2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV has 67 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 18 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Bolt EV years here — over the median of the other years, which is 15. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Traction battery and Roof and pillars.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV — Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (33 of 67), then Fuel and propulsion system (15) and Powertrain (10). Those filings include 4 that report a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Bolt EV has 173 complaints, 23 per year, and the 2022 has 59 complaints, 17 per year. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2022.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (5)

Recall electrical system, propulsion system, traction battery 2024-10-31 · NHTSA campaign 24V812000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall electrical system, propulsion system, traction battery 2024-06-27 · NHTSA campaign 24V481000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall structure, body, roof and pillars 2023-12-14 · NHTSA campaign 23V845000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall structure, body, roof and pillars 2022-12-15 · NHTSA campaign 22V930000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall electrical system, propulsion system, traction battery 2021-08-20 · NHTSA campaign 21V650000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Complaints by component (67 total)

Electrical system

Fuel and propulsion system

Powertrain

Steering

Engine

Service brakes

Speed control

Air bags

Suspension

Lane departure

Seat belts

Structure

Tires

Show 5 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The electronic steering gear (steering rack) on my 2021 Chevrolet Bolt has malfunctioned, causing the steering to feel rough, stiff, and sticky. Crucially, the steering wheel fails to naturally return to the center…"
Steering · filed 2026-08-26
"My 2021 Chevy Bolt keeps showing a battery or power-Propulsion warning light related to the high-voltage system. The warning keeps coming back even after multiple repairs. The first repair was on April 28, 2025, the…"
Electrical system, Speed control, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-03-02
"I was in a car accident on February 9th, in which my airbags did not deploy, however, I did receive an error in my Chevy app that my Air Bag system requires attention. I sustained facial injuries due to impact with the…"
Air bags · filed 2026-02-13
"Steering rack binding. Becoming progressively harder to turn over time. Steering wheel doesn't return to center. Clunking in front end occasionally heard when hitting bumps."
Steering · filed 2026-01-31
"The steering wheel will not return to center and feels like its binding on something, sometimes its tough to steer other times not. Does not feel safe. No warning lamps and nobody has inspected or worked on it yet."
Steering · filed 2025-09-21

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV 5 HB FWD	5 stars	4 stars	5 stars	5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Bolt EV	—	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	127	108	118 MPG / 259 mi range	$650

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2017–2023

Body styles Hatchback

Tire size 215/50R17

Known issues for this generation

Recall 21V-650 covers certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2022 Bolt EUV vehicles: the high-voltage battery could catch fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity; GM's remedy includes battery module replacement and advanced diagnostic software. Earlier recall 20V-701 and 21V-560 addressed the same battery fire risk on 2017-2019 and previously repaired packs. Follow-up recalls 24V-481 and 24V-812 address failures in installing that diagnostic software on some vehicles already remedied under 21V-650. Recall 22V-930 covers certain 2017-2023 Bolt EV vehicles: after a crash with seat belt pretensioner deployment, pretensioner exhaust may ignite carpet fibers near the B-pillar.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV Next year 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV See every Chevrolet Bolt EV model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV reliable?

What are common problems with a 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

Is the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV more reliable than the years next to it?

Has the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV been recalled?

The 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV?

Owners have filed 67 complaints about the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 118 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

Does the Chevrolet Bolt EV use engine oil?

No. It is battery-electric; routine fluid checks focus on brake fluid and coolant loops, not motor oil.

What tire size does a Chevrolet Bolt EV use?

US first-generation pages list 215/50R17.

What model years does the first-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV cover?

2017-2023 on this site's Bolt EV record.