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Why Americans aren’t buying more EVs (arstechnica.com)

submitted 6 months ago by boem@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] QuadratureSurfer@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They expanded the initial recall. It affects models from 2017 to 2022. If you read the linked article I previously provided, then you missed the key point that vehicles were still bursting into flames even after the recall.

Expanded recall: https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/09/gm-asking-chevy-bolt-ev-owners-to-park-50-feet-away-from-other-vehicles/

GM stopped replacing the batteries of the newer models and instead offered a software solution that would monitor the batteries for any issues and allow the vehicle to charge beyond the 80% limit that they had set because of these issues. https://electrek.co/2023/06/14/bolt-battery-recall-diagnostics/

But it's worth noting that this software update has failed to prevent some fires, so the problem isn't really "fixed" even with this: https://electrek.co/2021/07/08/chevy-bolt-ev-catches-on-fire-after-receiving-both-of-gm-software-fixes/

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Ah, interesting. Thanks for the clarification. There's been a lot of white-washing by people arguing that the problem wasn't as bad as it was (it's still a small percentage of vehicles), and I was considering getting a 2020 to avoid the issues in the earlier models.

That said, I may still get one. From the last link:

Briglin didn’t always run the battery low before recharging, but said that “at least 50% of charges” he plugged in below 20%. This is a similar pattern to the last fire on May 1 and something that seems to trigger the runaway thermal events.

I will rarely be below 50% charge, much less 20%. My commute is 25 miles each way, 2x/week, so if I assume 50% range in winter, I'll still need <50% battery capacity. The rest of the driving would be around-town, so maybe 10-15 miles/day. So I could set a cap of 80% and charge whenever it gets <40% and probably be totally fine.

But I also plan to park in a garage with flammable stuff nearby (bare drywall, dry leaves, cardboard boxes, etc), so maybe I won't even take that small risk. Idk, I'll need to read more about it. I could park outside if needed though, I have a brick house with external outlets that I could use, it's just kind of inconvenient.