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Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

Chevrolet · Compact Hatchback

2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Electric

Small Station Wagons
1 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

48 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

Counts recalls, not crash safety — this vehicle earned 5 of 5 stars from NHTSA. A much-recalled best-seller scores low here; see the methodology.

Recalls4 critical 5

Complaints4 crash · 1 injured reported 67

Crash ratingNHTSA overall 5★

EV rangebest configuration, EPA 259 mi

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

The 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV is sold in the U.S. as an electric compact hatchback. Its longest-range version, the Bolt EV, is EPA-rated at 259 miles with 118 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 4 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 67 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Chevrolet Bolt — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Chevrolet Bolt · Photo: Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Range	kWh/100mi	Charge (240V)	Annual fuel*
Bolt EV	Electric	FWD	150 kW ACPM	127	108	118 MPGe	259 mi	28.7	10 h	$650

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 43663.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
Bolt EV	10 / 10	Federal Tier 3 Bin 0 / California ZEV	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	SmartWay Elite

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Source: NHTSA vPIC

Dimensions Exterior

Body style	Hatchback/Liftback/Notchback
Doors	4
GVWR class	Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less)

Fuel Economy

Fuel	Electric

Seating

Seat rows	2
Seating capacity	5 seats

Transmission

Drivetrain	FWD/Front-Wheel Drive
Transmission	Automatic
Transmission speeds	1

Driver assistance

Standard: Anti-lock brakes, Backup camera, Blind-spot monitoring, Electronic stability control, Forward collision warning, Parking assist, Pedestrian automatic emergency braking, Rear cross-traffic alert

Optional: Lane departure warning, Lane keeping assist

Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes the configurations we could identify rather than every trim (seen: LT, Premier). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.

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Recalls (5)

Source: NHTSA recall database

!critical

Electrical System

N242470160

Park outside 107 vehicles 81% reported repaired

Problem 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-

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 24V812000 reported Oct 31, 2024 General Motors, LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

!critical

Electrical System

N242443000

Park outside 72 vehicles 96% reported repaired

Problem 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

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF

NHTSA campaign 24V481000 reported Jun 27, 2024 General Motors, LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Structure

N232421970

6,771 vehicles 88% reported repaired

Problem 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 (1-83

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 23V845000 reported Dec 14, 2023 General Motors, LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

!critical

Structure

N222383790

111,242 vehicles 88% reported repaired

Problem 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.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 22V930000 reported Dec 15, 2022 General Motors, LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

!critical

Electrical System

N212345940

Park outside 52,414 vehicles 98% reported repaired

Problem 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 Concie

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 21V650000 reported Aug 20, 2021 General Motors, LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021. On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject mat

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005 · the investigation’s page →

Whether any of this applies to one specific Bolt EV

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2021 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Chevrolet publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Chevrolet’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

67complaints filed

4 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 1 injuries · 0 deaths reported

52 per 10,000 built · Chevrolet reported 12,866 Bolt EV built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)

Filed per year: 2021: 25 · 2022: 15 · 2023: 13 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

Electrical System 33

Fuel/Propulsion System 15

Unspecified 12

Power Train 10

Steering 9

Engine 4

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

on 7/2/21 I hit a curb at two miles per hour which caused a gash in the passenger front tire sidewall. I purchased the 21 Chevrolet Bolt and these Michelins are Bolt specfic, Michelin A/S selfseal because I work in construction and had a lot of flat repairs so selfseal was a primary driver for the lease.

Tires Jan 8, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11446754

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V650000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The part was not available for repair.

Electrical System Jan 3, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11445946

While accelerating, the vehicle's drive system stopped functioning. The vehicle slowly came to a stop while displaying errors about the propulsion, and was no longer able to move under it's own power.

Fuel/Propulsion System Dec 20, 2021 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11444427

High voltage battery has been recalled due to fire risk on 8.20.2021. No remedy for repair has been performed and I have had difficulty getting information from GM regarding my vehicle swap due to the recall. The vehicle is becoming more unusable as the weather gets colder due to the charging limitations set in the recall

Power Train Sep 25, 2021 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11434352

At random times even while driving: First and most importantly, speed will read 0 MPH while driving. Second the following errors will appear on the dash: "Steering Assist Reduced Drive with Care" "Pedestrian Friendly Alert System" Also, the following lights in the dash light up: Brake System Warning Light Service Vehicle Soon Light…

Steering Sep 17, 2021 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11433306

As I started to leave the driveway in a forward driving position, my brand new Chevy bolt with only 2430 miles on it put itself into park. It made a terrible metal grinding noise and jolted us forward.

Service Brakes Jun 17, 2021 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11421350

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Chevrolet itself: 13 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 4 killed, 13 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 101 per 100,000 built. Every Bolt EV model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
5 HB FWD	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★★★	10%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Extended coverage on file 1 filing by the manufacturer with NHTSA naming this model year

Term not in NHTSA’s summary · GM warranty extension 22-NA-244This warranty administration service bulletin provides information about GM Accessories - Dealer-Installed, Repaired or Replaced During Warranty Coverage Period.

The term and the vehicles it covers are the manufacturer’s, as NHTSA’s summary of each filing states them; a dealer checks one particular car by its VIN. Every GM warranty extension (33) → · Every warranty extension on file, all makes →

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 506

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-09-26

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 490 service bulletins, 12 service campaigns, 2 over-the-air updates

Most often about: Equipment, Electrical System, Unknown Or Other, Engine, Power Train.

