The Chevy Bolt recall seems to be getting worse before it gets better for General Motors. Few recalls are easy, but this one seems to be particularly problematic for the automaker. Though, that comes as no surprise considering that Chevy Bolts were spontaneously combusting.

Chevy Bolt Recall causing plant to shut down for three weeks

In a new report from Automotive News, General Motors has announced that its plant in Orion Township, Michigan, will shut down for three weeks in November 2021. The reason for the extended downtime is that the manufacturer needs more time to work on the Chevy Bolt recall, which saw all models called in for repairs.

Because General Motors is prioritizing battery module replacements for existing customers, there has been a shortage of battery parts for new vehicle production. Hence the factory shutdown. General Motors informed employees that the Orion plant would be closed between November 15th and December 3rd. Production is scheduled to resume on December 6th.

The plant is currently running limited production this week and the following week to streamline LG battery output and support customers and dealers for recall-related issues.

Why was the Chevy Bolt recalled?

General Motors recalled the Chevy Bolt after at least 13 owners experienced spontaneous fires that engulfed their vehicles in flames. In some cases, Chevy Bolt fires caused damage to surrounding cars and other property.

The automaker was so concerned that it began to advise Chevy Bolt owners not to park their cars indoors or near other vehicles in case their cars combusted.

Eventually, it was discovered that the random fires were due to faulty battery module construction. A defect in the batteries caused a short and resulted in the modules becoming increasingly hot before ultimately igniting.

Angry Bolt owners wanted General Motors to buy back their vehicles, but the automaker recalled every Chevy Bolt ever made instead. Each vehicle that is recalled will have its battery models completely replaced free of charge. This instance is not the first time the Chevy Bolt assembly plant had to be closed to address the recall. The Orion Assembly Plant shutdown for two weeks at the end of August going into October so that the automaker could deal with recall repairs.

LG Chemicals pays the bill for the recall

It is estimated that the Chevy Bolt recall will cost General Motors $2 billion, assuming no lawsuits are filed. Since it was determined that the issue was directly because of faulty battery modules, General Motors pointed the figure squarely at LG Chemicals, the supplier of Chevy Bolt EV batteries.

After meeting with the supplier, LG agreed that it would pay virtually all of the costs General Motors would incur to fix all the affected vehicles.

However, we speculate that a class-action lawsuit may be in the future for General Motors over this recall. If so, it is unclear if the automaker’s agreement with LG will cover any litigation from the group of angry customers.

General Motors may have to take LG to court, depending on how things shake out. Stay tuned to MotorBiscuit for more on this story as it develops.