Fire hazard – Chevrolet Bolt has to park at a distance of 15 meters!


The discussion about a parking ban for electric cars is boiling over and over again – now it is being fueled by a manufacturer: Chevrolet is asking drivers of the Chevrolet Bolt to park outdoors at a distance of 15 meters from others and to use the open top floor in parking garages.

The background is problems with defective batteries and the resulting frequent fires. This also applies to the identical Opel Ampera-e model.

The precaution is intended to prevent “potential damage to buildings or nearby parked cars in the rare event of a fire,” said a manufacturer’s spokesman. Therefore, the bolt should be parked at least 50 feet away from other vehicles.

Opel and GM also recommend that you do not charge the battery overnight, never unsupervised, and not charge it above 90 percent. In addition, the remaining range should not fall below 70 miles (113 kilometers).

Chevrolet expanded an existing recall of the car to 140,000 copies in August, and ten fires have been reported so far. The damage in the amount of 1.8 billion dollars (a good 1.5 billion euros) will be claimed from battery supplier LG. Production and sales have been temporarily suspended until it is clear that there is no longer any risk with repaired vehicles.

Chevrolet and Opel are working on a software update to fix the problems. Only then will the affected components be replaced free of charge in Europe. By then, the software update should also be available for the Opel Ampera.