Those who’ve owned or leased a Chevrolet Bolt EV from the 2017 through 2022 model year are likely eligible for an amount ranging from $700 to $1,400, as part of a $150 million settlement amount against GM and LG Energy Solution.
The Michigan class-action case is the consolidated version of eight class-action cases filed in various U.S. District Courts vs. GM in late 2020 and early 2021 and, in settlement documents posted by CBS, lays out eligibility and amounts.
According to the settlement, Bolt owners who installed diagnostic software that temporarily affected these models’ driving range are eligible to get $1,400, provided they installed it by Dec. 31, 2023, while those who owned or leased a Bolt prior to the remedy can claim $700.
2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV
The $1,400 amount is the same that GM offered to pay 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV owners in October 2023, in exchange for the installation of diagnostic software limiting capacity (and range) to 80% of the original over a period of 6,200 miles. That was considered an early settlement amount and required signing a legal release.
The class action settlement also excludes customers who opted for a buyback from GM, which was on the table for some customers early on in the diagnosis and recall process. But it doesn’t exclude drivers who already got a new battery.
The 2021 recall effort eventually spanned all of the roughly 140,000 Bolt EV and Bolt EUV vehicles in North America, after two specific manufacturing battery defects in cells supplied by GM partner LG led to many fires. GM said that it would replace all battery modules in 2017-2019 Bolt EVs. Some of those owners of earlier Bolt EV models got a completely new pack, resulting in more range than they originally had.
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV review update – Portland OR
Bolt EV drivers were inconvenienced. For many months before a recall remedy was announced, GM asked Bolt EV drivers to park 50 feet away from other vehicles—a challenge for many of its drivers, who tend to live in urban areas. It also instructed customers to set their vehicles to a maximum 90 percent state of charge, charge their vehicles more frequently and not allow range to drop below 70 miles, and park their vehicles outside immediately after charging.
The incidents were generally when the vehicles were parked and nearly fully charged but still hooked up to a charger, not when they were being driven.
LG eventually agreed to pay GM $1.9 billion for the issue—effectively covering the cost of the recall itself, but not other factors like reputation.
A new-generation Chevy Bolt EV is set to replace the Malibu at GM’s Kansas plant, likely arriving later in 2025. It’s expected to make a switch to GM’s Ultium EV platform and will be GM’s first U.S. product to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells on that platform.
