Chevrolet Bolt Ev owners have reported 21 visibility related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common visibility problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's wiper (21 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Wiper problems |
The backup/360 camera intermittently but frequently fails to turn on, showing a black screen instead with a crossed out camera icon. This makes it very difficult to back up safely and puts bystanders at risk. This problem has not yet been evaluated by a dealer, but there are numerous other reports of the issue online. There have been no other warning lights or issues.
On Monday,1/8/24, I got in my car to go to work and the car messages on my dash stated "propulsion power is reduced", "service vehicle soon". I was able to drive to work but noticed the defrost/heater was not working. I called the local Chevrolet dealer and scheduled an appt for Friday at 8:30am. This car had already had a recall performed earlier in 2023 that limited my car charging to 80% but never converted to allow full charging after 6200 miles. I drove home with no /defroster/heater and plugged in the car charger Monday night. On Tuesday morning (1/9/24), the car had not charged at all overnight. It was suppose to charge to 80% (approx 170 miles). When I drove home that evening, a torrential rainfall occurred. My windshield fogged up but since the defrost/heater wasn't working, I had to constantly wipe the windshield with a rag. I thankfully made it home after 6pm and now noticed the car charging was limited to 30%. This is why the car didn't charge on Monday night. The dealership was closed, so I called first thing Wednesday morning to tell the dealership that I needed to drop the car off today (1/10/24) because it was unsafe to drive and I might have to tow the car in because of the very limited charging allowed. They rescheduled the service appt for Thursday (1/11/24) at 8:30am. On Thursday, the repairs took 18 minutes to complete. I received a call from jordan ames at at the rick hendrick Chevrolet dealership Thursday telling me the car was ready to be picked up. . He told me the car had a recall issues on 11/02/23 that needed to be performed. I told him I was never informed about "another" recall. He gave me the gm ev concierge phone number to call. The invoice from him stated "recall - n232421260 false dtc causing unnecessary battery pack replacements 2023-11-02 9106882-0. 4 hpcm2 reprogram wcc: cdyn198122734" . I called the gm ev concierge at 1-833-382-4389 on Friday. I'm running out of characters. Bottom line- I think gm is lying to me. I need help!!!.
When I use the windshield washer fluid some of the vapors gets in the cabin. The fluid contains methanol and it is highly toxic.
Front window cracked all the way across after using the defrost selection on the heating control. Saw a couple articles about it happening to others. Dealership said they know nothing about the issue. ?.
A description of the problem is contained in the 'additional' information box below.
Back tailgate glass exploded in my garage for no apparent reason. It just shattered. While the car was parked in my garage. I think this is a major issue that need to be addressed, call the dealership and they won’t assume responsibility in this matter. This is a safety concern.
The center touchscreen will intermittently freeze when started and not recover when driving. When this occurs the hvac and radio hard buttons also stop responding which prevents control of the defrost, creating a visibility hazard that could result in a crash. Sometimes the freeze will result in the backup camera remaining on while driving forward. When in reverse the freeze results in the backup camera guidelines, parking collision warning and rear cross traffic warning being unavailable. Failure of these systems intended to prevent collisions is a safety hazard because unavailability of these systems could result in a collision. The freezing did not occur frequently when the vehicle was new, but over time this has become a frequent occurrence. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The problem has been reproduced by a dealer and been subject to repair twice, but the issue has continued to occur after each repair attempt. The vehicle was subject to bulletin 20-na-119 which was intended to correct radio screen black/freezes after boot up, but this does not appear to have resolved the issue.
The drivers window has vertical scratches on the outside of the glass. My car is one week past the 36 month warranty and ed shults chevy won't fix it under warranty.
In the snow, the windshield wipers on the car stop working properly randomly.
General motors refuses to service my vehicle and claims I'm black listed from every dealership in the area. They refuse to complete the safety recall for battery fires on my vehicle, the windshield wipers are slapping each other and rear suspension is making metal on metal clanking noises. Gm has had me black listed from all dealerships in the area and refuses to complete necessary safety repairs on my vehicle. I have absolutely no way of getting these necessary services completed on my vehicle. Gm customer experience center won't assist in finding a dealership in the area. Please help.
The drivers door window has gotten vertical scratches on the outside of the glass. Dealer said a wiring harness caused the problem. They fixed it under warranty. (I wouldn't complain except the same thing has happened to my other 2018 bolt).
Car came with light gray dashboard which unbeknownst to me and undeclared by dealer has been reported to NHTSA since 2017 as a safety hazard due to reflection and glare that this color dashboard creates. At times sideview mirror and driver's windshield is dangerously challenging to see clearly out of as dashboard reflection intersects with outside environment. Hard to tell what is what. This is particularly dangerous during unfilled driving (I live in los angeles which is mostly unfilled). Given the complaints to NHTSA in 2017, I contacted Chevrolet corporate to complain and exchange brand new car for black dashboard. They claim there is no defect!!!! it is a design defect that is dangerous. . . . Since 2017. . . For no reason. Make black dashboards!!!!!!!! light colored dash is dangerous!!!! please do something!.
