Service Brakes Problems of Chevrolet Bolt Ev - part 1

While driving at approximately 45 mph, the regenerative braking feature of the vehicle suddenly failed, and also generated a master caution light on the dashboard display. This is the second time this has happened while driving and resulted in a sudden, alarming change in vehicle dynamics. Regenerative braking is the normal operation regime of the vehicle, with the traditional mechanical-hydraulic brake pedal available for added braking, as demonstrated by the Chevrolet dealership during a test drive and confirmed with the vehicle manual. Furthermore, the vehicle will no longer shut itself off and could pose a fire risk when stored in a garage, parking deck, other vehicles, etc. These issues happened in November 2024. The car was returned to the dealer for warranty repair. Even after extensive repairs to the electrical system, the car has repeated the alarming failure mid-drive. This indicates that there is a serious problem with the electronic and poses a serious safety risk.

See all problems of the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

Vehicle arrived with windshield chip, transport company provided proof happened before transport. Brake failure on first use after delivery. Reduced-propulsion warning triggered. Both passenger-side door locks failed. Center-console power and data failed (replacements pending). Rear and passenger-side cameras blurry (replacements pending). Gm manufacturer buyback vehicle. Safety defect occurred immediately after delivery. Vehicle down more than 50 days. Dealer delayed title paperwork to tennessee for 44 days and delayed delivering finance contract/payment instructions to buyers for 50 days. Gm financial issued late notices before contract was delivered. Dealer has not responded to reimbursement deadline. Safety and delivery failures created unsafe condition and administrative harm.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

On August 17th, 2025, my wife was driving our 2017 Chevrolet Bolt Ev at low speed, pulling into a parking spot. The vehicle suddenly accelerated forward with enough force to cause significant damage to a fixed barrier. She does not recall pressing the accelerator at that moment. The degree of acceleration was disproportionate for a brief accidental press. Immediately after impact, smoke or dust was visible rising through the center console area. No airbags deployed, but it appeared similar to smoke from pyrotechnic devices. My wife sustained seatbelt-related bruising across the chest and thighs. The vehicle remains drivable. I have included photos detailing damage to the car and the fixed barrier. We are aware of the gm accessory all-weather floor liner recall (21e-089), but are not certain if our vehicle’s liner was part of that campaign. We are reporting this incident to ensure there is a record in case this reflects unintended acceleration or another defect.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

This tends to only happen below 74 degrees fahrenheit and happens excessively between 72 and 74 degrees fahrenheit. While driving with one pedal engaged (labeled as low on the shifter since they re-used another model's shifter for the first several years of the Bolt Ev), the cruise control will randomly disengage and force the vehicle to immediately slam on the brakes. Usually its not a big deal, but when it happens at highway speed as you're just passing a semi or large vehicle and merging back into the lane in front of it, it becomes dangerous very quickly, which has happened a couple of times now. I would venture a guess that its not related to the cruise control directly, but some system that its relying on is forcing it to deactivate the cruise control. The only other issue this vehicle is having that might be related is that the blind spot detection system is not working correctly on the left side. I know there's a TSB for the aluminum butyl tape becoming damaged or missing, but if that's causing my car to slam on its brakes in front of fully loaded semis, chevy should probably be persuaded into re-coding how their cruise control gets disengaged. Especially since this blind spot detection system issue seems somewhat common. Either way, something is causing my car to randomly slam on its brakes in the middle of the highway and chevy says there's nothing they can do about it because its not setting a code. This is definitely a dangerous safety issue that they should be forced into actually diagnosing more than just plugging a computer in and saying: "whelp, nothing to see here. " and returning it to the customer with a "we can't do anything, sorry. ".

