The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday that it is opening a review to ensure that all of the defective battery packs produced by supplier LG Chem that were involved in recalls have, in fact, been recalled.
The query will cover 138,324 vehicles in the U.S. that have been involved in recalls for fire risks and other failures, Reuters reports. The regulator said it will communicate with LG and other companies that could have purchased the same or similar equipment from the supplier to “notify them of this defect in any vehicles they manufactured, and to ensure thorough safety recalls are conducted where appropriate.”
Read Also: GM To Stop Building Bolt EVs Until It’s Confident LG Chem Can Produce Batteries Without Defects
NHTSA noted a number of recalls, including GM’s saga with the Chevrolet Bolt EV that prompted the automaker to stop producing the vehicle in order to address the defect. In October, LG said it would take charges amounting to $1.2 billion in response to the recall that affected every Bolt sold between 2017 and mid-2021.
The regulator also cited automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Hyundai Motors, and Volkswagen, which issues a recall for the ID.4 in March as a result of insufficient soldering points. The recalls have been occurring since at least 2020 due to internal failures in the high-voltage battery packs.
In a statement, LG Energy said it would fully cooperate with NHTSA’s inquiry.
