General Motors said Thursday its shutdown of the plant that builds Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles will extend into mid-October.
The additional downtime at Orion signals that GM and its battery maker, LG Chem, are still working to find a fix for the defects in the batteries that may start fires in the cars.
GM currently has a recall on all model year Bolts through 2022. It affects about 141,000 vehicles globally. GM has confirmed 12 battery fires have been investigated involving Bolt cars in the previous and new recall population, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.
“There have been three reports of injuries,” Flores said in a statement. “We continue to share data with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”
NHTSA spokeswoman Rebecca Neal told the Free Press the agency does not have any open investigations into fires alleged with LG batteries outside of GM, but it is in touch with LG to “identify other vehicles that may be impacted.” Those discussions remain ongoing.
GM first shuttered Orion on Aug. 23 for two weeks, but then extended that to Sept. 27. On Thursday, GM said it will keep Orion idle through the week of Oct. 11.
GM has said it will not resume production of the 2022 Bolt EV and the new SUV version called the EUV, nor will it start repairs on the Bolts under recall, until it is confident that LG can make a defect-free product.
“We are extending downtime to include the weeks of Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 to continue to work with our supplier to update manufacturing processes,” said GM spokesman David Barnas in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate additional production schedule adjustments.”
More:GM ‘not confident’ LG Chem will build defect-free Bolt batteries
Additionally, GM is telling Bolt owners, to reduce potential damage to structures and nearby vehicles in the event of a fire, it recommends, “parking on the top floor or on an open-air deck and park 50 feet or more away from another vehicle. Additionally, we still request you do not leave your vehicle charging unattended, even if you are using a charging station in a parking deck.”
“This is a recommendation that we are using with customers who call in to the 800 number and ask about recommendations about parking garages and decks,” Flores said.
As the Free Press reported last week, some parking garages are forbidding Bolts an entrance. On the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV Owners Group on Facebook, a Bolt owner posted a photo of a sign on his office parking garage in Seattle, Washington, that read: “Chevrolet Bolt EVs are strictly prohibited from entering this facility in conjunction with the recent recall due to fire-related safety concerns.”
GM has apologized to its Bolt owners for any inconvenience, saying it and LG have “hundreds of people” working around the clock to find the cause of the problem and correct it. When it does, GM will notify Bolt owners in writing and repairs will begin. GM will provide an eight-year/100,000 mile warranty on the repair.
More:The recall over fire risk leaves Chevy Bolt owners with these big questions
More:GM temporarily halts Orion Assembly amid massive Chevy Bolt recall
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.