Right brake caliper sticking intermittently, causing massive vibration in steering wheel and a caliper too hot to touch. In doing research on the chevy bolt forum, there were many people talking about this issue. In fact, gm issued a TSB about this issue, but when I entered my VIN in the gm site, it said that my VIN as not impacted; however, it was! I suggest that the ntsb do a further investigation to include all vins affected with this issue. I had to spend several hundred dollars for a repair shop to replace the right brake caliper. Since the repairs were completed, I've had no issues whatsoever. Thank you.

See all problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

On 4/5/2025 I was driving at 35mph and the steering wheel began to violently shimmy. The vehicle became difficult to steer putting safety at risk. Slowed to 25mph but shimmy did not stop. Abs warning light came on and stabilitrak warning light came on and warning that steering was being was being automatically reduced. Driving became very difficult. Stopped and had car towed to Chevrolet. Car was diagnosed with broken left and right front axle anticlick washers and metallic debri found on sensors. Both front axle anticlick washers were replaced, sensors cleaned, and codes cleared, and brake fluid had to be flushed. Cost $850 to repair. Subsequently found out another friend had same thing happen to their 2018 bolt. This was a safety issue and put us at risk while driving.

Brake modules not working properly and need reprogramming. Gm not honoring their buyback warranty.

The brake/turn signal lights on all of the bolts, including mine, are barely visible during the day. It needs to be recalled. The lights are tiny.

I was approaching an intersection at a light that had turned red. I slowed down to stop but accidentally bumped into the car in front, 2 mph (approximately), no damage, not even a scratch. I put the vehicle in reverse and gently tapped the accelerator but it instantly raced backwards at full as though the accelerator pedal had been depressed to the floor. I tried to brake but it would not stop and smashed into the vehicle behind. It was scary and traumatizing. Sudden acceleration in reverse. I hope there are diagnostics that will corroborate what happened because I am certain to the highest degree that this vehicle is defective.

In sept 2020, gm issued service bulletin 20-na-170 regarding rapid popping or clicking noises coming from the I-booster hardware under the hood in the braking system. Earlier fixes for this issue involved replacing the I-booster hardware, but that didn't solve the problem. The new fix called for a software update to the brake booster control module. The bulletin states: "correction -- do not replace the I-booster assembly. Update the brake booster control module with the latest software. " I reported this brake/electrical system issue to NHTSA on April 24, 2022 (# 11461966) and January 25, 2023 (# 11503678), and have had no response or investigation by NHTSA regarding the hazard of this software defect. When the hardware eventually fails--and it will due to 1000's of unnecessary use cycles--what happens to the braking system?.

I was driving 72 mph, and went to accelerate to 75 mph to set my cruise control. As soon as I stepped on the accelerator pedal, my 2022 chevy bolt euv jerked violently and immediately applied braking to car to take it from 72 mph to about 30 mph within 1 second. Had someone been behind me I would have been rear ended. I was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road, and put my car into park. I was unable to turn off the vehicle or shift into any gears (reverse, neutral, drive). The car displayed a warning on dash "power drive train malfunction pull over safely". There was no warning for the sudden deceleration and is a serious safety risk and concern.

See all problems of the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt Ev. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph the driver pressed the brake pedal but the vehicle did not stop and crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that during the crash the vehicle was low on electrical charge and was being operated in the "one pedal" mode and the the air bags did not deploy. The rear passenger seated on the passenger side sustained an injured neck which did not require medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was driven away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The rental company was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

About 1 month ago I picked up my daughter from school. Just as we exited the parking lot, there was nothing in front and the brakes came on and the car turned off and would not restart for a few minutes. The same day, we were on the way home I was traveling about 35mph. All of a sudden the brakes came on again. This time there was nothing in front but many cars behind, so I floored the accelerator the car tires screeched. I was less than a mile from home and made it without incident. The dealership is unable to reproduce or review the logs because the vehicle stopped logging everything since December 4th. The car is in my driveway and I don't trust it can safely be driven. The dealership is not helpful by telling me to just monitor the situation and bring it in if it happens again. I am seeing on the internet that there are many people experiencing this exact problem.

