General Motors: Sorry Your EV May Have a Defective Battery, Here’s $1,400

General Motors is offering $1,400 to owners of the 2020-2022 Chevy Bolt to entice them to install a diagnostic program that will determine if their battery is defective. The move is reportedly part of an anticipated class action settlement related to the battery problems that have plagued GM’s all-electric car.

In exchange for installing diagnostics software that GM says will detect whether batteries require a full replacement, the company is offering $1,400 yo ’20-’22 Chevy Bolt owners, according to a report by Electrek.

GM was forced to recall all of its Chevy Bolts after some of the electric vehicles were found to have a battery defect from supplier LG. The company now has to take the model out of production for a number of months, and later promise battery replacements to all affected owners.

Over the summer, GM said it would stop replacing 2020-2022 Chevy Bolt Batteries and instead verify the battery’s durability with software that monitors the battery over 6,200 miles, during which time Chevy Bolt owners are only allowed to charge the batteries up to 80 percent, further limiting the range of their EVs.

“GM will provide owners of certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUVs covered under a previously announced recall a new advanced diagnostics software,” a GM spokesperson said. “The software will continually monitor the battery to detect any potential anomalies and, if none are detected after approximately 6,200 miles (10,000 km) of use, the battery will automatically return to 100% state of charge without a return trip to the dealer.”

“If an anomaly is detected, the software will alert the owner via a message on the driver information center and the owner should then contact their dealer to schedule a battery or module replacement,” the spokesperson added.

Many customers were reportedly upset about not receiving a new battery after being promised one from the automaker. Moreover, customers were not pleased with having to restrict charging their EVs for several months while the software monitors their battery.

Therefore, the company appears to be trying to lure customers into installing the software — which GM bills as a “remedy” — by offering the payment early and upfront.

“GM is announcing a compensation program for 2020-22 Bolt EV/EUV owners upon installation of the final advanced diagnostic software as part of the original battery recall,” a GM spokesperson said on Sunday. “Owners are eligible to receive a $1,400 Visa eReward card upon installation. This applies to Bolt EV/EUV owners in the US only.”

But customers have to install the software before December 31, 2023, as well as sign a legal release associated with taking the money, in order to get the early compensation. If they don’t, then they will have to wait and see what happens with the class action lawsuit, Electrek reported.

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