General Motors said Monday it has fixed the production flaws that created a fire hazard in the batteries for its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, and will start replacing them next month.
The fixes address a fire hazard that prompted a recall of more than 140,000 Bolts, and a warning to car owners not to park their vehicles in garages or leave them plugged in overnight.
The company confirmed 13 fires involving the faulty batteries, a GM spokesman told AFP.
The automaker said LG plants have resumed battery production and are adding capacity so “replacement battery modules will begin shipping to dealers as soon as mid-October.”
“Resuming battery module production is a first step and we’ll continue to work aggressively with LG to obtain additional battery supply,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president.
The changes fix two production flaws that, when combined, could cause the battery to ignite, leading to the recall of vehicles from 2017 to 2022 model years.
GM said the new batteries will include an extended battery 8-year/100,000-mile limited warranty.
In addition, the manufacturer is launching a new diagnostic software package for the cars to detect battery defects.
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