1. Steering, the steering gear does not return wheels to straight position when exiting a turn, I need to forcefully move steering wheel from a turn back to a straight position. 2. Brakes, after hitting brake a knocking sound is heard. Also does this when car is off and opening and closing doors, was told this is a brake actuator problem.

While waiting to make a left turn, the car lurched forward about a foot and went into park. It would not shift into any gear. A warning briefly showed up on drivers display which said do not shift until ???? resets. I turned car off but it immediately came back on automatically, and for twenty minutes I was in the intersection blocking traffic (police called to protect me from traffic). On drivers display a car symbol with exclamation point through the car was showing. After twenty minutes I turned it off again and it stayed off until I turned it on. The display of car with exclamation point was still showing. I could then shift into another gear and drive home less than a mile. When I checked car later car with exclamation point display was gone. Everything seemed. I was driving in one pedal mode.

2023 chevy bolt has a hand 'regenerative brake'. I was using it while driving in traffic. My speed was around 40 mph when the car in front of me abruptly stopped. The distance between us was approximately 30 ft. I immediately switched from hand brake to foot brake and the pedal felt soft and there was a delay in response to foot brake. I rear ended the vehicle in front of me causing damages to both vehicles. This had happened in August 2023. I called the manufacture to let them know what happened and they told that they will pass the information. I made a call to them in December of 2023. My vehicle was not inspected for this issue as I am not sure who can help me with this problem. There were no warning lights before the accident. Ever since the accident I have tested switching from 'hand brake' to foot brake and always feel a softer pedal and a slight delay in response. I believe this issue was a main factor for the accident as in my over 10 years of driving experience I have never had an accident before. I believe that the 'hand brake' is using electric motor while foot brake uses regular hydraulic system and they are not adjusted properly when are switched in between.

Yes I almost got rear-ended three times in the last 3 weeks because the brake lights on the chevy bolt are below the bumper and the tail lights do not go on when you step on the brakes only the collision lights and the turn signal lights.

While braking I have had multiple cars almost crash into the rear of my vehicle due to the breaking system of the vehicle. The break lights are too low and people expect the “running lights” on the rear to indicate breaking. I have also had multiple people tell me my break lights are out due to this. This is a safety issue be the design of the breaking system, I have found multiple forums of owners who have been rear ended for this exact issue.

Parking brake engages sporadically and automatically and sometime produce loud grinding noise in front of the car. Passenger rear middle seatbelt is not retracting automatically and is not self adjusting. Reverse camera has changed from a full screen view to a smaller screen with wide bars left and bottom of the image that now is hard to see. I believe this changed due to a software update with no warning. Dealer requests me to pay for this issues to be inspected. I believe this are safety concerns and chevy should recall them.

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Bolt Ev. The contact stated that the computer would intermittently glitch while driving at various speeds. The contact also stated that upon approaching a stop, the brakes failed to operate as needed and the contact was forced to depress the brake pedal to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact called the dealer and an appointment was scheduled to have the vehicle serviced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 635.

While driving at highway speed, the steering wheel started to shimmy, making the vehicle difficult to control. On inspection, the front wheel was very hot. The mechanic advised that the front caliper is defective. The Bolt Ev is equipped with a regenerative braking system that stops the vehicle. This vehicle has been stopped by using this regenerative braking system about 99% of the time. The mechanic advised that since the caliper has not been used, it has started freezing, causing the brakes to continue to be applied after they are used. This causes the wheel to heat during driving, and at continuous highway speeds, causes the steering wheel to shimmy and makes the vehicle difficult to control. The vehicle has less than 10,000 miles. The brake dragging also causes reduced acceleration. The unexpected reduced acceleration can cause a hazard in the event of passing where the vehicle is unable to pass and return to the driving lane before oncoming vehicles arrive. There were no warning lamps, and the part has not been removed from the vehicle at this writing. It is not known whether the mechanic reproduced this fault. The fault has been intermittent, but has occurred on more than one occasion.

