2018 Chevrolet Bolt Ev Safety Report

The 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV presents a mixed safety picture, primarily due to significant recall activity despite having zero consumer complaints registered with NHTSA. The most critical safety concern revolves around the high-voltage battery, which has been subject to two separate recalls (NHTSA recall numbers 20V-701 and a subsequent recall for 2017-2019 models) due to the risk of fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity. This issue is severe, as a battery fire significantly increases the risk of injury. Beyond the battery, there are also two recalls related to the vehicle's structure, specifically the roof and pillars. These recalls (for 2017-2023 models) address a risk where, after a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers, leading to a vehicle fire. This indicates a potential design flaw in post-collision safety. Additionally, a recall for the service brakes (NHTSA recall for 2018-2019 models) highlights a potential reduction in braking performance, which could increase the risk of a crash. Despite these serious recall issues, it is notable that the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV has zero total complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, or deaths reported to NHTSA by consumers. This lack of reported incidents directly from owners, contrasted with the proactive recalls by GM, suggests that the manufacturer identified and addressed these issues before they became widespread consumer complaints. However, the absence of NHTSA overall, frontal, side, and rollover safety ratings makes it impossible to assess its crashworthiness performance based on official government tests.

Our recommendation: Given the zero consumer complaints but multiple serious recalls, particularly for fire risks, ensure all 5 recalls have been completed by a certified dealer before purchase. The absence of NHTSA crash test ratings means crashworthiness is unassessed by government standards.