Chevrolet Bolt EV Brake Light Test 

SOMEONE BUY THIS MAN MORE CAMERAS!

You should not have to hit the brake when stopped in L to activate the brake light. It's a dangerous condition. The light should automatically be on, because there is a certain amount of holding power in L when stopped.

Great video showing us how this works. Great car that does NOT get enough good press.

Thanks for a great test. We have driven our 2019 Bolt for 32,000 miles and just assumed that the regen braking would just keep the brake lights on until acceleration. We appreciate the clarification so that we will hold our brake pedals at Stop signs and lights. We love our Bolt and find it perfect for our needs. Having just said that, we have never gone on any extended road trips because of range anxiety ( yes, it’s real!) and recharging worries. Now with Tesla access possible, we might venture further afield. Thanks again and hope your business is back to “full steam ahead!”

I feel like you did this video just for me. I was going to have my wife follow me while I drove my Bolt to find out when the lights turned on and off. I never thought of using a camera. I was hoping the brake lights would stay on while in low and the car had completely stopped. But, it does not really matter. I rest my foot on the brake peddle when stopped, as a matter of habit anyway. Thanks for ticking a box on my "to do" list.

Good video. I have noticed in my area there are very few charge stations and have noticed that Nissan dealerships seem to have charge stations. In an effort to facilitate EV sales and acceptance, it would be nice to see all Chevrolet dealers install charging stations.

Great video, as always. Thanks for confirming how the Bolt's brake lights work. It confirmed what I have read that there is an accelerometer that lights them at about 0.5G deceleration. I have used one-pedal in my 2017 Bolt since day one and love it. My brake pads will probably outlast the car. I typically only use the brake pedal for sudden stops and holding the car when stopped. Your point about keeping the brake lights lit when stopped is good advice and, frankly, never occurred to me. I did notice another feature on my 2017. Once while stopped on a slight decline, I didn't press the brake and let the car slowly roll. Suddenly it jerked to a stop and my initial thought was "what did I hit?" Turns out the car detected it was rolling without being asked to move (foot off accelerator pedal) and slammed on the park brake. Pretty cool. I've also had this happen when parking in my garage, if to moves too much just in "P". Keep these videos coming and stay safe.

This has a test I have wanted to do myself, thank you. I especially was interested in regen mode since I drive in L 100% of the time. I was especially interested in brake light while still on throttle, but slowing down. Thanks, again. Hope, you are back in showroom soon.

I drive a stick shift ICE pickup. When I let off of the gas, the truck slows down from the engine without using the brakes, therefore the break lights don't come on until I actually push on the break pedal. It sound somewhat like is happening with the Bolt in D., but the bolt will show your slowing down during the lesser regeneration as if it had the resistance of an engine to turn over but if your rate of slowing is about 0.6 g force or more during this regen, the break light come on. That is much more of an indication that I'm stopping than I get in my ICE pickup. I think Chevy is trying to mimic a manual transmission vehicle in the D selected. Also when at a stop light with the gears in neutral, I have no break lights on the pickup unless I have the foot on the break pedal. once again, just like the bolt when it comes to a complete stop using the paddle. on the other hand, In an automatic transmission ICE at a stop light, you need to put your foot on the break to keep the vehicle from creeping forward. This also is like the Bolt in D without using the paddle, it creeps forward unless you put your foot on the break. it seems to me that Chevy is trying to make driving this EV somewhat like the systems we are used to on our ICE vehicles with the added enhancements of the new one pedal driving and regeneration capabilities... not so bad if you ask me.

As a Chevy Bolt owner I have found that the “L” one peddle mode & the paddle do stack & if that’s not enough you can of course add actual brake pressure to the regen.

Video idea-If your dealership is open and no one is in it you should do a Dealership tour! Those are cool to watch and get insight on.

1-pedal driving, I consistently have cars come up fast on my 6. I have a front/rear dash cam so I can see them coming. I think Chevy should reprogram to keep the brake lights on while in L mode at a complete stop, at least for a good 30 seconds.

So the lights work correctly, and it mimics a manual transmission car. Thank you for this information. It actually makes me feel better about driving in L mode.

