Most common 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems
Share of the 349 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Chevrolet Bolt EV complaints by model year
Best Bolt EV years: 2021, 2022. Compare all years →
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalls (4)
Seat belts › Pretensioner
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.
Remedy: 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.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
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.
Remedy: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge.
Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles previously recalled under NHTSA recall number 20V-701. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Remedy: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Activate either the Hill Top Reserve (2017 and 2018 models) or Target Charge Level (2019 models) feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge…
Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling all 2017-2018 and certain 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Remedy: This recall has been superseded by recall number 21V-560. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V-701 will still need to have the new remedy under recall 21V-560.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 2 possible defects involving the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV:
Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
In October 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on 2017-2020 Model Year (MY) Chevrolet Bolt vehicles based on complaints received alleging that the vehicles caught fire under the seating area while parked and unattended. At the time, ODI had received 2 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and several field reports.
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
What 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners say
Steering all 125 →
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and making either a left or right turn, the steering wheel failed to return to the center position. The contact stated that he manually steered the steering wheel to the center position. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The contact consulted with an independent mechanic who had previously repaired a vehicle of the same year, make and model. The mechanic informed the contact that the steering rack was likely failing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
My vehicle for months failed to correct back to straight from right turns. Later on the vehicle started making creaking noises when turning, especially tight turns. The car started to frequently turn itself tighter in right turns, where I would have to force the wheel back to straight or even compensate left to maintain a consistent turn. My local trusted mechanic diagnosed that the steering rack/gear is failing and told me I would lose all steering control should the part fail and that it was unsafe for me to continue to drive my vehicle. I had the vehicle brought to a dealership to do the work. Through discussions with other Bolt owners, this is a common problem for Bolts and particularly the 2017s.
Electrical system all 114 →
I've been using my BOLT for 4 years without incident and have been charging my car at my home at my home level 2 charger for 18 months without incident. I began the process with GM to either buyback my 2017 BOLT or exchange the batteries as per the recall. However, on Tuesday, my found my car smoking with a strong burning plastic smell as it was charging at my house. I disconnected and now have damage to both my charger and my charging port of my car. I do not feel safe trying to charge this car again and do not even know if its possible in its current state. i contacted Chevy and they referred me to another branch of their company to investigate this incident. They are now asking me to hire and electrician and have the plug inspected, at my expense. I am currently using the same plug to charge my Tesla and there are no problems with this circuit. …
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with One Pedal Driving mode that allowed the brakes to apply independently when releasing the accelerator pedal; however, while driving at various speeds with One Pedal Driving mode engaged, the accelerator pedal was released but the vehicle continued to move forward. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle responded. Additionally, the contact stated that the electronic parking brake failed to respond when engaged. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
Fuel & propulsion system all 70 →
I own a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt which is part of the recall announced today by GM. This is the second recall in less than a year for the same battery-related issue. It was supposed to have been fixed with a software update that I had completed in June. This software was supposed to identify defective batteries but it has not been successful as evidenced by the mounting number of fires that have happened after the "fix". As such, we are now under a recall a second time. As a result of their own manufacturing issue, we are now limited to how we charge our vehicles, where we park and even the mileage range that we paid for, while GM attempts another fix. GM stated today that they will again be using software to identify defective cells in our batteries and only the ones that are deternined to be defective will have those cells or battery packs replaced. …
I own a 2017 Chevy bolt and the batteries are catching fire on a high state of charge which should not happen. Chevy offered a final "software fix" before which was supposed to fix the issue and prevent the batteries from overcharging and catching fire. The software update/diagnostic was also supposed to be able to tell Chevy which battery cells had problems. THIS DID NOT WORK. Chevy bolts continued to catch fire after this software fix . Well the new issue is that Chevy now has a new recall for the bolt to replace the problem battery cells in the pack. The problem is they could NOT identify which were the problem cells before with their software fix. And they're going to use software diagnostics again to try and isolate the problem cells and replace those. They have already proven their software does NOT work to diagnose problem cells in the battery pack. …
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | Single-speed | FWD | 128 / 110 / 119 MPGe | 238 mi |
EPA ratings. Class: Wagon.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV a good car?
There isn't enough complaint history for the Bolt EV to compare model years reliably. So far owners have filed 349 complaints with NHTSA.
What is the most common problem with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
The steering — 125 complaints, 36% of all complaints for this model year. Next are the electrical system (114) and fuel & propulsion system (70).
How many recalls does the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV have?
There are 4 recalls for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the most recent from December 14, 2023 (pretensioner). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Chevrolet Bolt EV?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2021 and 2022. See the full Chevrolet Bolt EV years comparison.
At what mileage do 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 20,000 miles; 81% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.