#Chevy volt recall update

When Ars spoke with Less, he speculated that a misaligned piece of machinery might be tearing the anode tab and folding the separator infrequently enough that the problems are missed in the quality-control process. AdvertisementДЇurther Reading Misaligned factory robot may have sparked Chevy Bolt battery firesNeither GM nor LG has said what caused the defects to occur. Normally, the separator would keep the anode and cathode from touching, but with it folded out of the way, the batteries could short and catch fire. The separator defect compounded the problem. The torn tab likely created a projection within the otherwise flat cell, bringing the anode dangerously close to the cathode. The simultaneous defects-a torn anode tab and a folded separator-created a вЂњperfect storm,вЂќ according to Greg Less, technical director of the University of MichiganвЂ™s Battery Lab.

#Chevy volt recall update

WeвЂ™re not going to start recall repairs or start building new Bolts until weвЂ™re confident LG will build defect-free products.вЂќ Ars has reached out to LG Chem for comment, and weвЂ™ll update this story if we hear from them. вЂњBecause we are not confident that LG has the capability to build defect-free products, weвЂ™ve putВ the repairs on hold and we are not building new Bolts.

вЂњIf we took the battery stock thatвЂ™s in the field right now or at a warehouse, weвЂ™re not confident that it is defect-free,вЂќ GM spokesperson Dan Flores told the Detroit Free Press. The company is not performing any repairs on recalled vehicles, either. Further Reading GM recalls every Chevy Bolt ever made, blames LG for faulty batteriesLG Chem makes the battery packs for every Chevy Bolt, and while the problem was initially traced to one of LG's Korean plants, subsequent investigations revealed that other LG plants were pumping out bad cells, too.Д«ecause the defects may be more widespread than initially thought, GM has idled the plant that makes the Bolt EV and EUV.