I just bought a 2017 Bolt a few weeks ago. I knew about the brake lights coming on until stopped using regen but seeing it was very instructive. I think I'll be more consistent about putting my foot on the brake after stopping now.

I just bought a Bolt EUV and I was wondering how this worked. It is much better than my second gen Volt. I tested the Volt at night when I got it and I felt like it looked like I was driving like a nervous old man with brake lights constantly flickering. I am an old man but I don’t want to look like one when I am driving. If you search for Technology Connections channel, he has a similar video about his Ionic 5 which did not display the lights correctly and eventually resulted in Hyundai recalling the car to fix them.

Small correction: Even in D mode, if you come to a full stop using the steeringwheel brake pedal, the car won't start rolling again until you hit the accelerator. Even without you touching any brake pedals.

Thx for the useful video and thx to Chevy for taking this safety concern into consideration, helping to avoid getting crashed into.

Inventive. I have done a test on my Bolt in the dark...works OK too. I think that the brake lights should be on all the time the paddle is depressed....same as the foot brake is. But it is not and a big mistake by GM. IMHO Same is true for one pedal driving and brake light.

Great video. many drivers who buy EVs don't always realize that they are a little different to drive than regular gas models. Thanks for sharing!

Great job, I was curious about how that worked. I'm used to regen as I've had 3 Ford hybrids. With those I loved dropping into L with a tailgator behind me and scare the crap out of them. It was a hoot. Thanks again!

Nice job! You've cleared up exactly what we've been wondering during the two months we've had our 2019 Shock Green Machine! I will now put my foot on the brake when I've come to my complete stop. I agree not having the brake lights illuminated once you have come to a full stop could confuse a distracted driver behind you. Thank you for your efforts. Stay well!

Dave, you have a great channel and this video is no exception. I assume the Bolt uses the amount of regeneration power as a trigger for the brake lights. This would explain why your brake lights went on when going downhill even though you were applying slight pressure to the go-pedal to maintain speed and it would also explain why the brake lights went off when you were stopped at a light and had your foot off all pedals. I think that reasonable people could both agree and disagree with the logic Chevy used in both of these situations. My first impression was that Chevy could have done a bit better with their brake light logic, but on further thought their logic is fairly sound. I have a Tesla Model 3, that behaves similarly, but I do not think the TM3 would turn on the brake lights going downhill while still pressing the accelerator, and I know for certain that the brake lights are on when sitting at a standstill and not pressing any pedals (assumes the car's "creep" mode is turned to "off"), as the car electronically depresses the brake pedal when at a stop to hold the car in place, even on a hill. Keep up the good work!

I have a Volt and the braked lights work just the same way!

Dave, if you see this, will you consider rerunning the test on the 2023 Bolts? I think I read somwhere that GM tweaked the behavior of the lights. Thanks.

Good info, I drive my bolt at night a lot so I watch the Morrow and the road markings to see when the rear brake light comes on. Looked the same from my findings. Thanks for the video

So glad your GoPro hung on the back for the whole trip.

I have brought that to the attention of G.M. that when in L mode when you stop the breaklights don't come on. That is a huge safety/ lawsuit problem. When in L mode and the odometer reaches 0 the break lights should automatically come on. That's an easy program fix.

Thanks for this video. Disappointed that the brake lights don't stay on when stopped in L mode. It's not really "one pedal driving" if you still need to use a second pedal to avoid getting rear ended when stopped. Do you know if this was changed with the 2022/23 Bolt models?

Hope you're off quarantine now and back at work. Thanks for this good video. You answered many of my questions about one-pedal driving in my new 2020 Bolt EV.

I was thinking that terrain was looking familiar when I noticed the Picatinny turnoff sign. Shades of my 21 years in Randolph Twp!

When stop on level graound with a manual transmission the brake light doesn't go on. Break Lights should go on when you are decelerating, if you are stoped on level ground the break light should not come on and they don't. All good.

So it seems they screwed up the programming and the car should keep the brake lights on when the car is at a stop.

Very good a usefull video. It answers all the questions on bolt EV/EUV brakes. Well done. Just got my 2022 EUV. Love it very much. Will buy another one. Thank you so much.

Great video. Thank you for doing this test!

This is great, thanks. I've been wanting to know this.

