The Chevrolet Blazer EV has only just hit the hit the market, but it already has a nasty reputation of faulty software issues that left one journalist stranded at a charging station and another review site logging one fault after another. As a result, General Motors has issued a stop sale for the Blazer EV thanks to those aforementioned software problems, Automotive News reports.
According to Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, the issues forcing the stop-sale aren’t related to safety and instead are related to “quality” and “customer satisfaction” — and while I see the point there, I would probably consider it a safety concern if my car just kinda shut down at a random charging station in the middle of a road trip.
In a statement to CNN, GM also stated that the software issues have nothing to do with the Blazer EV’s Ultium battery. It also allegedly doesn’t concern Google Built-In, which is GM’s answer to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And, the issue, GM says, should be rectified easily with a software update; Blazer EV owners will just need to pop on over to the dealer for that update.
It’s tough news for prospective Blazer EV buyers, since GM expects the crossover will also become temporarily ineligible for U.S. federal tax credits at the start of the year. Both Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq crossovers currently contain battery components sourced from China, and the Biden administration has placed limitations on where batteries are built and where their components are sourced in order to qualify for the full tax credit. GM says it should be able to change its sourcing to bring them into compliance next month.
