85
of this car's complaints: 47%
typical mileage: 15,000
crashes: 0
recalls: 2

Which part fails

12v/24v/48v battery
3
Propulsion system: traction battery
1
Propulsion system: charging: cable/cord: onboard
1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k

25k-50k

50k-75k

75k-100k

100k-125k

125k-150k

150k-175k

175k-200k

200k+

Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical problems in other years

Specific symptoms reported on the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Fire or smoke 25

Related recalls

Electrical system: propulsion system: traction batteryReported July 23, 2021 · 57,414 vehicles affected

What is wrong: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles previously recalled under the federal safety agency recall number 20V‑701. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Activate either the Hill Top Reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or Target Charge Level (2019 models) 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. Interim notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1‑833‑382‑4389. GM's number for this recall is N212343880.

Recall number 21V560000 · Recall details

Electrical system: propulsion system: traction batteryReported November 13, 2020 · 50,932 vehicles affected

What is wrong: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling all 2017-2018 and certain 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV 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.
Remedy: This recall has been superseded by recall number 21V‑560. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V‑701 will still need to have the new remedy under recall 21V‑560. GM will notify owners, and as an interim repair, beginning on November 17, 2020, dealers will reprogram the hybrid propulsion control module 2 (HPCM2) to limit the full charge to 90%, free of charge. Owners are advised to activate either the Hill Top Reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or Target Charge Level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, or park outside, until the software update is completed. Owners were notified of the interim repair beginning November 17, 2020. The second notice was mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1‑833‑382‑4389. GM's number for this recall is N202311730.

Recall number 20V701000 · Recall details

Related investigations

Pedestrian alert soundsOpened January 27, 2023, closed August 7, 2023

the federal safety agency 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 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, the federal safety agency 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 the federal safety agency 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 the federal safety agency regarding the subject matter of the petition.

DP22005

Electric Vehicle Battery FiresOpened October 9, 2020, closed February 7, 2022

In October 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on 2017-2020 Model Year (MY) Chevrolet Bolt vehicles based on complaints received alleging that the vehicles caught fire under the seating area while parked and unattended. At the time, ODI had received 2 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and several field reports. All complaints alleged vehicles caught fire during or after electrical charging.ODI's review found vehicle thermal events occurred during and/or at the end of the battery module charging cycle. The information learned from the federal safety agency and General Motors joint vehicle inspections prompted General Motors to file Recall 20V‑701 on April 29, 2021. The remedy for this recall included 1) performing diagnostic procedures to identify and replace potentially defective battery cell-module assemblies and 2) installing onboard diagnostic software, designed to detect and warn owners regarding potential issues related to changes in battery module performance over time. Until this interim remedy became available for all affected vehicles, General Motors instructed their customers to enable ?Hilltop Reserve or ?Target Charge Level, based on the vehicle-equipped technology. Enabling these technologies would limit charging capacity of the battery module to a maximum of 90 percent. General Motors then continued to investigate the root cause of these battery cell module thermal events, which would lead them to their long-term recall remedy solution. Utilizing the information obtained from the Recall 20V‑701 software update, General Motors and LG Energy Solutions,the supplier of the battery cell module pack along with LG Electronics,determined the root cause of the thermal events to be the result of two simultaneous manufacturing defects occurring in the same battery cell. The defect condition appears to be aggravated by routinely charging the battery to a full or nearly full state of charge after it has been substantially depleted. The two defects, located within the same battery cell module, would cause an internal short within the battery pack, resulting in the thermal events. The manufacturing process was changed to prevent the occurrence of these two defect conditions.On July 24, 2021, General Motors filed a defect information report recalling all 2017-2018 Chevrolet Bolt and certain 2019 Chevrolet Bolt vehicles with design level N2.1 battery cell produced at the LG Ochang, Korea plant. This remedy replaces defective battery cell-modules and will prevent potential thermal events from occurring during and/or at the end of the charge cycle. The recall (21V‑560) includes vehicles that were remedied under 20V‑701.General Motors continued to review new data after Recall 21V‑560 and learned of an incident that occurred outside of the scope of the recall population. Additional analysis led General Motors and LGES to determine that the manufacturing defects defined by Recall 21V‑560 were not isolated to one battery manufacturing plant. On August 21, 2021, General Motors filed a defect information report to expand the scope of recall 21V‑560. The recall (21V‑650) includes all 2019-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles. In view of the recall actions being taken by General Motors, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. the federal safety agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at under the following identification numbers:11230072, 11425524, 11339878, 11365622, 11364692, 11427180, 11429891, 11374956, 11407212, 11372429, 11425225, 11415800

PE20016

What 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Feb 11, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · WA

Water has infiltrated the lower trunk area and fried the sound amplifier. The result is no sounds can be heard from the speakers. This includes sounds and warnings from the safety systems. Seat belt, ADAS, BLIS, OnStar, Turn Signals, Radio. The rear hatch seals seem to be intact and it is unclear how water is entering this lower area as there is no evidence of water anywhere else in the rear cargo area. A google search reveals many other Bolt owners are experiencing the same issue