Thanks very much great video, this was interesting. Based on your test I did a similar test at night so I could see the brake lights out of my rearview mirror. It looks to me like the lights came on when the regen hit a certain value. Around 20 kw or so. That would explain the lag in the break lights at times and why when you feathered the throttle in L mode the lights were on only part of the time.

Great info. If you have a chance to do it again, maybe add the data from your phone's accelerometer to see what G Force triggers the light.

Chevy should program the brake lights to be on at 0mph and when in drive or L.... GM gets on my nerves missing major simple things like this. Is my idea flawed somehow? Did they recognize something I don’t?

I hv a 2017 Bolt. Do u think it works the same as ur 2019? Thx for your video. U did a great job👏

I was very curious about this. Thank you for making this video!

Question The rear red light on the hatch. How do you remove it or what allen wrench/ screw driver will open it to replace bulb?

Had a 1st gen Volt, and IF your seat belt was in use, it would not creep after stopping. That way, you couldn't leave it in drive by accident and exit the vehicle. The Bolt I have now will also creep if you don't wear the seat belt. Have to say that yes...I have a fast gas car, a trusty Buick....but I don't think I will ever buy a fully gas powered vehicle again. The maintenance requirements are virtually nothing with the Volt and Bolt when contrasted with my gas vehicles. I also found that both the Volt and the Bolt are very stable driving cars and quite enjoyable to drive.

Great video. Thanks! 👍

I especially appreciated this video. Good stuff. 👍

I always wondered this too, when and how long do the brakes light go on? Thanks for the in-depth demonstration.

Wow... this explains why people are creeping up on my bumper all the time. I do not understand why GM dropped the ball like this. The brake light should be ON when you are stopped in L and not moving as all Teslas do. This is so UNSAFE and scary, especially at night. IDK... I can see a class action on this. I just don't understand how they overlooked something as simple and yet so dangerous. No wonder Tesla is outselling all of the EVs combined. It does appear that everyone is so behind in tech compared to Tesla.

Pretty cool... thanks for sharing!!

Very good video, though I really wish you wouldn't call 'L' low. It's not low and that confuses newcomers and people who don't drive EVs. One suggestion for learning about your brake lights is simply to glance in your rear view mirror at night. You will see the reflection of the brake lights in the rear window.

A big red flag for us with the 2022 Bolt EV & EUV is the poor design of the back lighting system. The big lights up at eye level are merely running lights, which draws drivers' eyes to them and away from the functioning critical alert lights. The backup light is small & at the very bottom of the bumper! People pull up way too close and won't be able see it way down there! The brake lights are down in the bumper, as well. Are the turn signals & hazard flashers down below eye level, too!?! Those safety hazards are a deal breaker for us.

Great video Dave. Hope the 2021 Bolt does the same thing with the brake lights.

I’m not sure if I could get use to driving this😊

Very helpful Dave. Thank You!

You didn't test using 'D' slowing down. 'D' will give you a degree of regen, just much less. What I read is that the brake light comes on after a specific G force, that's why there's a slight delay even in 'L'.

I also noticed that lag in the brake lights. Glad it wasn’t just me! Any updates from your dealership if they’re going to try online sales?

Them volts are really different then a regular car I've never been in a volts

Another good video. Where about a in North Jersey were you driving today?

I wonder if at night it works differently...

Very informative video. Thanks!

Good job with this. 👍

I spot your sunglasses

I assume the Volt works the same way....

👍

You were wearing the sunglasses

Looking at this in 2024, I made the WRONG choice in picking Tesla. They forced us on the one-pedal driving to where I am overtly concerned with how my brake lights communicate with other cars. Experienced drivers know communicating to other drivers is what keeps us out of car collisions and Tesla did the bone-headed move of creating an unreliable state of brake lights. I should have gone with the Bolt..... Legit, I see other Tesla cars deliberately slow down, yet their brake lights don't come up. Can I predict the speed of the car ahead of me? Sure, 90% of the time. But the brake lights makes up the other 10% that definitely communicates what their intent is when feathering the brake pedal to 100% signal "that" car ahead is slowing down.

I hate videos that start with "What's up?" It's flipant. You don't actually care what's up with me and I can't respond to your insincere question. Well, I can write this comment. Otherwise, an informative video. Ha!