Our 2020 Chevy Bolt ticked over 31,000 miles so I thought it was time to take it in to the Chevy dealer for the 30,000 mile service. There were also two recalls that needed remedied, so I would get it all done at once.
The cost? $12 for wiper fluid.
Chevy even washed the car (it needed it being here in this dusty oil town) and–to my surprise—charged it.
The recommended service schedule—yes, there is one—is pretty sparse. That’s one of the beauties of owning an electric vehicle (EV), there’s not a lot to service.
I’d already replaced the tires. They just needed rotated. The stock tires last about 30,000 miles. We’d replaced the tires on our 2017 Bolt when it reached 29,000 miles prior to returning it off lease. So the cost of tire replacement was known to us.
I’d also replaced the wipers myself. I’d done this before too. See Replacing Rear Wiper Blade on the Chevy Bolt EV.
I was pleasantly surprised when I got home that the GM tech who serviced the car reset the tire pressure monitoring system after rotating the tires. Yes, this should always be done, but it’s not. See Tire Pressure Monitoring System: What is it and What EV Drivers Need to Know.
The first recall was to place of small piece of foil in the seatbelt pretensioner. NHTSA had noted some instances of the controlled explosion of the pretensioner igniting nearby carpeting. Not a big deal to me and simple to fix.
The second recall, was more concerning.
Advanced Diagnostic Software Recall
In the second recall (N222369401) GM was to install a new version of their Advanced Diagnostic Software for 2020 to 2023 Bolts. The new software is intended to “reduce false diagnostic activation and prevent diagnostic data loss.”
Batteries and their software are a hot topic among Bolt owners. GM had recently announced they would no longer replace all Bolt batteries but instead would install new monitoring software. The software would limit Bolts with the old battery to 80% state-of-charge. The new software would then monitor the battery for 6,000 miles and, if no problems occur, release the 80% cap on charging.
As you can imagine, this news along with GM’s decision to dump the Bolt created a firestorm of criticism from Bolt owners who were expecting a new battery free of charge.
This announcement coincided with the Advanced Diagnostic Software recall I received. Our Bolt has a new battery. Would this software limit charging on the new battery for 6,000 miles? It shouldn’t but I couldn’t find any answers on line and Chevy didn’t return my call.
My previous experience with the local Chevy dealer wasn’t confidence inducing. See Our Bolt is back with a New Pack—In Limbo No More, and To Bolt or Not that is the Question—We Have a Failing Traction Battery. Nevertheless, I trusted my fate to good digital record keeping that our battery wouldn’t have to be limited.
And indeed it wasn’t. Chevy charged our Bolt in part to test that the software was working properly. It was.
We got a clean Bolt back with a clean bill of health, a 100% charge, and a full washer fluid reservoir for only $12.
Driving electric just gets better and better.
