Owning an electric car can be an experience with multiple pain points around the charging experience. One factor that’s never supposed to be a pain point is the physical safety of charging itself. That’s why General Motors is now recalling more than 10,000 charging cables that could shock users under some circumstances.
The charging cables in question come from GM’s supplier Webasto Charging Systems. More specifically, they’re third-generation chargers with part number 24044913 and they’re part of the package that comes with certain 2022 and 2023 Bolt EUV vehicles. According to GM, the issue isn’t really with the cord itself or with the software but the combination of the two.
Evidently, the software itself isn’t compatible with the hardware, and when one unplugs the charger it might not stop charging. Typically, the loss of a ground connection would stop the charge but in this case that doesn’t happen and it could end up discharging elsewhere.
More: Tesla Recalls Model 3 And Y EVs Over Bad Battery Disconnects That Protect Them From Fires
We’re not sure how comforting it might be but, General Motors says that if it were to shock someone it would be “very brief.” In fact, it goes on to say in documents submitted to the NHTSA that it would likely be as short as “1/40th of a second.” It found the issue back on March 8th and determined how dangerous the shock potential was through testing in August.
In total, GM produced 10,825 potentially affected vehicles and 9,423 of them are in the USA. The automaker says that it’s not aware of any incidents in the field related to this problem. As part of the recall, dealers will inspect the charging cord and replace it if need be.
Notably, vehicles built after September 22, 2023, don’t have the same problem. That being said, those who are concerned that they might have an affected charging cable can check with their local dealer or on the NHTSA’s website, NHTSA.gov.
