Image Credits: Kirsten Korosec
General Motors has temporarily halted sales of the new Chevrolet Blazer EV after a series of software issues with some of the first vehicles delivered.
The automaker told TechCrunch that owners are experiencing issues charging on the SUV’s screen and DC Fast charging stations, confirming previous reports from reporters who had access to test vehicles. GM said its engineering team is working “around the clock” on a solution, and once it’s ready, Blazer EV owners will need to bring their vehicles to dealers for a software update.
GM also claimed that a “limited number” of vehicles were affected, without providing a specific number, and that the issues were “not related to safety or features built into Ultium or Google.”
The Blazer EV only just had its official launch a few weeks ago, but pretty quickly, two media outlets had big problems with their longer-term test cars. Kevin Williams at InsideEVs saw his Blazer’s infotainment screen go completely blank and unusable. Then he had problems charging the car, including an alert to have the vehicle immediately serviced, and was ultimately stranded mid-road trip.
Edmunds, meanwhile, collected an extensive list of warning messages on its own long-term test vehicle before turning it over to a Chevy dealer, where it remains.
It’s a bad start for a vehicle that’s supposed to be such a crucial piece of the Chevy lineup going forward. It sits above the entry-level Bolt but below GM’s pricier EVs like the Cadillac Lyriq. It’s also one of the first mass-market vehicles powered by GM’s new Ultium platform, which is slated to underpin an entire lineup of EVs with new electrical architecture, batteries, and software.
