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With another instance of the Chevy Volt battery erupting into flames over the holiday weekend, owners of the groundbreaking hybrid might be getting a little gun-shy about their high-tech rides. To appease worried Volt owners, GM is now offering a free lease on any GM vehicle while the company works to fix the issue, according to Jalopnik. Yes, that means Volt owners can even lease a Camaro or Corvette for free.
Back in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put a Chevy Volt through an extreme crash test scenario, according to the GM issued letter to Volt owners. During that test, the Volt’s battery and coolant line was damaged. After three weeks of sitting at the testing facility, the Volt’s damaged battery caught fire.
In order to make sure the battery fire wasn’t a one-time deal, GM began working with the NHTSA, putting more Volts through extreme crash tests. On Thanksgiving night, the battery in another crash-tested Volt caught fire. This has led to an investigation of the Volt’s battery assembly.
GM wrote in their letter to Volt owners that the car is perfectly safe. Apparently, the testing done on the cars simulates extreme circumstances and the company does not know of any customer owned Volts that have had a battery fire issue. However, GM did state in the letter that anyone who owned a Volt and was worried about their safety could lease a GM vehicle at no cost to them until the issue is resolved.
We figured GM would offer a Cruze as the best temporary replacement, but apparently that’s not the case. Wondering what kind of vehicle GM would set Volt owners up with, Jalopnik went the extra step and called GM with some questions.
It turns out that GM will set Volt owners up with ANY vehicle in the GM line-up for a free lease if they so desire. This means you can get a Camaro, Corvette or even the ZR1 if you’re a “worried” Volt owner.
Although these options are available, GM told Jalopnik they don’t think they will have many requests to lease the high horse power vehicles based on the demographics of Volt owners.
I don’t know about you, but if I was a Volt owner, I’d be all over requesting a ZL1 to tide me over while GM fixes the battery problem. You wouldn’t even have to ask me twice to give up the fuel efficiency of the Volt for that opportunity!
