GM expands Bolt electric car recall to include 73,000 more vehicles

General Motors (GM) announced on Friday that it would be expanding its recall on Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles due to their defective batteries and potential associated fire risks.

GM said in a press release that batteries in these vehicles, which were made by their supplier, LG, could have “two manufacturing defects – a torn anode tab and folded separator – present in the same battery cell, which increases the risk of fire.”

An earlier recall included nearly 70,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs made between 2017 and 2019. However, GM’s announcement on Friday included an additional 73,000 Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs with model years ranging from 2019 to 2022. The recall includes cars in both the U.S. and Canada.

The company said that GM became aware of the need to expand its recall after finding defects for its batteries while it was investigating LG’s manufacturing and after taking apart its battery packs. 

GM said the expanded recall would add around $1 billion in costs for GM to replace the defective batteries. CNBC reported that in total, it will cost GM around $1.8 billion to address all of the vehicles included in all of their recalls.

“Our focus on safety and doing the right thing for our customers guides every decision we make at GM,” Doug Parks, an executive vice president for the company, said in a statement.

GM said it would notify vehicle owners when they had the new batteries ready. In the meantime, they asked that customers charge their cars more often, not leave cars charging inside and park their cars outside after charging.