Looks like some more Volt battery fires.

Discussion in 'Chevrolet Volt' started by Roadburner440, Nov 25, 2011.

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  1. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    You know, I've been driving my pinto since the 70s. I'm not sure if I don't worry enough, or some other folks worry too much. I am sure that I'm not the worrying type when it comes to one in a million scenarios.

    I don't know much about R/C—some of these airplanes cost many thousands of dollars and don't seem very toylike to me—but I believe if the batteries are not charged correctly, or if they suffer even a small bit of damage in a crash of some sort, they can ignite at some later point in time. These batteries have significant capacity of many amps, so I'm told. But what their composition is, I don't know.
     
    #41 Pinto Girl, Nov 30, 2011
  2. Roadburner440

    Roadburner440 Member

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    Well for R/C's there are 2 main types of Li-Poly batteries. You have the soft packs which are lighter, but not crash resistant at all. Then you have the hard cases which are supposidly "crash resistant," but I would not use them again after a crash.

    Reason being is my original Traxxas Slash 4X4 I decided to modify it to get maximum potential out of it. So I put in the higher gearing, used a Li-Poly battery (5000mah) soft pack, and put cooling fans in it to keep the temps down. Well one day unfortunately the truck accidentally veered in to a pole, and was destroyed. The battery was smoking, but fortunately did not catch fire. It certaintly did puff up though, and I thought the worst. Either way now I have gone back to using the NiMh batteries for general beating on it, and the Li-Poly on open pavement for top speed runs and such. I do not consider those R/C vehicles, or even my helicopter a toy. Certaintly very expensive, and in many ways will kill you if you are not careful. Especially the helicopter.
     
    #42 Roadburner440, Nov 30, 2011
  3. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    #43 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  4. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    I think you missed the smiley and the vice grips. You can make just about any car burn. The volt at NHTSA seemed to be put through a very unlikely scenario. GM does need to get power draining procedure out there (not just on-star will dispatch a team), but I haven't seen anything to make the cars look unsafe.

    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0db644
    You can read about some prii fires, but again, I feel my car is safe. Lets not let this get blown out of proportion. Cars are dangerous. A damaged battery can burn, gas can burn, etc.
     
    #44 austingreen, Dec 1, 2011
  5. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    #45 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  6. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    If they redesign the battery, who is going to keep the current Volt with the old design? They are offering to buy it back.

    That's over 6,000 Volts to buy back, about $300 million. I wonder if they can just replace the battery.
     
    #46 usbseawolf2000, Dec 1, 2011
  7. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Since there is no immediate risk, the best thing for them to do IMO, is to promise a brand new battery replacement free of charge later when the new battery is ready.
     
    #47 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    If they are redesigning, there must be a defect - meaning a recall is coming which will be free. You can take advantage of the opportunity if you find great deals. However, you don't know the reliability and safety of the other parts.

    Battery coolant is easy to leak due to how the radiator was designed. There has been a transmission failure that I know of and there could be more. There has been many firmware updates so expect to be in and out of the shop often.
     
    #48 usbseawolf2000, Dec 1, 2011
  9. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    The Volt was just introduced in markets outside the US and reports state that they are going to stop sales in Europe of Opel Ampera.

    It would take a long time to design and test a new battery. In the meantime, what would happen to the car?
     
    #49 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  10. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Or do you think that GM would be better off with a Tesla battery pack?

    I did not know about this. Most Volt owners say that they had absolutely no problems since they bought the car.
     
    #50 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  11. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    I'll gladly take anyone's Volt off their hands for $10k if they're that worried about them :)
     
    #51 wick1ert, Dec 1, 2011
  12. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    I thought a Volt also had a highly volatile liquid on board too :confused:

    I'm sure you meant Leaf instead of Volt :)
     
    #52 wick1ert, Dec 1, 2011
  13. Felt

    Felt Senior Member

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    GM announced today they will bay back any Volt in which the owner od fearful of fire.
     
    #53 Felt, Dec 1, 2011
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Ouch. Yeah, the Autoblog article cited earlier said:
    Regarding battery coolant leaks due to the radiator, there was this thread: $4100 repair over a road pebble. I haven't been following the thread but that guy got lucky and GM decided to let it be covered under warranty.
     
    #54 cwerdna, Dec 1, 2011
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  15. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    Me thinks a new battery will be made and exchanged in all volts. A recall is coming ,ouch that will cost a few doneros $$
     
    #55 oldasdust, Dec 1, 2011
  16. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Maybe they need to outsource a new pack to Tesla.
     
    #56 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  17. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Another Chevy Volt fire risk? Power cords may ignite
    By Justin Hyde and G.E. Anderson | Yahoo! Autos – 18 minutes ago
    Another Chevy Volt fire risk? Power cords may ignite - Yahoo! Autos
     
    #57 Sergiospl, Dec 1, 2011
  18. Roadburner440

    Roadburner440 Member

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    I will continue driving mine.. That is what will be happening with #2395 in the mean time. What other people do with theirs is up to them. As far as the car itself goes I do not think it will be the end of EV's, but may be the end of the Volt as we know it.
     
    #58 Roadburner440, Dec 1, 2011
  19. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #59 cwerdna, Dec 1, 2011
  20. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Interesting.

    [​IMG]
     
    #60 usbseawolf2000, Dec 1, 2011
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