2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV Problems & Complaints

Most common 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems

• Steering~43,000 miles
  3843%
• Electrical system~18,000 miles
  3034%
• Transmission & drivetrain~17,000 miles
  1213%
• Fuel & propulsion system~5,000 miles
  1112%
• Other / not specified~16,000 miles
  89%
• Brakes~25,000 miles
  78%
• Engine & cooling~38,000 miles
  56%
• Speed control & acceleration~17,000 miles
  33%
• Windows, wipers & sunroof~25,000 miles
  22%
• Suspension
  22%
• Air bags~22,000 miles
  11%
• Lights~20,000 miles
  11%

Share of the 89 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 →

2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalls (5)

NHTSA defect investigations

Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV:

What 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners say

Steering all 38 →

The rack and pinion steering degraded over a short period of time with less than 25,000 miles on the vehicle. The first thing we noticed was that the steering wheel would not return to center. Gradually, the steering worsened until it got to the point that the only way the steering would return to center was if it was forcefully pulled to center by the driver. The dealership told us they had no idea what could cause this. We looked online at Chevy Bolt forums and discovered that many other people were having these issues. We took the vehicle to a highly rated repair shop and the mechanic drove the vehicle. He felt it was one of two issues and tried to repair the system without replacing the entire rack and pinion but the repair was unsuccessful. He disassembled the car and determined that the rack and pinion had failed. He showed me evidence of a leak in the system. …

The steering fails to return to center after a turn, especially at low speed. It requires me to manually center the wheel, and can make steering difficult in low speed city driving. No warning lights or codes are displayed. Front end alignment seems to be good with very little drifting in either direction. Highway driving provides some centering of the wheel, though less than any of the vehicles I have driven. When test driving the vehicle on 9/15/25, I asked the dealership about the issue. They stated it had been inspected roughly a month prior and no issues were found with the steering, and no pending recalls existed that were related to steering. I bought the vehicle the same day and realized it had the symptoms at all times at low speeds. Chevy Bolt forums have reported the same issue, with a lot of vehicles having low miles.

Electrical system all 30 →

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that after the dealer performed the recall repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V560000 (Electrical System), the new battery charge range allowed for up to 90 miles, whereas the older battery allowed for up to 150 miles before recharging. Additionally, the new battery failed to retain a complete charge, with the "Unable to Charge" message displayed while charging. The contact felt that the recall remedy was not a permanent fix but a temporary repair. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V560000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the battery power had decreased by 25 percent. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the battery was on back order. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 1. Parts distribution disconnect.

Transmission & drivetrain

I own a 2018 Chevy Bolt that is part of the battery recall for possible fires started in the powertrain battery. I have been through both GM recommended appointments at my local Chevy dealer to have the software patches installed and the battery inspected for nominal voltage. While my car's battery passed the voltage inspection this week, there were 2 new fires reported to GM resulting in new recommendations on July 14 to park outside and not charge over night. The real issue here is GM not providing enough information to the owners of Bolts in this recall. Questions such as: What kind of charger was used (110, 220, CCS)? If after market chargers were used before a fire, what brands, what commonality amongst the group of Bolts that have caught fire? What is the minimum battery remaining on the cars that charged before a fire? …

The remedy proposed by GM for the risk of catastrophic fire is inadequate. I live in an area with frequent hail storms and leaving the car outside at night would subject it to severe damage. More importantly, I live in a high-wildfire-risk area with almost daily high winds (30-50 mph) especially at night and morning. Even if the car were parked outside, it is likely to ignite the foliage and create an uncontrollable wildfire that would consume this entire valley with approximately 1500 homes with an average value of over $1.5 million dollars. That works out to over $2 billion in structural risk from a fire from this single vehicle. Two days ago, my Bolt starting honking its horn at 9pm - one of the fire warnings programmed by Chevy. Although it proved to be a false alarm of unknown cause, the fire department responded with two engines. …

2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV engines & fuel economy

EPA ratings. Class: Wagon.