2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Bolt EV years
- Far more complaints than other years 3rd of 8 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 8 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 174 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV. That ranks 3rd out of 8 Bolt EV model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is electrical system (94 complaints, 54%), typically at around 35,000 miles. Complaints mention 7 crashes, 4 fires. There are 8 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 174owner complaints
- 8safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 7complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System problems | 94 | 54% | 35,000 | “electrical contacted” (10%) | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 30 | 17% | 10 | — | — |
| Steering | 22 | 13% | — | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 21 | 12% | 2,136 | — | — |
| Power Train | 11 | 6% | — | — | — |
| Engine | 8 | 5% | 53,030 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 8 | 5% | 3,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 6 | 3% | 10,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 6 | 3% | 20,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 5 | 3% | 18,700 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 5 | 3% | 900 | — | — |
| Structure | 5 | 3% | 20,000 | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 3 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | 2% | 1,518 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 2% | 10,000 | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Hybrid Propulsion System | 1 | 1% | 25,100 | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 1% | 53,030 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 1% | 1,650 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalls (8)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Electrical system:propulsion system:traction battery thermal:management:softwarePark outside
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Bolt EUV vehicles previously repaired under Recall 21V-650. The installation of advanced diagnostic software may have failed. As such, the high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level 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. Dealers will reinstall advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 3, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N242470160.
Electrical system:propulsion system:traction batteryPark outside
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles that were previously remedied under recall number 21V-650. The advanced diagnostic software may have been incorrectly installed and fail to detect defective battery modules, possibly resulting in a battery fire.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level 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. Dealers will reinstall the advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 1, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's numbers for this recall are N242443000 and N242443002.
Seat belts:pretensioner; structure:body:roof and pillars
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. This recall includes certain vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under NHTSA recall number 22V-930. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both front seat belt pretensioners and, if necessary, install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust. Certain vehicles will also need a pretensioner cover installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2024. These vehicles were previously recalled for this same issue under recall number 22V-930 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may contact GM EV Concierge at 1-833-EVCHEVY (1-833-382-4389) (TTY 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or Customer Service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232421970.
Seat belts:pretensioner; structure:body:roof and pillars
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between January 23, 2023 and April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N222383790.
Electrical system:propulsion system:traction batteryPark outside
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV 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.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level 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. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 1, 2021 and June 23, 2023. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall 21V-560. GM's number for this recall is N212345940.
Seat belts:critical fasteners
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2021 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Blazer, Camaro, Colorado, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500, Suburban and Tahoe vehicles. Incorrect bolts may have been used at one or more fastening locations to secure the seat belts to the vehicle. If an incorrect bolt was used, the seat belt may not be properly attached to the vehicle.
Risk: If a seat belt assembly is not properly attached to the vehicle, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect bolts, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8785, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202322230.
Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc:caliper
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. These vehicles may have an improperly cast front left brake caliper that can fracture during a high-pressure braking event.
Risk: If a brake caliper fractures and brake fluid is lost, the vehicle may experience reduced brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the casting lot number on the front left brake caliper and replace it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202321400.
Latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. The door-handle cable inside the rear doors may be too long, allowing contact with the window when it is opened, possibly damaging the cable. A damaged cable may cause the rear door to open unintentionally when the rear window is opened. Additionally, it may cause the rear inside door handle to not work.
Risk: If the rear door opens while driving, or the door handle fails to open the rear door, there is an increased risk of injury to the rear passengers.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear inside door-handle cables, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is A202298320.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Fires (PE20016) — opened Oct 9, 2020, closed Feb 7, 2022, led to recall 20V701000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Camera(s) stopped working altogether after intermittent issues. The vehicle has no functioning backup camera.
Steering rack is starting to fail at under 47000 miles, car pulls to right during acceleration and pulls left when decelerating. Steering wheel does not return to the center and a slight left pull on the wheel has to be maintained at all times so the car doesn't merge right into traffic. It is…
GM installed Advanced Monitoring Software on the car rather than replace the battery. The software detected a battery fault. Under the battery recall if a fault is detected the battery is replaced free of charge. GM is refusing to replace the battery. Now the car will not move.
General Motors is using the arbitrary 6,213-mile tracking window of Recall 944 to deny coverage for a diagnosed Cell Section 3 hardware failure at 123,582 miles. However, this vehicle is directly impacted by the failure parameters outlined in the expanded GM Safety Recall N242470160 / N242470162…
Steering stiffened over several weeks. Then steering wheel would not automatically return to center while turning while driving. Diagnosed by service as a fault with steering column. This is apparently very common in Chevy Bolts.
Other Chevrolet Bolt EV years
← 2019 Bolt EV · 2021 Bolt EV →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 Bolt EV | 5 | 1 |
| 2023 Bolt EV | 61 | 3 |
| 2022 Bolt EV | 59 | 7 |
| 2021 Bolt EV | 67 | 5 |
| 2020 | 174 | 8 |
| 2019 Bolt EV | 178 | 6 |
| 2018 Bolt EV | 89 | 5 |
| 2017 Bolt EV | 349 | 4 |
See all Chevrolet Bolt EV problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
Owners most often report electrical system, fuel/propulsion system, steering problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 94 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
Yes, 8 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Bolt EV model years, the 2020 has far more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.