Intermittent extreme vibrations of the vehicle when driving. This issue come and goes with out any warning lights displaying. The vibrations are so extreme that I must slow down to 30 miles per hour our less to maintain controll. I took the vehicle to the local dealership and left it for a eweek and they could never reproduce the problem. The problem has occured several times since taking the vehicle to the dealership early 2022. If you drive the vehicle long enough it will usually stop the vibrations and if you turn off the vehicle and let sit overnight; the vibrations are not present when you drive the vehicle the next morning. If you turn off the vehicle for just a few minutes the vibrations are still there, but mnay stop if you can drive it loger. I can not tell if the problem is the brakes or the drive train. I do not know if the vehicle may just lock up in the middle of traffic.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet bolt. The contact stated that while, driving approximately 50-60 mph and 30 feet from another vehicle the brake pedal was applied but depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the rear of a Toyota prius. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The contact was able to drive away from the scene. There were no reported injuries, fire or police report filed. The air bags did not deploy. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

When using mechanical brakes the ibooster makes a knocking noise. Every time the brake pedal is used the noise appears. This is concerning as I'm afraid it may impair the brake faction and potentially create a danger on the road. So far dealers are unwilling to help.

At random times even while driving: first and most importantly, speed will read 0 mph while driving. Second the following errors will appear on the dash: "steering assist reduced drive with care" "pedestrian friendly alert system" also, the following lights in the dash light brake system warning light service vehicle soon light antilock brake system (abs) warning light service electric parking brake light traction control system (tcs)/stabilitrak light if this happens while driving I have experienced the following: if turning, the steering wheel will jerk because the vehicle loses power steering. If vehicle is in cruise control, the cruise control will disengage and the regenerative braking will quickly slow down the vehicle. I have taken the vehicle to the gm dealership. They had the vehicle in their shop for a month and could not resolve the issue. The last thing they did to the vehicle was a complete reset. This has not resolved the issue and it is happening more frequently now.

See all problems of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

Parking button may not fully engage when pressed causing vehicle to roll forward in drive gear or while in reverse causing vehicle to collide. Vehicle will automatically go into park when driver door is opened, but button can take deep press to fully engage into park. If driver removes foot from brake petal before vehicle is in park car moves.

I have had people following me, and almost hit me when stopped at a stop sign, or waiting to turn left, because the brake lights go off while the car is still being held to some degree by electric motor braking. When driving the car in l mode, one pedal driving, the brake lights come on when decelerating, but when stopped they turn off. The issue is, there is some electrical braking applied when stopped at a stop sign or light, even with no foot on the brake pedal. The car will hold on a slight grade when in l, with no foot on the brake pedal. As far as I understand the law, if there is service braking being applied, the brake lights must be on. I also believe that the electric motor holding back is considered to be service brakes on an ev. I've heard gm corrected this issue on the 2022 models, and I think it should be corrected in the earlier models. Another issue is tall vehicles following close behind me don't see the turn signals because they are in the bumper, mounted very low. I've had people blow the horn at me several times for turning, when they did not see my turn signals. They are working properly, just too low for some vehicles to see when they are close behind. The turn signals are separate and are much lower than the brake lights.

As I started to leave the driveway in a forward driving position, my brand new chevy bolt with only 2430 miles on it put itself into park. It made a terrible metal grinding noise and jolted us forward. My foot was still on the accelerator because I thought it was going to drive but it stopped then I looked around trying to figure out why. The “e” break was not on and I realized that the car was in park. Nothing was around the drive stick. Nothing touched it and I believe it put it’s self into park when I was driving. This was very scary to us and I did not know what to do so I called the chevy dealer where I bought the car and they said to bring it into get checked. On my way the accelerator pedal started to wiggle and shake slightly.

