2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Overview, Reviews, Ratings & Specs

Trina James on September 19, 2022

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Jared Brin on August 3, 2022

I initially bought the car as a commuter at the end of 2017, and now have almost 70,000 miles on it. As a car, it has exceeded our expectations, and is now our primary vehicle. The ability to charge at home and very little maintenance makes the car far more convenient living out in the boondocks than a conventional vehicle overall. The EV drivetrain and packaging are really well done- the backseat fits a rear facing car seat far better than the wife's old BMW wagon, but the software is generally not good. The center screen sometimes freezes up, or gets stuck on the backup camera, and since the heated seats and cabin heat are both controlled from the screen, occasionally we are stuck without heat for several miles in below freezing temperatures until the stupid thing finally reboots. The real issue with the car is Chevy corporate, as well as a dealership network that generally just does not care. We recently had the battery recall done, and it was not a good experience. I knew that it would take time and planning to do, since there aren't any dealerships within a couple hours that work on EVs, but Chevy corporate almost gave up after a few weeks of searching around the state before they found a dealership that would do the work, where we could combine it with another planned trip. When I picked up the car after dropping it off for 3 days, it had a warning light. The dealership had run out of time, and had not gotten the coolant refilled properly. They quickly tried to redo it, as I had a 5 hour drive home that night, and the light went off until the end of the drive, but came back on. The coolant reservoir was low, and I was able to find the coolant locally to top it off for the time being, but the SOC meter was screwy, indicating that the software update for it was not done. I couldn't even get the recall paperwork from the dealership without contacting Chevy corporate again, as they were largely unresponsive. A couple months later, we were able to drop it off at a different dealership on another trip, and luckily this dealership (Ft Collins, CO) was actually competent, responsive, and got the thing fixed. The Ft Collins dealership also fixed the blind spot monitors, which had issues for over 2 years. The blind spot monitor issue is a known issue from the factory, and the problem showed up during the warranty period, but due to COVID and the fact that it took 4 attempts at 4 different dealerships over a period of 2 years before it was finally addressed, the warranty period expired. Chevy corporate's response was basically we don't care, we won't help you. It also took me 3 tries at different dealerships to get a software update for fast charging in cold weather before the Ft Collins dealership finally fixed everything and got it up to date. The bad news is that if anything does go wrong, most dealerships do not want to work on the car, and Chevy corporate basically does not care, they even told me that they do not have a process in place to help other than just say to go to the dealership, even if they are 200 miles away. It's really too bad that the car is let down by the terrible corporate structure that cares absolutely not at all after the car is sold, and any issues may take years to get fixed. For anyone who might be considering buying an EV from GM, I would recommend against it unless you have a good local dealership that will actually fix the car if something goes wrong. I'm not sure if any of the other automakers are any better, but Chevy is far worse than any others I've experienced to this point. Overall, the past almost 5 years with the car have completely sold me on EV's, but have also convinced me that I never want to own a car from GM again

Cameron on July 20, 2022

The front seats are awful, I'll never understand why GM decided to save $20 in exchange for a terrible reputation. The headrests are bent forward so that slacker drivers who don't want to sit up and pay attention won't hurt their necks in an accident. The infotainment system was programmed by an imbecile who REALLY wants you to listen to the radio. POP-UP ADS ON RADIOS SHOULD BE OUTLAWED. The rear cargo area has no anchors or tie-down loops.. pretty absurd on a $30,000 car. Putting this grocery getter on a set of 17 inch rims was possibly the dumbest trendy thing ever, it rides like a 90s Honda Civic with the springs cut. Fortunately the majority of these things can be pretty easily fixed. Get a set of 15-in rims off of a Chevy Sonic and put 215/65r15s on it to massively improve the ride comfort, straighten the headrest legs with a vise or a sledgehammer, put some elastomeric cushions underneath the stock seat foam, get some round tie down anchors off Amazon, the round ones fit perfectly in the circular indentions in the rear cargo area and grab the spare donut out of a Buick Encore in the junkyard, it fits perfectly under the subfloor. I solved all these problems in a weekend once I gathered up the tools and parts. There's nothing special about the bolt, everything everyone likes about it applies to every electric vehicle but the bolt does have one big advantage over everything else, availability. It's more widely available than any other EV, especially one in this price range. I would definitely buy the car again, no regrets.

DannyC on May 9, 2021

I have found nothing wrong with it. It actually gets MORE miles per charge than advertised. The front seats are a bit harder than I would have made them, however the back seat is super comfortable. My wife drives it and makes optimizing economy a game. She seems quite good at it, since our efficiency keeps climbing.

Car Buyer on March 18, 2021

This car meets all my needs. After driving the Kia Sorento, Toyota RAV4, Chevy equinox and several others, the Chevy Bolt EV was by far the best value for my money. Right from the test drive the vehicle felt very smooth. It’s solidly built, and very quiet. Don’t let it’s looks deceive you, this car is is spacious. It's just the right size, has very comfortable seats and is loaded with technology! What makes it even better is I don’t have to worry about gas prices. Be sure to put this car on your list to test drive.

Joe Sauer on March 7, 2021

This 2017 Chevy Bolt EV was all that we were looking for and more. The regenerative braking and the great torque of the electric motor are really nice. And we will save $1000 a year in reduced gas versus power costs, and reduced maintenance (since there are a lot fewer parts). We are very happy with our purchased.

Ken on January 4, 2021

This car is better than we anticipated performance is unbelievable May look a little small on the outside but has plenty of room on the inside.

EVFAN on December 30, 2020

I have owned this vehicle for six months and the range started to degrade from 250 mile range to now 170 mile range when at 95 % since there is a recall where the battery may catch on fire, and GM does not have a final fix. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT FOR NOW!

Sbrx on November 21, 2020

Head unit disconnects from the phone, but pretty good otherwise. Fast, but gets less than 200 miles per charge on LA freeways. Great around town.

Solar Dave on September 25, 2020

I've had this little speed demon for over (3) years now. Love to drive it - drives like a skateboard with very tight steering and feedback. I charge it solely with solar electricity that I make on my home (takes about 4 kW of solar panels to run about 15k miles per year). Great value. Not a single dealership / repair shop visit since I've owned it!