Chevy Volt's batteries catch on fire

[Richard230]

I just heard on the news that the Li-ion batteries in the GM Volt that was being tested by the Federal Government caught on fire.  The report was that this issue caused GM's stock price to fall today.  I hope this was a fluke and not a problem with Li-ion batteries.

[Gavin]

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/11/11/chevy-volt-battery-catches-fire-in-nhtsa-lab/

Was a test car that had been crashed three weeks before and for some reason they did not remove the battery...

G

[Richard230]

Here is another report:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-11/gm-volt-battery-fire-is-said-to-prompt-u-s-probe-into-electric-car-safety.html

I sure hope the DOT doesn't overreact and decide that manufacturers using Li-ion batteries have to certify this and that, file a lot of paperwork, and go through bureaucratic hoops if they want to use that technology in their DOT-approved highway vehicles. That would put the hurt on small motorcycle manufacturers. 

[protomech]

It's interesting that the fire occurred in May. GM and NHTSA both performed another side-impact crash test and couldn't replicate the fire.

Just now becoming news?

[Gavin]

Just this morning....



Apparently after an accident gasoline cars catch on fire too....and kinda do all the time...



Gavin

[EmpulseRider]

I have seen many a gasoline car ablaze but never ends up in the news. I guess the newsworthy difference with the Volt was that the fire started 3 weeks after it was crashed? How many people will park totaled Volt in their garage for 3 weeks... or even a day for that matter. Gassers apparently have the potential to spontaneously combust just from static charge entering and leaving the vehicle, hence the warnings on gas pumps.

[Richard230]

My recollection is that the government announced about a week ago that the Volt is safe and is no longer subject to catching on fire - and the improvements made by GM in reaction to the fire issue make that scenario even more unlikely. 

[protomech]

Not that it's not subject to catching on fire, just that it's not notably more dangerous than other vehicles. Yeah, gasoline vehicles catch on fire from time to time, but a) generally they're older vehicles, or italian exotics and b) the Volt's electric, so it must be dangerous and c) certain folks have a political axe to grind with GM.

NHTSA basically ruled that they feel with GM's fix installed (reinforcement to reduce risk of a cross-brace crushing the pack on a side impact and more protection of the liquid cooling system) that the car poses no abnormal risk. Notably, none of the ~10k Volts sold thus far have caught on fire following an accident.

Pasting a post from another forum:

The NHTSA conducted one full-vehicle and six isolated pack followup tests (Nov & Dec) after the May Volt fire. The side impact test w/ rollover that resulted in the May fire was duplicated in September with more complete instrumentation, in this test the battery pack was not physically damaged and experienced no problems.

Tests 1-3 (November) performed side impacts on the bare packs followed by a rotation and long-term storage and observation. The Test 2 pack caught fire less than a week after the test and destroyed the Test 1 pack stored nearby (derp?). The Test 3 pack arced during the rotation following impact, emitting flames and sparks. However, it had no further problems during the long-term storage.

The Test 4 pack was rotated and modified to leak coolant into the pack electronics. It experienced a temporary heat increase but no fire.

The Test 5 pack was modified to short the negative battery terminal to the battery chassis and also introduce coolant into the pack electronics. It caught fire less than a week after the test.

The Test 6 pack suffered a side impact but neither rotation nor shorting. It experienced a temporary heat increase but no fire.

Per the NHTSA’s final report.
http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2012/NHTSA+Statement+on+Conclusion+of+Chevy+Volt+Investigation

There have been two real-world fire involving Volts that I’m aware of, both were house fires that occurred in garages where a Volt was being stored (and presumably charging).

One fire occurred on April 14 2011, destroying the garage but not the attached house. The garage also stored a Suzuki home-built EV conversion and charging station.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/video-garage-fire-claims-chevy-volt-and-homebuilt-ev/

Another home fire occurred in NC on October 30, 2011 with a Volt stored in a the garage.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/11/chevy-volt-catches-fire-after-crash-test-investigation-under-way/

From the NHTSA’s final report:
“Also, the NHTSA investigated two non-crash fire incidents involving Chevrolet Volts. In both cases the vehicles were parked in home garages, and in both cases it was determined that the initial fire did not originate in the Chevrolet Volt."

[protomech]

Two relatively recent updates on the topic of EV fires:

Camry runs stop sign, absolutely destroys parked Volt. Camry catches on fire, Volt totaled but no fire.
http://thelcn.com/2012/05/23/driver-plows-into-two-cars-in-geneseo-driveway/

Driver and two passengers in a BYD e6 electric taxi killed following a collision with an intoxicated driver piloting a Nissan GT-R at a purported 180+ km/h (112 mph). The e6 caught fire following the collision; it's unclear whether the e6 deaths were due to the collision or the fire, but the pictures of the BYD and the GT-R don't indicate extreme collision forces.
http://chinaautoweb.com/2012/05/three-byd-e6-passengers-killed-in-fiery-crash-spurring-ev-safety-concern/

[CliC]

I think this is an education and awareness issue more than anything. People know that when they smell gasoline leaking out of their cars, that there is some fire risk. I don't think the same thought immediately occurs to most people when it comes to EVs with physically damaged batteries.

I read that the National Fire Protection Agency in the US is offering classes for first responders on how to deal with EV issues in auto accidents (high voltage, fire risk). Other organizations may be doing the same.

[Richard230]

Speaking of Volts and Leafs, the manufacturers must have caught up with demand. Both cars are being heavily advertised on Bay Area TV news programs this week.

[860]

I think this is an education and awareness issue more than anything. People know that when they smell gasoline leaking out of their cars, that there is some fire risk. I don't think the same thought immediately occurs to most people when it comes to EVs with physically damaged batteries.

I read that the National Fire Protection Agency in the US is offering classes for first responders on how to deal with EV issues in auto accidents (high voltage, fire risk). Other organizations may be doing the same.

Yes, first responders have been getting special training on how to handle electric drivetrain components for well over a decade now ever since Toyota and Honda released their hybrids.  They get this training right along their training for how to handle fires at industrial plants, overturned gasoline and hazardous waste train cars, and nuclear waste truck transport collisions. 

There are now millions of hybrids around the world getting in wrecks all the time and first responders have become experts at handling them.  With all the rest of the crazy crap they have to deal with, car batteries are the least of their problems.