More bad buzz for Chevy Blazer EV: software glitches, doors that fly open

The much-anticipated 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV has been off to a rough start. After customer complaints over its software issues, which sparked a halt on sales right before Christmas, General Motors has now issued a small safety recall, which includes the Chevrolet Blazer EV, for vehicles that may have defective doors that could fly open while driving.

GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are recalling 265 units of the 2024 Chevy Equinox, 2024 Chevy Blazer, 2024 Chevy Blazer EV, and 2024 GMC Terrain due to defective door strikers that were installed incorrectly by a faulty heat treatment during the assembly.

The error was spotted at the San Luis Potosi assembly plant in Mexico, which then sparked a wider investigation, reports The Street. While no accidents have been reported, this could lead to doors opening and fracturing during a crash, or even flying open while cruising down the road.

Of course, right before Christmas, GM had already stopped all deliveries of its new all-electric Chevrolet Blazer EV due to software issues, but it has also stopped other vehicles that are implicated. GM plans to reach out to consumers soon, and owners of the vehicles can take them to GM dealers for a repair full of charge, of course. 

Still, it’s yet another bump in the road for the new all-electric Chevy Blazer EV. It has been touted as the latest vehicle to shake up the industry, giving consumers an American-branded vehicle with a decent range and high-performance specs at a moderate price. But GM quickly pulled the plug on sales after the first batch of new buyers started complaining about software issues. GM said that they’d reach out once they figured out the problems.

City Dwellers’s Take

The defective door recall is very small, and vehicle recalls aren’t at all a rare thing, especially when it comes to software glitches in EVs. Tesla has had its fair share of over-the-air updates to fix glitches, and last month recalled nearly 2 million Teslas for safety issues with its autonomous driving function that regulators have implicated in nearly 1,000 car accidents.  

But the success of the Chevy Blazer EV is a critical piece for GM to meet its emissions goals, so this is a bad break right out of the gate. Also, the Chevy Blazer does not qualify for 2024 federal tax credits, which will surely dampen sales as well. The Ultium-based Bolt is not due out for another two years, and GM has pushed back on other EV productions. The Chevy Bolt qualifies for federal tax incentives, but its production is being stalled, for now, with employees laid off. Not to mention GM being mired in legal issues from its Cruise acquisition. So the company has definitely seen better days.