I, and many other owners of Chevy Bolts are having our speed suddenly reduced without warning. The vehicle immediately drops to a max speed of 30 mph and gives an error message "Propulsion Power is Reduced". One common cause seems to be defective transmission fluid pumps, although other electrical and mechanical components also seem to cause this problem. One common error code seems to be P2797, along with the "Propulsion Power is Reduced" message. This dangerous speed reduction is sometimes happening in dangerous situations, while driving in heavy traffic and at high speeds on highways. This is an incredibly dangerous defect and could easily cause car accidents, injuries or death. People are also being stranded without warning. There are many posts (dozens+) about this on various owners groups, including Reddit, Facebook groups and others. The Bolt brake lights and turn signals are also placed in very bad locations which are not obvious or visible, which is also incredibly dangerous.
2023 Chevrolet Bolt Euv complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2023 record →
Was driving along and received a “Propulsion Power Reduced” warning on dash and couldn’t go over 30mph while on a highway. Had to limp along on the shoulder. Pushed the OnStar button and they ran a diagnostic test which came back with P2797.
I just bought a new chevy bolt euv from a dealership here in Michigan. No sooner than me driving off their lot, a pickup truck damn near ram into me. I was in thick traffic following slow vehicles and the only damage cause was a skid mark on the road he cause. No damages to my bolt. He roll down and said fix your brake lights. I yell back, it's factory! I'm scared to hold onto this vehicle when it comes to winter time. Most vehicle's license plate get obscured by snow. These brake lights and turn signals are even below the license plate. A recall and a redesign needs to happen. Too many people expressing negative opinion on this issue on the forums. Thank you for reading this. Have a great day.
I was driving on CT Route 2 using super cruise. We came upon a construction zone and the bar on the steering wheel changed from green to red. The car came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway and didn't respond to the accelerator pedal. This is a frightening situation on a super highway. I tried pressing the buttons that turn on and off the cruise control, super cruise, etc. with no effect. Cars behind me passed on the left and right. I finally tried putting the car in Park and back into Drive. From that point on it worked normally. This is the second time this happened. The first time I had only had the car for a week, so I thought it was just a mistake on my part. I did have a dash cam running, but the files are too large. I will keep them on my computer should you wish to have them. The consumer stated that during this incident, they could not take over control from the Super Cruise.
We were pulled over because a police officer could not see our brake lights. We told him that the lights are at the bottom of the vehicle and not in the logical spot. I exited the vehicle and showed him that the brake lights were located at the bottom of the vehicle and not where you would expect the brake lights to be. My husband was driving and he tapped the brakes so we could see that they were working properly. He issued us a warning. As a sidenote, the officer really was looking out for our safety and not trying to trap. He said that he had to document the traffic stop. This really isn't a issue of a faulty product but there should be a recall where the brakes are connected to the running lights in an area which is where you would expect the brake lights to be.
Iv'e owned the Bolt EUV for a few months and I was almost rear ended at least 4 times. One time the person tapped my rear bumper with their license plate and left a very light mark. There wasn't enough damage to make a report and the driver stated that they didnt notice me braking. The brake lights are too low and not very noticable( see attached photo with arrows). This issue can easily be corrected. The Bolt EUV has a light in the middle right above the rear window that only operates at night when you turn on the lights. They should have it act as a break light also.
On the freeway going 70 mph our car decided to slam on the brakes. We had it on supercruise which also uses adaptive cruise control. It was not raining, it was overcast, we were in farm country with no bridges or signs over the roadway. No cars around. It was very scary! I have 2 other cars with adaptive cruise control and have never experienced this.
Got rear ended. I learned that the brake lights on the Bolt EUV are mounted low and are small. The large rear lights that people would normally assume as brake lights do not light up when braking. This could increase the chances of rear end collisions.
The brake & turn signal lights are located at the bottom of the bumper, however the vehicle has additional taillights midway up the back of the vehicle, these are in the traditional area of the car, however these taillights in the traditional place do not indicate a stop or turn. This is where most people’s eyes are focused when they are following you, not at the bottom of the bumper. This creates a situation where it’s possible the vehicle following you will have at least a delayed reaction in stopping when you do. Upgrading the mid level lights to indicate stop and turn would eliminate this unsafe situation.
