We Went On A Road Trip In Our 2023 Chevy Bolt, But after the Chevrolet App Stopped Working, We Fear This Could Lead To A Bigger Problem

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of taking your electric car on its first real road trip. You map out public chargers, plan your stops just right, and imagine a smooth, worry-free adventure, especially if you’ve got a 2023 Chevy Bolt EV. And for one driver named Steve, that’s exactly how it started. Everything went off without a hitch, until he got back home.

The issue wasn’t with the car itself. The Bolt handled the trip like a champ. But the moment Steve pulled into his driveway and unpacked, the MyChevrolet app, the one that was essential throughout his journey, suddenly stopped working.

What followed was a frustrating series of app resets and tech troubleshooting that led him to share his experience online, and it caught my attention. “Did our first road trip with my 2023 Chevy Bolt EV break the MyChevrolet app? The app worked great on the trip. It was essential when monitoring my car’s progress while visiting a park and museum, while using their free Level 2 chargers. But ever since we got home, the app won’t update. I have tried everything to get it working again without any success. I killed all the apps on my phone and rebooted my phone, but it still doesn’t work. I logged out of the app and logged back in, and it still doesn’t work. If this had happened while I was on the road trip, it would’ve turned a successful trip into a very frustrating experience regarding the first time out in the wild. There have been times in the past when I’ve noticed the app stop updating for a while, but it never mattered to me because I was always charging at home. But now this has me worried about going on another road trip. Any suggestions on how to get this dead app to work again?” — Steve Alesch

Steve posted this in the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV Owners Group on Facebook, and the replies came in fast. Apparently, he’s far from alone.

One member named Brian responded bluntly: “The app kind of breaks itself. Usually, it kind of fixes itself, too. Either way, you didn’t break the app by driving the car; it’s perfectly capable of breaking itself.”

Another owner, Matt, had this to say: “It’s just the app doing app stuff, lol. I probably have about a 50% success rate getting the stupid thing to either precondition the car or tell me my charge level.”

These kinds of comments might seem casual, but they point to a pattern that Bolt EV owners have been noticing for a while. While Chevy’s hardware is often praised, the app experience continues to be a mixed bag. When everything works, it's great. But when it doesn’t, it can feel like you're stuck with a half-functional companion to an otherwise reliable EV.

And that's a bigger issue than it might sound. On road trips, especially the kind where you leave your car at a charger while you're out exploring, having a functioning app is more than a convenience. It's peace of mind. If Steve’s app had failed mid-trip, it could’ve completely derailed his entire outing.

We’ve seen similar stories in the community, like a driver whose Bolt showed a full charge but had only 12 miles of range left. It’s a reminder that when it comes to EVs, digital tools matter just as much as the mechanical ones.

Why Apps Like This Matter More Than Ever

For many EV drivers, especially newer ones, the car’s app becomes an essential tool. You rely on it to monitor range, check charging progress, precondition your cabin, and sometimes even locate your vehicle. But when those systems go down, the frustration goes beyond tech, it starts to chip away at your confidence in the vehicle.

That’s especially true when you’ve built your routine around using a Level 1 charger at home, like some owners who've realized they never needed to upgrade to a Level 2 setup after all. In those cases, a broken app might just be a minor annoyance. But once you start traveling, everything changes.

Steve’s story illustrates a bigger theme we’ve been hearing from other drivers. The Bolt is an excellent vehicle, but it's part of a larger system, and when one part of that system doesn’t work, it throws everything off.

Is It the App, the Server, or the Car?

There are a few possible reasons for Steve’s issue. It could be the vehicle’s internal communications getting stuck. Or it could be the MyChevrolet app having issues syncing with GM’s servers. In some cases, it’s simply a matter of the cloud connection timing out and needing to refresh. But none of that really matters to the user when it just doesn’t work.

These digital hiccups don’t seem isolated. In fact, many long-term Bolt owners, especially those with higher mileage, have reported various app and battery quirks over time. One article took a closer look at how Bolt EV battery health holds up after crossing the 100,000-mile mark, and while the mechanical side of the car remains strong, the app’s consistency didn’t always follow suit.

The situation becomes even more frustrating when you consider how dependent we’ve become on these digital features. We expect them to just work, just like we expect our headlights or climate control to.

What Can You Do If This Happens to You?

If your MyChevrolet app stops updating or syncing, here are a few things that have helped other Bolt owners:

• Force-close and relaunch the app

• Reboot your phone

• Uninstall and reinstall the app completely

• Log out and back in

• Park the car with strong cell signal and let it sit overnight

• Check for app or firmware updates on both your phone and vehicle

Unfortunately, none of these steps are guaranteed fixes. And that’s what bothers people the most, not that there’s a problem, but that there’s no clear path to resolution. We’ve seen this same unpredictability even in more serious cases like when a driver scored a GM buyback on a 2017 Bolt after battery issues became too much to manage.

What This Means for the Bolt Ecosystem

The Bolt EV continues to hold a strong spot as one of the most budget-friendly and efficient EVs on the market. Some even argue that if you’re choosing between the EUV and the regular Bolt, there’s a clear winner. But no matter which version you drive, the software experience is tied closely to how you interact with the car, and how confident you feel using it every day.

Stories like Steve’s show us that even when the hardware is bulletproof, small failures in the user interface can create real anxiety. This isn’t about being picky, it’s about needing your tools to work when you count on them most.

And as Chevy prepares to phase out the Bolt temporarily before relaunching the next-gen Ultium-based version, stories like this one showing how drivers are struggling to adapt to an evolving EV ecosystem are more important than ever.

A Related Story That Might Surprise You

If this situation has you questioning how reliable the Bolt EV can really be in the long term, you’re not alone. But not every Bolt-related surprise is a bad one. In fact, one owner discovered that GM’s buyback program for older Bolts with recalled batteries turned out to be a golden opportunity. After some back and forth, they received a brand-new battery and a fresh start with an affordable, game-changing EV. It's a great reminder that even when things go wrong, there can still be upside, if you know where to look and what to ask for.

Final Thoughts from a Young Journalist

As a 17-year-old automotive journalist who drives EVs and follows this industry closely, I think Steve’s experience is more than just a glitch, it’s a warning sign. The Bolt EV is a phenomenal value, and it delivers where it matters most: range, efficiency, and affordability. But GM needs to realize that they’re not just selling cars anymore, they’re selling an experience. And that experience relies heavily on digital infrastructure.

A rock-solid car doesn’t mean much if the app you rely on during road trips lets you down. And as more people switch to EVs, those digital experiences will become the deciding factor between brands.

Key Takeaways:

Chevy’s app may be the weak link in an otherwise strong EV: While the Bolt EV nails the essentials, its app reliability could be better, especially when it matters most.

Road trip readiness isn’t just about battery and range anymore: If your digital tools can’t keep up, even the perfect drive can end with doubt.

EV confidence depends on more than just the car itself: The systems surrounding your car, like apps, chargers, and software, are just as important to the journey.

Have you ever had your MyChevrolet app glitch or stop working? Did it affect your plans, or could you work around it? Drop a comment below and let us know how your experience compares.

Narek Hareyan is a young automotive journalist with experience in a golf cart dealership and an interest in the automotive industry. Follow Narek on X for daily news coverage about cars.

Image source: Grok X