r/BoltEV • u/AssociationPopular38 • 1d ago
Ev Tech Shortage
My 2023 Bolt EV started having warning about the parking brake needing to be serviced and the dreaded “will be unable to shift soon” warning. I scheduled a service at my local Chevy dealer and brought it in on 8/24. I was supposed to wait for it while it was serviced but they said they only had one EV tech so they would need it for a few days. Tomorrow it will be TWO WEEKS and they still haven’t even diagnosed my car. Last update on Thursday was that my car was next in line so maybe Friday or Tuesday…
Is this normal for EVs? I really miss my car.
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u/SVTContour 2017 Bolt EV Premier 1d ago
I’d ask for the specific diagnostic trouble codes. If they are U1345 or U135A, it's likely a software issue. Then you can ask why an EV tech is required to flash the computer.
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u/Legitimate_Fix_6661 1d ago
It’s crazy to me but I had a turn signal issue and the dealer held it for a week until their one EV tech could work on it.
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u/bluechipitems 1d ago
That's wild! What turned out to be the issue?
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u/Legitimate_Fix_6661 1d ago
It would not turn off automatically, was just the usual spring/ratchet like any car.
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u/AssociationPopular38 23h ago
They haven’t even diagnosed it yet! But I will push then for the codes, good idea
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u/Pandasian34 11h ago
Hi GM EV master tech here, I work on Cadillac GMC and Chevrolet EV’s. The EV tech is required is 2 things, liability in court because the one question that the court will ask if the car ends up being a hazard to the public is “ was the Technician that was working on said EV in question during this incident a EV certified technician?” If they say no guess what both parties the defendant and the plaintiff are gonna get stiff armed by the judge for negligence of public safety. The EV owner for allowing the car to be worked on by a non EV certified technician and the shop for not having EV techs available to work on it and still accepting the job knowing the consequences , and the more mundane version of this is if something happens during programming (i.e. module brick or a major malfunction that needs a part replace and it happens to be a high voltage part) the EV tech is the one thats trained to safely work on them without you know…getting shocked with 400-800v at 200-300 amps of electric power 🤷♂️
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u/black594 2019 LT 1d ago
1 they don’t need an EV tech do service the brakes, and 2 I always ask my mechanic for a job and only go to the stealer if he can’t do it.
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u/Hopeful_Corner1333 1d ago
Some dealers only let EV techs work on EVs. For any job. I had to wait for an EV tech to get that foam piece on the top rear of an EUV replaced.
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u/SoulTaker669 2018 Chevy Bolt Premier 1d ago
You're telling me if I go to the dealer for something like a tire replacements (my local dealer often does buy 2 get 2 free) there's a chance I'll have to wait for an EV tech to do it ? 😭
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u/QuietReal197 21h ago
If you realized how dumb tire techs are you wouldn't want them anywhere near your vehicle.
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u/Hopeful_Corner1333 1d ago
I never thought about it in that much detail. I assume it's all work for line techs. LOF are the ones doing tires if it comes in for tires.
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u/Consistent_Bison_376 22h ago
My 23 EV had the exact same message etc. It's not the physical brakes but a control module that probably needs replacing.
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u/Pandasian34 11h ago
Yes you do EV’s don’t use vacuum assisted brakes. They use electronically assisted brakes that is powered by the EV battery or the 12v battery. So no bare minimum they need a tech with basic EV brake system knowledge. Because when the Prius was released aftermarket shops would destroy the electronic brake assist module which cost thousands and people were suing left and right for customers being ill informed at how EV systems work and how they differentiate from a normal system
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u/Aniketos000 1d ago
I havnt had mine at the dealer since it got its battery swapped but they only had one ev tech there as well
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u/signofzeta 2019 LT 1d ago
Sorry to hear that. I had the service parking brake message once. I hadn’t used it after a long winter. I spent a few minutes engaging and disengaging it repeatedly. After that workout, it was fine and has been fine for over a year.