There is a rapid tapping noise coming from the brake booster upon opening the door. Tapping the brakes will make the noise stop. For a few weeks this would stop the noise until the next occurrence after sitting for hours. It has progressed so that the tapping will return as soon as the brake pedal is released and continue while driving. Upon parking, the noise will persist for up to a couple of minutes and then stop. Problem continues. I tried to attach an audio file but it wasn't accepted as an approved file.

My bolt 2021 had break locking issue within 20 days had to get it to dealer n after 12 days they return the car without fixing this particular issue but fixed some 25 other faults. . And after two days again same issue happened and now after more than 2 weeks they asked me to take car back but not giving assurance that same issue reproduced n fixed. . Fortunately both times issue happened in parking lot but I am afraid about it that while on freeway if that happens so dont want to take chance I requested dealer for replacement vehicle which is thoroughly inspected but they asked to deal that with gm directly and I opened case with gm but there is little to no communication from them.

There is a rapid tapping noise coming from the brake booster upon opening the door or hatch. Tapping the brakes will make the noise stop. For a few weeks this would stop the noise until the next occurrence after sitting for hours. It has progressed so that the tapping will return as soon as the brake pedal is released and continue while driving. Upon parking, the noise will persist for up to a couple of minutes and then stop. Problem continues to this day (3 March 2021) n. B. It would be nice if one could upload an mp3 of the sound. Thank you!.

Exact details unknown. Description: about 2 yrs ago, releasing the brake pedal started triggering rapid popping sounds from engine compartment. The popping sounds are rapid--maybe 4 or 5 per second--and continue for a few seconds or more, up to at least 30 seconds depending on ambient temperature and main battery charge level. Opening the driver side door following vehicle at rest can also trigger this popping noise. But mostly the popping occurs when brake pedal is fully released during operation of the vehicle. Gm responded initially to reports of this issue by replacing brake control parts; but more recently, according to a service bulletin (see uploaded document), a software update may be used to fix the problem. Since many vehicles which have the problem are out-of-warranty, gm charges owners for applying this software update. How can we be sure that this issue is not safety-related? if this is a software defect in the braking control system, why is warranty coverage required for the update?.

Installed Chevrolet premium all-weather floor liners p/n: 42686568. While passing on the highway, the accelerator pedal became stuck at full throttle under the liner. Unable to shift to neutral and with minimal slowing from pressing the brakes, I had to reach down and tug on the mat until it dislodged from the pedal. I got off the highway and examined the liner finding that one of the securing clips had come unattached (likely from tugging on it). I reattached and verified correct mat installation. Later while passing another vehicle on the highway the accelerator became stuck again causing uncontrolled acceleration. Examining the mat afterwards, the securing clips were still attached correctly. Additional information: the clips that secure the floor mat/liner are only attached to the vehicle carpet and not rigidly affixed. When correctly installed the lip of the liner rises up and ends with almost no clearance to the gas pedal, then with only a slight movement of the liner it can entrap the accelerator pedal. Over time with forward foot pressure on the liner, there is just enough movement in the liner and clips to allow it to shift slightly forward and to the right causing an interference fit with the accelerator pedal. It appears that when both the accelerator and brake pedals are pressed at the same time, the power to the electric motor continues to be applied. Testing this afterward showed that with a foot on both pedals, the electric power meter still showed power being applied and the vehicle braking performance was severely diminished. During an emergency, a quick flick of the shifter from drive to neutral does not work. The shifter must be held for a longer duration, which is not intuitive when the vehicle is accelerating uncontrollably and both hands are on the wheel.

Brakes started making noise at 27,000 miles . We drive in l mode never touch the brakes. Dealership said metal to metal on all 4 wheels. I said that's impossible we don't use the brakes . They wouldn't consider a warranty problem. Raped me for new brakes. $800.

There are constant strong knocks 8 times per second in ibooster. Knocks are heard in the cabin and under the hood. Disappear only when you press the tomoz pedal.