Product recalls occur when a manufacturer or a safety agency learns about a defective product design or a specific production batch that does not meet certain standards. Some recalls are mandatory, meaning that the government intervenes and forces the company to do right by consumers, and other recalls are voluntary, meaning the company discovered the issue and tries to alert consumers before they get hurt.
One of the more recent voluntary recalls involves the popular Chevy Bolt electric vehicle (EV). The manufacturer has advised owners to park the vehicle outside until they can have repairs made. Why should you park your Bolt outside of your garage?
The battery cells may present a fire risk
General Motors has arranged to recall approximately 141,000 vehicles because of risks caused by the batteries. In fact, the company that supplied the batteries, LG, will have to cover much of the cost of the recall.
Owners will have to present their vehicles to dealerships and authorized shops to have the batteries replaced. The company wants to prioritize the vehicles most likely to be affected by defective battery cells, but thousands of others will also have their batteries replaced just in case.
So far, there have been 13 fires linked to the issue with the defective battery cells. None of those fires has resulted in injury or death, but the company wants consumers to park their vehicles outside in case of fire start while they are asleep at night.
Defective products can cause massive property damage, injury or death. Knowing your rights as a consumer will make it easier to hold a company accountable if you get hurt by a dangerous product.