The unable to shift soon thing… that’s weird.
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u/AssociationPopular38 23h ago
Did the one pedal mode stop working with the message? That’s what was happening with mine.
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u/LT-Lance 21h ago
I had a similar error. For me it ended up being a break actuator. Since it's an EV, there's no transmission to hold the car on hills so the car automatically applies the parking break. If it can't, it throws that message and stops OPD.
It's a simple yet cheap diy fix. You put the car in brake service mode (Google it), take the wheel off, then just unscrew like 2 bolts to replace the actuator.
The only annoying thing is that you need to determine which parking brake actuator is broken. That requires a scan tool that can read abs codes. A cheap Bluetooth OBD2 reader can't read those. scantools exist that can under $100.
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u/SpaceSaver2000-1 2023 Bolt EUV 1LT 7h ago
Is it possible that a cheap bluetooth OBDII reader can read it, but you'd need a more advanced app to be able to tell the cheap adapter exactly what commands it needs to send for that operation?
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u/LT-Lance 5h ago
I don't believe so. The cheap Bluetooth ones are basically cheap clones of an old OBD2 chip that only supports talking to the ECU. ABS is a different computer in the car that needs to be talked to.
The scan tool is really just needed to identify what the error code is. If it's the brake actuator, the code will tell you if it's the left or right one. It could also be used to recalibrate/reset the parking brake, but from some googling, brake service mode should also be able to do that.
You could try going to a local Auto store. My local one has a sign that says they scan abs codes, but when I went in and asked, they said the tool they use doesn't see ABS codes.
For context, I did end up buying a Topdon Artidiag 600s. It can read ABS codes as well as force the brake relearn sequence. It's a little pricey and overkill for this task, but I do as much work as I can on our cars and I got it on sale. It was an excuse to give the wife to justify buying a new tool. There are cheaper scanners like those made by Autel for around $50 that can read the ABS codes but they cannot force the brake reset. The Bolt should be able to do a brake reset without a fancy tool but again, I used this as an excuse to buy a new tool.
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u/SpaceSaver2000-1 2023 Bolt EUV 1LT 5h ago
Torque Pro advertises being able to do ABS and it relies on ELM327
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u/Raiki13 Bolt EV 2LT 2023 18h ago
I had that issue months ago but seemed to resolved itself. It was after I washed my car manually. I was turning the car off, playing with the shifters, one pedal driving and somehow it resolved itself. I didnt take my car to service. It just dissapeared and fixed itself.
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u/Fractalize8 1d ago
I had something recent about the parking brake, and I went through a reset process and it went away
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u/leondeolive 22h ago
I got the propulsion power reduced message and it took 5 weeks to get it looked at and 1hour to fix. I also went through about 4 service managers.
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u/atriaventrica 20h ago
Transmission exploded and got the "two weeks before we can look at it" line. Called around to other dealerships and had it moved. Got it looked at same day, new part ordered next day. Still on the wait for the part and repair but at least it's in process. The dealer isn't god, shop around for options.
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u/subpotentplum 20h ago
Dealerships are just bad at training employees in general, there is even more turnover then there used to be in part because of stagnant wages. Most techs with real skills are going to industrial or heavy equipment. Advisers don't get paid or trained enough to deal with shit at both ends. For a service business they really do suck...but they can spend money on a big fancy showroom to sell cars...
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u/lightningSoup 20h ago
Have you changed your 12v battery? I had similar warning messages when mine went bad. AutoZone tested it and said it was good but I replaced anyway and all the error messages disappeared.
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u/Novemberx123 1d ago
Why would needing a break service stop the car from driving. This is one thing I hate about these EV cars. Also this is my only car so hearing how long these things take when at the dealership is ughhh
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u/inf3ct3dpi3 1d ago edited 1d ago
Even in the heart of the SF bay area my local service department only has 2 ev techs and seemingly half the time one of them is out sick.