I experienced extreme windshield glare while driving my new chevy bolt at midday on a very sunny day. The glare was manageable at first, as I approached an intersection to make a left turn. As I entered the intersection, the windshield seemed to turn white. I lost my view of oncoming traffic and was hit by an SUV. This was the first really sunny day after I took possession of the bolt. Prior to that day, the weather had been partly/mostly cloudy. I have driven through this intersection many times before under various weather conditions in my old Acura tsx without incident. I have never experienced this amount of glare on a windshield at this time of day before.
Since the car was new, the windshield wipers have had a software error that can disable the wipers in snowy weather. It is not unusual for one or the other wiper to stop working for no apparent reason in snowy conditions. If the passenger's side stops working, it isn't too bad, but if the driver's side wiper stops working, then it traps the other wiper below it, preventing both from working. Sometimes after several minutes, the passenger wiper will push the driver wiper up about 1/3 of the way up the windshield, at which point it will kick in once, then stop working again. Stopping and restarting the car generally will not help, but leaving it off overnight will usually reset the software and the wipers start working normally again. It seems like it is a software bug with detecting if the wipers are frozen/stuck, that incorrectly thinks that a wiper is stuck, even when it is not, and decides to disable the wiper. This has happened many, many times, I should have reported it years ago. I attached a couple of pictures from a dashcam video one of the times it happened, it's harder to see from pictures than the video, but in the first picture the bottom, passenger side wiper is down, and the second picture it is trying to move up, but is blocked by the top/driver side wiper. It may appear that the wiper is frozen and stuck, but it is not, and after several minutes the bottom wiper was able to move the disabled top wiper significantly up the windshield. Chevy needs a software update to ensure the wipers actually work properly, especially in bad weather conditions.
On 2/27/2019 while my wife was driving home from work during a significant snow event, both wipers stopped working on our car. They remained at the bottom of the windshield and would not wipe. This posed a significant safety hazard as it made it difficult for her to see. On 2/28/2019 I took the car to be repaired at the car dealership. I was informed that the fault was caused because the wiper motor had been "stripped". I am not sure how my wife, while driving the car could have caused the wiper motor to get stripped. The wipers were working one moment, and the next they were not. There is a known bulletin for the wiper motors to stop working in cold ambient conditions, but the dealer is refusing to repair the car under this bulletin.
Front wipers can freeze and to bottom of windshield and become immobilized while driving, impairing visibility. This has happened several times this winter, our first with this car, while driving at various speeds when outdoor temp was about 25 deg f, even though car interior temps were comfortable. Defrost heat duct on dashboard hits glass several inches above wipers and does not adequately heat the lowermost windshield where wipers rest at bottom of swipe. Seems like a couple of inches of laminated heating elements similar to the rear window should be required, with a button to control it, and there should be a heated drain hole to remove the water.
I have a light gray interior trim package and the glare from the dashboard is extreme. There are times, like pulling into my own or public garages, when my visibility is reduced almost completely. On the open road the problem is also significant. To maintain good visibility I have resorted to wearing polarized sunglasses at all times during daylight driving.
Thie is a new leased vehicle. Issue relates to severe forward visibility impairment in daylight due to dashboard reflection. My car interiors are light ash gray-ceramic which include a light-gray colored dashboard and trimming. I have relayed this issue to the dealership (weseloh Chevrolet - san diego CA) - but their recommendation was to purchase a dark-colored 3rd party dash-cover. I am concerned 3rd party dash mat could compromise or otherwise adversely affect the performance / deployment of dashboard air-bags during a collision - thus compromising the safety of passengers. The visibility impairment is quite severe during daylight (see photos). This presentes the following potential risks: - danger to pedestrians - increased risk of collision & car/property damage - fatigue if driving for prolonged times - (if using 3rd party dash cover) risk of malfuntioning dashboard srs.
1) sunlight reflects off of the white dash onto the windshield and back into the driver's eyes. Visibility is impaired. The effect extends as far as the side mirrors and this in particular nearly caused me to crash into another car which I did not see due to the temporary opacity of the glass. I don't remember the exact date of this incident. I'm only clicking on the calendar because that action is required in order to file this complaint. I'm using the date the photos were taken. The incident likely happened the day before. 2 )there is also an issue with sunlight reflecting off of a shiny chrome bar just above the video screen directly into the driver's eyes.
Reduced visibility through the front windshield. The combination of low windshield angle and a light colored dash reduces visibility through the wind shield. This is especially a problem when going from light to darker areas- into garages, along a street with trees and along a city street as building block sunlight.
Due to the angle of the windshield, reflection from the light ash grey color, creates a very very bright colored glare, which reduces visibility immensely on sunny days. Without the proper sunglasses, it is very difficult to see pedestrians, other cars and signs. Note the "shaded" and or the vents of the dash and how much darker and less reflective they are in the attached photo. ( ie, above the transponder where it is shaded) I understand that the dark color dash does not create this dangerous reflection and some owners have replaced the dash at their own cost. I believe this is a safety hazard and the light color dash, trim, etc, should be replaced at company expense. This is a new model and it would be better now than later, before someone gets hurt, or worse, killed!.