8000 Chevrolet Volts to be Recalled for Battery Pack Spruce Up
Chevrolet Volt has been on offer for quite a few months, but sales were not good as expected by GM. In addition, there were problems found in the battery unit as per the tests conducted by the government last year. Thus, to mitigate the problem, GM has decided to call back 8000 Volts for the strengthening of battery packs.
Though the company had been saying that the Volt has been safe to drive, NHTSA test results had found issues. So now the company is going the extra mile to ensure that customers stay happy.
By adding steel to the plates protecting the batteries, the company hopes that it will solve the speculations about the car’s safety. Three Volt batteries caught fire after government crash tests last year, starting a federal investigation and making the GM engineers run for a fix. As many as 8000 Volts on US roads and another 4,400 still for sale are eligible for the free repairs.
The cars are covered by a “customer satisfaction program” run by GM, which is similar to a safety recall but allows the carmaker to avoid bad publicity and federal monitoring that come with a recall.
The Volt has a T-shaped, 400 pound battery pack that can power the car for about 35 miles. After that, a small gasoline generator kicks in to run the electric motor.
The car has a base price of about $40,000. The safety issue could make it even harder for the Chevrolet Volt to compete with rival electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf. To contain the bad publicity after the fire incidents, GM last year offered to buy back Volts from worried owners.
