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2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been recalled for and what owners report, from official government data. Updated October 25, 2026.
- 8safety recalls
- 174owner complaints
- 7crash reports
- 4fire reports
- 0injuries reported
174 complaints, against an average of 60 for the other 7 Chevrolet Bolt EV model years.
Every Chevrolet Bolt EV model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
The components named most often in the 174 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 174 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
Has the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV been recalled?
8 U.S. safety recalls. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Electrical System: Propulsion System: Traction BatteryPark outside General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Bolt EUV vehicles previously repaired under Recall 21V-650. The installation of advanced diagnostic software may have failed. As such, the high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Dealers will reinstall advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 3, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's number for this recall is N242470160.
Electrical System: Propulsion System: Traction BatteryPark outside General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles that were previously remedied under recall number 21V-650. The advanced diagnostic software may have been incorrectly installed and fail to detect defective battery modules, possibly resulting in a battery fire.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Dealers will reinstall the advanced diagnostic software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 1, 2024. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. GM's numbers for this recall are N242443000 and N242443002.
Structure: Body: Roof And Pillars General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. This recall includes certain vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under NHTSA recall number 22V-930. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both front seat belt pretensioners and, if necessary, install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust. Certain vehicles will also need a pretensioner cover installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2024. These vehicles were previously recalled for this same issue under recall number 22V-930 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Owners may contact GM EV Concierge at 1-833-EVCHEVY (1-833-382-4389) (TTY 711 / 1-800-833-2438) or Customer Service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N232421970.
Structure: Body: Roof And Pillars General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. After a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, the pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar, causing a fire.
Risk: A vehicle fire can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will install metal foil at the carpet near the pretensioner exhaust, and install a pretensioner cover as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between January 23, 2023 and April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N222383790.
Electrical System: Propulsion System: Traction BatteryPark outside General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicles. The high voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.
Risk: A battery fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more frequently, avoid depleting the battery to 70 miles range remaining, park outside after charging, and do not charge the vehicle indoors overnight. Defective battery modules will be replaced by GM, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 1, 2021 and June 23, 2023. Owners may contact the Bolt EV Concierge Team at 1-833-382-4389. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall 21V-560. GM's number for this recall is N212345940.
Seat Belts General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2021 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Blazer, Camaro, Colorado, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500, Suburban and Tahoe vehicles. Incorrect bolts may have been used at one or more fastening locations to secure the seat belts to the vehicle. If an incorrect bolt was used, the seat belt may not be properly attached to the vehicle.
Risk: If a seat belt assembly is not properly attached to the vehicle, the seat belt may not properly restrain an occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect bolts, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8785, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202322230.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Foundation Components: Disc: Caliper General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. These vehicles may have an improperly cast front left brake caliper that can fracture during a high-pressure braking event.
Risk: If a brake caliper fractures and brake fluid is lost, the vehicle may experience reduced brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the casting lot number on the front left brake caliper and replace it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202321400.
Latches/Locks/Linkages: Doors: Latch General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles. The door-handle cable inside the rear doors may be too long, allowing contact with the window when it is opened, possibly damaging the cable. A damaged cable may cause the rear door to open unintentionally when the rear window is opened. Additionally, it may cause the rear inside door handle to not work.
Risk: If the rear door opens while driving, or the door handle fails to open the rear door, there is an increased risk of injury to the rear passengers.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear inside door-handle cables, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is A202298320.
Is the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV recalled in the UK or Europe?
Recalls issued by the UK's DVSA and through the EU's Safety Gate system that cover this model and build period. European models can differ from U.S. ones, and "years estimated" means the recall gave no build dates, so confirm your own car with your registration or VIN.
EU Safety GateThe high-voltage battery may be faulty at full charging capacity.This will increase the risk of fire.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Other; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
What do 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners report?
12 of the 174 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
Steering is stiff and fails to return to center. Problem is slowly getting worse.
Camera(s) stopped working altogether after intermittent issues. The vehicle has no functioning backup camera.
Steering rack is starting to fail at under 47000 miles, car pulls to right during acceleration and pulls left when decelerating. Steering wheel does not return to the center and a slight left pull on the wheel has to be maintained at all times so the car doesn't merge right into traffic. It is available upon inspection request. I almost didn't realize it pulling to the right and almost merged into another car on the highway. It has not been confirmed yet by a third party. It has not been inspected yet. No warning lights or messages occured when it started happening.
