WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators on Friday began investigating 73,000 Chevrolet Bolt plug-in hybrid vehicles over reports of problems including sudden power loss and inability to restart them. Then he announced.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it will begin a preliminary evaluation of 2016-2019 Chevrolet Bolts after receiving 61 complaints related to the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM). Some complaints report that there was little or no warning before loss of operating power or reduced power mode occurred.
General Motors (GM.N) previously issued a technical service bulletin stating that the BECM may need to be replaced and reprogrammed if the vehicle cannot restart, but it has not recalled the vehicle, NHTSA said. Stated. GM ended production of the Bolt in early 2019.
GM said it is cooperating with NHTSA’s investigation and believes it has “taken appropriate actions to address customer concerns regarding the battery energy control module, but will continue to assist NHTSA in its investigation of this matter.” said.
NHTSA said the problem can pose a safety risk if the vehicle is unable to move with the flow of surrounding traffic, and is made more serious by the stalled vehicle’s ability to restart.
Some owners told NHTSA that they waited months or were unable to obtain a replacement battery module after experiencing problems. GM said it has enough replacement parts in its supply pipeline.
The owner, who lives in Los Angeles, said the Bolt “suddenly and unexpectedly lost propulsion while driving. The vehicle was unable to turn on or drive.”
Another owner reported that the Bolt would never go faster than 35 mph on the highway and would “randomly stop running on electricity.”
Reporting by David Shepherdson.Editing: Susan Fenton, Sharon Singleton, Chris Reese
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