Chevrolet Bolt EV Complaints (2018)

89 consumer complaints on file.

#11765054September 17, 2026
STEERING
Steering has resistance and will not to return to center/neutral position without driver manipulation. I've never experienced this probelm with another car and See many other Chevrolet Bolt owners have experienced the same problem. IT definitely seems to be a design and /or assembly flaw. Local GM dealer service department insists it's an isolated issue. Very costly repair required.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755068August 5, 2026
STEERING
Power steering assist cut out while driving and traction controllight came on. There is now no steering assist. The car is with the dealer shop and their diagnostics indicate the the steering column needs to be replaced. Dealer shop now says the steering column is on EXTREME backorder with no time estimate of availability. The car is almost impossible to steer at low speeds.The power steering rack and pinnion assembly was replaced back in August of 2023 due to the rack binding, so that part is realatively new.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740952May 29, 2026
STEERING
When driving at parking lot speeds, I hear a clunk sound and I feel some vibration in the steering column. This is not observed at higher speeds. Also, the steering intermittently becomes stiff and at other times is loose.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11739669May 23, 2026
STEERING
Steering randomly will fail to return to center in turns, causing the driver to have to manually turn wheel back to center. Happens in both sharp and sweeping turns in both the left and right direction while accelerating, decelerating, and maintaining speed. Issue occurs several times a week. I nearly hit an oncoming car head-on in a very gentle sweeping left hand turn on May 10th when my Bolt continued turning left rather than re-center when I stopped giving it left steering input. I was going about 35 and decelerating gently for a stop sign at a T intersection at the bottom of a mild downhill slope of 5 to 10 degrees. The car I nearly hit was approaching in the opposite lane on the inside of the curve. When the left hand curve straightened out, my steering wheel (and wheels) did not return to center. My car continued across the yellow double lines. I had to quickly jerk the wheel to the right to avoid a collision. *I had to physically return the wheel to center through manual input to get my car to drive in a straight line.* I narrowly avoided a head-on collision. There was no advance warning. Having the steering randomly behave unexpectedly and in direct opposition of the vehicle's design, and *every* other vehicle's design is very dangerous. This is a known issue across many, many Bolts. Replacing the steering rack/column for this known safety issue on all generations of the Chevrolet Bolt is an expensive repair. Please investigate and issue a safety recall and force GM to correct this known safety defect that they should have already voluntarily recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11732251April 19, 2026
STEERING
Steering clunks during low speed maneuvers, shimmy started while rounding a curve at highway speed on uneven pavement. Local garage has identified it as a broken steering gear. Car has only 36000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11730418April 10, 2026
STEERING
The steering wheel gets stuck, is difficult to turn, and doesn't return to center. Issues with this make the car much more difficult to drive and makes it impossible to sense the state of the road with the steering wheel. This can lead to loss of control. No warning lamps or messages informed me of this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11729176April 4, 2026
STEERING
Steering doesn't return to center when moving. When moving at low speeds steering is heavy. Possible steering gear issue. Always present while driving vehicle and turning.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11726021March 21, 2026
STEERING
Steering stiff. Steering wheel does not return to center on sweeping turns. Getting progressively more pronounced with time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11722860March 8, 2026
STEERING
Steering wheel does not return to center and stays in a stuck position after turning it. VERY COMMON ISSUE THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709242January 6, 2026
SUSPENSION
[XXX] has stearing gear needing to be replaced after <60K miles. is there a way to report that this may be design flaw. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11696706October 31, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle arrived with windshield chip, transport company provided proof happened before transport. Brake failure on first use after delivery. Reduced-propulsion warning triggered. Both passenger-side door locks failed. Center-console power and data failed (replacements pending). Rear and passenger-side cameras blurry (replacements pending). GM manufacturer buyback vehicle. Safety defect occurred immediately after delivery. Vehicle down more than 50 days. Dealer delayed title paperwork to Tennessee for 44 days and delayed delivering finance contract/payment instructions to buyers for 50 days. GM Financial issued late notices before contract was delivered. Dealer has not responded to reimbursement deadline. Safety and delivery failures created unsafe condition and administrative harm.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11693856October 16, 2025
STEERING
The steering fails to return to center after a turn, especially at low speed. It requires me to manually center the wheel, and can make steering difficult in low speed city driving. No warning lights or codes are displayed. Front end alignment seems to be good with very little drifting in either direction. Highway driving provides some centering of the wheel, though less than any of the vehicles I have driven. When test driving the vehicle on 9/15/25, I asked the dealership about the issue. They stated it had been inspected roughly a month prior and no issues were found with the steering, and no pending recalls existed that were related to steering. I bought the vehicle the same day and realized it had the symptoms at all times at low speeds. Chevy Bolt forums have reported the same issue, with a lot of vehicles having low miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11692545October 10, 2025
STEERING
Steering wheel makes noise and is hard to steer. The car creaks and clunks when driving over any type of speed bump, pothole, etc. Looking online, this seems to be a chronic safety problem with this make and model.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11688227September 18, 2025
STEERING
Steering does not return to center without effort. Feels stiff. Very different from other owned cars.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682061August 21, 2025
STEERING
The steering wheel will not return to center after turning. The steering feels stiff, and the steering wheel will not return to center on its own.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679243August 8, 2025
STEERING
At about 40k miles my steering changed. The steering would no longer straighten out. It occurred to me on a windy road, and made the drive a lot more difficult as I was not used to it. I just got it fixed from the Chevrolet dealership and they replaced the steering box.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678008August 2, 2025
STEERING
The steering rack loses its lubrication make it turn harder and could potentially fail completely leading to a loss of steering. I noticed that when I am steering around a curve the steering wheel fails to pull back to the center position and has to be manually forced back. Loss of steering or steering malfunction could lead to a fatal crash. I have not had my vehicle inspected by a dealer or mechanic but have researched the problem and many people online have reported failure of the steering rack/gear as well. There is no warning from the manufacturer about this problem and could go unnoticed until the problem is severe. The manufacturer (Chevrolet) should be required to replace this faulty part at no charge to the customer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11674151July 16, 2025
STEERING
Sometimes, the steering wheel of the car will not return back to center after turning. The steering also feels a lot heavier. This usually happens after driving straight for a little and then having to make a turn, but may happen spontaneously in other situations as well. The steering wheel suddenly not returning to center when it is expected increases the chances of accidents, especially in areas with many curves and people/activities. The car does not show any warning signs. The dealership said they said they didn't notice it when driving and thus didn't want to further check it (they only drove it from one parking spot to another).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667654June 18, 2025
STEERING, SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN
On 4/5/2025 I was driving at 35mph and the steering wheel began to violently shimmy. The vehicle became difficult to steer putting safety at risk. Slowed to 25mph but shimmy did not stop. ABS warning light came on and Stabilitrak warning light came on and warning that steering was being was being automatically reduced. Driving became very difficult. Stopped and had car towed to Chevrolet. Car was diagnosed with broken left and right front axle anticlick washers and metallic debri found on sensors. Both front axle anticlick washers were replaced, sensors cleaned, and codes cleared, and brake fluid had to be flushed. Cost $850 to repair. Subsequently found out another friend had same thing happen to their 2018 Bolt. This was a safety issue and put us at risk while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665544June 7, 2025
STEERING
Steering wheel does not return to center
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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