Filed May 10, 2023 · Electrical, Fuel system · WA

While driving on the freeway at 65 mph during morning rush-hour, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated without warning and came to a stop. The vehicle was barely able to make it to the shoulder before losing all momentum. There is a high-risk of a fatal collision when a vehicle unexpectedly stops or drastically slows on a freeway with 65 - 70 mph traffic, which is compounded during peak travel times. This is a risk to not only the vehicle occupants, but other drivers and vehicles as well. Several error messages were displayed on the dashboard as the car was decelerating: Drivetrain malfunction: Stop and turn off engine; Service high voltage battery system; Service Vehicle Soon; Unable to shift. The battery range dropped from just under 50% (~115 mi) to 0 while attempting to pull over on the shoulder. After the vehicle was stopped, it was unable to be powered off for about an hour. It was not successful in shifting or moving and the battery range showed 0. An hour and a half (1.5 hours) after the incident, the vehicle would power on and show a battery range between 121 - 110, which would drop to 0 within 15 seconds with a message that it is unable to charge. At the time of the incident, OnStar sent an email stating that "A critical issue with the engine and transmission system in your 2019 Chevy Bolt has been detected. Please service your vehicle immediately." The battery had been replaced the week of February 5th, 2023 per several product safety recall notices . There was one issue on February 18th, 2023 that the battery range was not updating, but it corrected itself after being parked for 3 hours. There were no other previous issues or indications of a problem prior to vehicle malfunction. The vehicle is currently being diagnosed by a dealer. It is currently available for inspection. The electrical, propulsion, and powertrain (and possibly speed control) systems did not function properly.

Filed Feb 23, 2023 · Electrical, Fuel system · CA

Vehicle without warning stopped moving while making a left turn in an intersection at night. Power to dashboard was on but no propulsion, brakes or steering. Was unable to put car into gear to move forward or in reverse. Message was displayed, "Unable to Initalize Propulsion System" Extremely dangerous situation, I turned on flashers and left car in intersection. Called tow truck. When tow truck arrived, we pushed car to curb and he hauled it away. Cheverolet dealer diagnosed the problem as a defective wiring harness. He said there was a GM alert regarding this as a known issue that led him to the defective wiring harness. They charged $1567 to replace it which included $1200 in labor and recommended I contact GM to see if they would compensate me since it was a known issue and the car was only 2 months off warrantee. GM refused to compensate me for the faulty harness. The Bolt has 19K miles on it, is kept in a garage and has never been in an accident.

Filed Jan 23, 2023 · Electrical · AK

2019 chevrolet bolt. Consumer writes in regard to the federal safety agency safety recall 21v‑560. The consumer is dissatisfied with the amount of time it takes to perform the recall on this vehicle.

Filed Dec 2, 2022 · Electrical, Fuel system · CA

I'm experiencing the loss of propulsion covered in this bulletin. It's happened around 5 times. The malfunction indicator lamp comes on after each incident and then clears. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer and they are refusing to repair it under either the power train or emission control systems warranty. Losing propulsion is a safety issue, particularly in high speed traffic, and it needs to be fixed.

Filed Aug 12, 2022 · Electrical · CA

After my recalled battery was replaced, the car will not allow charging,. The message charging port not available. I have gone to the dealer where they override the message to allow charging but it is only temporary and the next time battery is low, it requires a return to dealer to unlock the charging port. It happened first time July 14 and then again Aug 4. Customer care at GM says it is a known problem and they will notify when a fix is available. They are no use in resolving this problem that can lead to cars stopping mid drive , I have attempted to reach a higher level at GM and they are hidden,

Filed Aug 2, 2022 · Electrical · 18,106 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that while attempting to recharge the vehicle, the charging unit that plugs into the vehicle failed to securely lock into place. The battery had to be disconnected for approximately 5 minutes and then reconnect to the terminal. Once reconnected, a spark was created, releasing the blockage and allowing the charger to operate correctly. The door that covered the socket where the plug was inserted failed to seal correctly. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who was made aware of the failure however, the mechanic was unable to identify the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,106.

Filed Jun 17, 2022 · Electrical · NY

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V560000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed May 21, 2022 · Electrical, Fuel system · OR

Part of the charging element - the metal clip- locks up and will not allow the car to be plugged in to charge. According to Chevrolet dealer this is a known issue but customers have not been notified by GM. They do not have a fix other than taking the car to the dealer and doing a factory reset. This is dangerous for people who may not discover the problem until their car is too low on miles/charge and may not be able to get it reset. It is happening multiple times, even after dealer reset.

Filed Mar 31, 2022 · Electrical · NY

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V560000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Questions about the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical

Does the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV have electrical problems?

Owners have filed 85 complaints about the electrical of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 47% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.

At what mileage do 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 15,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical?

Yes, 2 recalls: 21V560000, 20V701000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.

What year does the Chevrolet Bolt EV have the most electrical problems?

The Chevrolet Bolt EV model years with the most electrical complaints are 2017 (114 complaints), 2020 (96 complaints) and 2019 (85 complaints).