GM announces 2nd Bolt recall to address fire risk

General Motors announced Friday a second recall of the all-electric ChevroletBoltto address a battery defect blamed for recent car fires.

GM cited"two rare manufacturing defects" in the high-voltage batteries, which are produced by LG Chem in South Korea.

Theautomaker said it will notify 2017-2019Boltowners when replacement parts are available. The recall affects about 69,000carsglobally, including around 51,000 in the United States.

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"Out of an abundance of caution, customers should continue to park their vehicles outside immediately after charging and not leave their vehicles charging overnight," GM warned.

The announcement follows a July 14 consumer alert from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urgingBoltowners to park theircarsoutside and away from homes due to fire risk.

NHTSA said it knew of two recent fires involving the vehicles.According to news reports, one of the recent fires occurred in Vermont and another in New Jersey.

While the fix is being rolled out, GM directedBoltowners to adjust vehicle settings to enable a maximum charge of 90 percent.

Customers also were urged to charge their vehicle after each use and avoid letting the charge dip below 70 miles of available range.

This is the second time the company has had to address a fire risk in thecars: GM recalled the same population of vehicles in November 2020.

The recall comes as the manufacturer ramps up its push to remake itself as a leader in electric vehicles. In June, it boosted its capital spending plan by 30 percent to $35 billion through 2025 to accelerate efforts on EVs and autonomous driving technology.

Shares of GM fell 1.2 percent to $54.97 in morning trading, but later recovered some ground.