Chevrolet Bolt is being recalled for another defect, which reportedly poses a danger to fire safety. It has nothing to do this time with the battery. The automaker is now concerned about hot exhaust gases from seat belt pretensioners that can ignite interior carpet. General Motors will recall 140,000 Bolts made for North American markets.
Chevy stated that the recall only affects Bolt EVs from 2017-2023. This could mean that the EUV crossover was spared another recall. The company demanded that every Bolt owner bring in their EVs for replacement batteries in 2021 because of a fire-related recall. This situation weakened people’s faith in battery tech, and cost the manufacturer billions.
The new recall has a smaller scope and is more cost-effective. General Motors stated that it will be adding covers to some vehicles and a piece metal foil to all Bolt models in order for the carpet edge to prevent any hot gases from reaching the pretensioner. Although it sounds like a chewing gum solution to an issue, it could prove to be very dangerous for occupants.
Because seatbelt pretensioners are only activated when there is an imminent accident to protect occupants, a unit that could ignite the cabin can pose a huge safety risk. The initial impact will cause individuals to be incapacitated or dazed, making it difficult to get out of a burning car. It is possible to replace the carpet with flame-retardant material or to simply change the tensioners to vent the gasses more safely.
CBS News reports that GM believes that the fire risk is very rare and that it has only found three reports of fires possibly caused by the problem. This may be true, as pretensioner fires are a common occurrence. It’s something you wouldn’t want to ignore until it becomes a huge scandal and public outrage forces expensive recall measures. GM has spent a lot of money developing and fixing the Bolt, and it doesn’t seem to want to spend more than necessary.
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