I just bought this vehicle this Sunday. I drove about 400 miles and Wednesday, I got warning ⚠️ electric drive unit ⚠️. Yesterday I took my car to dealership and got call from them that auxiliary transmission issue and they will replace it. Car is still at the dealership, now we are afraid to drive that car and what if it jeopardizes our safety. We drive a lot for work as a home health provider.
The service safety restraint system light intermittently comes on. This has occurred multiple times over a one month period. I have seen this happen two different ways: 1) after turning on the vehicle, the message appears in the instrument cluster and the airbag light illuminates. The message can be dismissed and does not reappear while driving although the airbag light remains on. 2) Same as (1) with the exception that the vehicle will “chime” and display the message several times during a trip with the message reappearing each time. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for repair. They stated that there were two stored codes that could be related. Since they were unable to reproduce the issue, they asked that I take the vehicle back without any repair made.
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the speedometer failed to operate at an accurate speed and the energy dropped to a zero percent while accelerating. The contact also stated that while shifted into reverse, the rear-view camera failed to alert that someone was present. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to recharge over 80% battery life. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200. The contact stated that the vehicle is displaying codes that should not be displayed for this type of vehicle.
The brake lights are 28” approx from the ground but they sue very difficult to see from behind with other cars especially large vans trucks and SUV’s. The blinkers also appear to be red and don’t stand out. The combination make it appear like a reflector not a brake light and blinker. I’ve had the car for 5 days and have almost been hit from behind 3 times. This us a safety issue. Gm should make the upper light set blink and brake that’s in view of most drivers. Kia Hyundai is also doing this but their blinkers are Amber. Both ate accidents waiting to happen. This needs to be fixed asap.
Started the vehicle then attempted to shift into reverse, got "Conditions not correct for shift" error displayed on dashboard. Could also not shift into drive. I was able to shift into neutral and have it towed. I tried powering down and back on. Powered off, locked the car and walked out of keyfob range for 10min then returned and tried again. Nothing worked. Eventually the problem cleared up on it's own by the time the tow truck arrived (45min later)
First off the Forward Collision Alert doesn't work until your about 1 to 2 feet from impact, no matter which of the 3 settings it's put on. We were so close to impact to the rear of a semi when the service tech was testing it that I was very uncomfortable. The lane assist doesn't work until you're left of center or it bounces you back and forth like a drunk drive, plus it doesn't always reconize the yellow or white dotted line. On occasion it will completely go over left of center and put you in the left lane. (It will not maintain the car in the center of the lane.) Today after service the appointment on the these problems, 7 March 2023 both the service Tech and Service manger told me they're just warnings nothing they can do about it. The manufacture sells sheet clearly states Foward Crash Alert. What good is it if your crashing when the alert goes off. It aloso clearly states on the sheet Lane keep assist w/lane departure alert. Again if your already left of center before you're alerted or corrected what good is. The Tech didn't even enter anything about the Anti collision not working but he did joke with the service manager about making me uncomfortable when we were about to collide with the semi.
Break lights are hard to see. Too low on bumper
"service safety restraint system" Warning keeps popping up on screen. Took to dealer for repair. Problem not fixed. Warning still pops up.
I was parked coming back from a store. I started the vehicle and was immobilized. That words “Conditions Not Correct for Shift” were on screen for almost 30 minutes. I could not change to neutral, reverse or drive. After shutting the vehicle off several times, I called OnStar for a tow. 20 minutes later, the message disappeared and I was able to drive again.
I just recently got my 2023 BoltEUV and I have discovered that the configuration of the rear end brake lights is dangerous because people expect the lights on the hatch to be the brake lights, but they are actually only running lights at nights. The brake lights and turn signals are actually much lower down in the cars bumper - this is not where people expect them to be. As such, a few people have almost rear ended me already since they are looking in wrong place for the rear brake lights. I suggest the hatch lights are updated to be the running lights and brake lights (ie. they should get brighter when brakes are applied). The lights in the bumper should only come on when the hatch is open. (just like 2017-2021 BoltEVs used to have).
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NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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