AutoUtility currently tracks 66 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 33 complaints (50% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 4 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
33 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
8 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"My 2021 Chevy Bolt keeps showing a battery or power-Propulsion warning light related to the high-voltage system. The warning keeps coming back even after multiple repairs. The first repair was on April 28, 2025, the second was on December 17, 2025, and it is scheduled again for another repair on..."
"I was in a car accident on February 9th, in which my airbags did not deploy, however, I did receive an error in my Chevy app that my Air Bag system requires attention. I sustained facial injuries due to impact with the steering wheel. I believe the airbags should have deployed, but did not."
"Steering rack binding. Becoming progressively harder to turn over time. Steering wheel doesn't return to center. Clunking in front end occasionally heard when hitting bumps."
"The steering wheel will not return to center and feels like its binding on something, sometimes its tough to steer other times not. Does not feel safe. No warning lamps and nobody has inspected or worked on it yet."
"Steering gear is bound up due to a documented manufacturing error. Steering is increasingly stiff at speed, and will not return to center without significant driver input. This is a widespread issue that has been documented and causes a major safety concern to Chevy Bolt owners and should be..."
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2017–2023)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 2 | 0 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 0 | 0 | 5 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 175 | 2 | 6 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 172 | 7 | 8 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV Current Page | 66 | 4 | 5 | Current |
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 59 | 3 | 7 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV | 59 | 8 | 3 | View 2023 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 23 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV is Electrical System, appearing in 33 records (50% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Fuel & Propulsion System (15) and Powertrain & Transmission (10).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 66 consumer defect complaints and 5 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 4 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV (all closed).
Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.