GM advises some Bolt EV owners to park 50 feet from other cars

DETROIT – General Motors advises some Chevrolet Bolt owners not to park their electric cars within 50 feet of other vehicles to reduce the risk of a potential fire spreading to nearby cars and trucks.

The warning follows the Detroit automaker’s recall of more than 140,000 electric vehicles produced since 2016 over the risk of batteries spontaneously igniting due to “two rare manufacturing defects.”

GM has confirmed fires in at least 12 vehicles, but more continue to be reported. At least one of the recalled vehicles reportedly caught fire and spread to a Maserati and Hyundai in Sacramento, California.

Parking advice is given to customers who call the company’s call center to park their recalled vehicles in parking lots or structures, according to GM spokesperson Dan Flores. This is different from previous warnings involving parking the vehicle outside, not charging it unattended overnight, and changing the car charging settings that were issued to all owners.

“To reduce potential damage to nearby structures and vehicles in the rare event of a potential fire, we recommend parking on the top floor or on an outdoor patio and parking 50 feet or more from another vehicle. “said Flores. in an email.

The updated parking guidelines were first reported by Bloomberg News.

The recall is expected to cost $ 1.8 billion, which the company plans to secure from its battery supplier, LG Chem, which produced the faulty batteries in South Korea and Michigan.

GM said it was working with LG to rectify the problems and increase production of new modules for potentially faulty batteries. He will notify customers when spare parts are ready.

GM says owners with questions should visit www.chevy.com/boltevrecall, contact their Chevrolet EV hotline at 1-833-EVCHEVY or contact their preferred Chevrolet EV dealer.