PIT5698F Service bulletin
2026-09-26 · Unknown Or Other
This PI provides Diagnostics tips on how the LIN bus works and how to diagnosis it.
PIP4902W Service bulletin
2026-09-04 · Unknown Or Other
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
PIC6551C Service bulletin
2026-08-20 · Unknown Or Other
This Preliminary information communicates to dealer to perform a MEC reset for wireless projection issues
N252530430-01 Service campaign
2026-08-19 · Unknown Or Other
Certain vehicles may have a condition where a false diagnostic trouble code (DTC) is set. Dealers are to reprogram the Hybrid Powertrain Control Module 2.
PIT5099J Service bulletin
2026-07-21 · Unknown Or Other
PI to help diagnose A/C concern
PIT5966F Service bulletin
2026-06-23 · Unknown Or Other
This Preliminary information communicates an issue with an OTA pending message still displayed after an OTA event and how to reset/clear the message.
PIC6423A Service bulletin
2026-05-11 · Unknown Or Other
Pi created to provide GM dealers with information on gathering information for projection issue
PIC6551B Service bulletin
2026-05-11 · Unknown Or Other
This Preliminary information communicates to dealer to perform a MEC reset for wireless projection issues

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

Diagnostic trouble codes on file

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints

Codes documented against this model year in the federal record. A code appearing here does not mean this vehicle will set it — it means the code is part of this nameplate-year's documented history.

Code	What it means	Most often filed under	Where it appears
P0BBD P0BBD on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	9 bulletins
B3055 B3055 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Air Bags	4 bulletins
B3060 B3060 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Air Bags	4 bulletins
B3935 B3935 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Air Bags	4 bulletins
P0300 P0300 on Chevrolet →	Misfire detected, but not isolated to one cylinder.	Engine · Ignition coils →	4 bulletins
P0308 P0308 on Chevrolet →	Cylinder 8 is misfiring.	Engine · Ignition coils →	4 bulletins
P050D P050D on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Engine	4 bulletins
U3636	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Unknown Or Other	4 bulletins
P0C2D	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Power Train	3 bulletins
P2797 P2797 on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Power Train	3 bulletins
P2798	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Power Train	3 bulletins
B101D B101D on Chevrolet →	Manufacturer-defined — the meaning is set by the automaker, not the standard.	Electrical System · Battery →	2 bulletins

Generic codes (the second character is 0 or 2) mean the same thing on every vehicle sold in the United States. Manufacturer-specific codes (1 or 3) mean whatever the automaker assigned, and no honest source can define them for you — which is why the ones here carry the evidence instead of a definition. A code is a link when enough separate federal documents name it across the catalogue to be worth a page of its own; the rest are listed here, where the vehicle is the context that makes them mean something.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

New York inspections 2.7%

failed the safety inspection

301 initial inspections of 297 vehicles.

Measure	The 2021 Bolt EV	Every 2021 vehicle	Behind it
Failed the safety inspection	2.7%	1.5%	301
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit	0.66%	0.19%	301
Miles driven a year	8,918	10,343	odometer at inspection
Average odometer	47,731	54,681	odometer at inspection

Electric vehicles get no emissions test in New York, so the safety inspection is the record here. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2021 vehicle” is every 2021 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

Compare the 2021 Bolt EV with

Any vehicle, your weights →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2021 Nissan Rogue Sport · Compact Hatchback · grade A	Toss-up

Bolt EV by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2023 C 3 61 259 mi 2022 F 7 59 Park outside 2021 this page F 5 67 Park outside 2020 F 8 175 Park outside 2019 F 6 178 Park outside 2018 F 5 89 Park outside 2017 F 4 349 Park outside

Common questions about the 2021 Bolt EV

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Does the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 5 recall campaigns for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 4 of them rated critical. The most serious on file is 24V812000, covering Electrical System. There is an active park outside advisory — act on it before driving. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

NHTSA gave the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV 5 stars overall in its New Car Assessment Program tests — 4-star frontal crash, 5-star side crash, 5-star rollover. WhichTrim also grades it F (48/100) on its recall record, which is a different question from crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

For the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the longest EPA range is 259 miles on a charge. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What do owners complain about on the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

Owners have filed 67 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, most often about electrical system, fuel/propulsion system, unspecified. Of those, 4 involved a crash, 1 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

The EPA smog rating for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 10 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California ZEV, Federal Tier 3 Bin 0 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

The manufacturer has filed 506 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, most often covering equipment, electrical system, unknown or other. The most recent is dated 2026-09-26. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV failed the safety inspection on 2.7% of first inspections — higher than the 1.5% for every 2021 model-year vehicle inspected. The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

Is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV better than the 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport?

Too close to call: Chevrolet Bolt EV 75.5 vs Nissan Rogue Sport 74 with these weights. The Nissan Rogue Sport is ahead on safety. Raise the safety weight from 4 to 4.3 and it flips. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV against the 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	1 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	1 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	5	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	67	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	1 tested	NHTSA NCAP	Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins	506	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	1	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	9 fields	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder.
Trims, pricing & equipment	none	Manufacturer press kit	We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.

JSON for this page · API

2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Specs & fuel economy

Emissions & certification

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Dimensions Exterior

Fuel Economy

Seating

Transmission

Driver assistance

Factory warranty running out?

Recalls (5)

Electrical System

Electrical System

Structure

Structure

Electrical System

NHTSA defect investigations

Whether any of this applies to one specific Bolt EV

Hear about a recall before the letter does

Parts & accessories for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Owner complaints

Most-cited components

In owners' own words

Crash ratings

Service bulletins & campaigns

Diagnostic trouble codes on file

At the New York inspection station

failed the safety inspection

Compare the 2021 Bolt EV with

Bolt EV by model year

Common questions about the 2021 Bolt EV

Does the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV have any recalls?

How safe is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

What is the fuel economy of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

What do owners complain about on the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

How clean is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

Are there service bulletins for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

How does the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV do at state inspection?

Is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV better than the 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport?

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Where to go next

Sources & method