NHTSA Closes Chevy Volt Investigation

“The agency’s investigation has concluded that no discernible defect trend exists and that the vehicle modifications recently developed by General Motors reduce the potential for battery intrusion resulting from side impacts,” NHTSA said in a statement.

GM has decided to re-engineer the battery coolant system and make structural enhancements to Volt to protect the battery in the event of a crash. The automaker strengthened the structural elements that protect the battery, added a new sensor to the coolant system reservoir to monitor the coolant level and installed a tamper-resistant bracket to the coolant reservoir to prevent overfilling.

NHTSA also stated that there haven’t been any real-world Volt crashes that have resulted in battery-related fires. The original fires were reported after lab tests on the Volt’s battery pack resulted in an electric fire days later.