GM installed Advanced Monitoring Software on the car rather than replace the battery. The software detected a battery fault. Under the battery recall if a fault is detected the battery is replaced free of charge. GM is refusing to replace the battery. Now the car will not move.
General Motors is using the arbitrary 6,213-mile tracking window of Recall 944 to deny coverage for a diagnosed Cell Section 3 hardware failure at 123,582 miles. However, this vehicle is directly impacted by the failure parameters outlined in the expanded GM Safety Recall N242470160 / N242470162, where GM openly acknowledges to federal regulators that the advanced diagnostic software has failed to properly detect defective battery modules. By denying a physical battery replacement when a manufacturing defect is caught during a mandatory corporate software reconfiguration, GM is violating the…
When driving the car through a busy intersection there was a sudden, brief surge of acceleration, followed by deceleration and the vehicle cutting all motor power and becoming inoperable. The MIL lamp illuminated and the "Ready" light went out. I was unable to move the vehicle out of traffic until I got out and disconnected / reconnected the 12v battery to reset the car systems. The problem is difficult to reproduce, happening randomly, sometimes with multiple months between incidents. The incidents happen with no warning, and there are no other symptoms associated with the issue. The dealer…
Accelerating to merge onto the highway the accelerator pedal got stuck under the all weather mat (provided and installed by the manufacturer). When I took my foot off the pedal the vehicle continued to accelerate. I had to break against the force of the motor trying to accelerate until I was going slow enough for the car to allow me to put it into park.
I purchased a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV in late 2023, already equipped with GM's recall diagnostic software (part of NHTSA Recall 21V650), which monitored battery health and limited charging to 80%. After the monitoring period, the software detected critical voltage variation failures across all 5 battery cell module rows. The dealer (Lee Johnson KIA, Kirkland WA) opened a TAC case (#9-14753041951), GM authorized a full high voltage battery replacement, and the work was completed on May 27, 2025 at no charge (Job Card 603815). Despite the replacement being triggered entirely by recall-installed…
While waiting to turn left at a light and driving in "L" (one pedal) mode, I started to release the break in anticipation of oncoming lanes clearing, as I lifted the pedal the car lurched into the intersection. The Bolt normally accelerates very gently in L mode when no break is applied, but does not lurch forwards like this under normal conditions. The breaks did work, and I was able to stop, but I was now in the middle of the intersection and slightly encroaching into oncoming lanes. I tried to accelerate to pull through, but the car did not respond. After several second of frantically…
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, the vehicle exploded. The contact believed the failure was due to the battery. The front left tire message was displayed. The battery was previously replaced. The local dealer was contacted regarding the battery purchase. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local dealer. La Quinta Chevy Cady Service, 79225 CA-111, La Quinta, CA 92253, to obtain the service records, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The fire department was able to extinguish…
I have a defective airbag--it stopped working out of nowhere in December 2023. I reported it to my Chevy dealership and they looked at it and said my whole safety restraint system is down. They said they have no airbags and can't fix it yet. Now it's April 2024 it's still not fixed and the dealership has not been actively working to get me a loaner or fix it.
None of my local dealers will service recalls on this vehicle. They either tell me that they only perform work on vehicles purchased at that dealership or they continually reschedule my appointment.
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV: questions owners ask
Is the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 174 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV; the most common categories were electrical system (94, 54%), fuel/propulsion system (30, 17.2%), steering (23, 13.2%). There are 8 safety recalls. 7 complaints mention a crash, 4 mention a fire.
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV?
Across 174 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are electrical system (54% of complaints), fuel/propulsion system (17.2% of complaints), steering (13.2% of complaints), power train (6.3% of complaints), engine (4.6% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 8 recalls for the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV; the most recent (campaign 24V812000, 2024-10-31) concerns Electrical System: Propulsion System: Traction Battery. 3 recalls carry a "do not drive" or "park outside" warning from the manufacturer. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Have any 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles caught fire?
9 of the 174 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV (5.2%) describe the car catching fire or melting wiring. 5 related recalls exist: campaign 24V812000 (electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery). The fix: Owners are advised to take the following interim steps: Set the Target Charge Level feature in their vehicle to limit the charge level to 90%, charge their vehicle more… One owner wrote: "I recently purchased a 2020 Chevy Bolt. I was never told that the battery could catch on fire and that they have a range limit. My work has banned this vehicle from their parking lot." (NHTSA complaint 11573653, February 2024). Recall repairs are free at a dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Check your own Bolt EV
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), EU Safety Gate alerts (© European Union), retrieved October 25, 2026. Model year 2020 only.