Looks like some more Volt battery fires.

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-ev-alt-fuel-news/99997-chevy-volt-catches-fire.html

We've all moved on . . . . two weeks ago, on that thread.

 

Well, NHTSA Triggers “Thermal Events” In Volt Batteries, Opens Formal Investigation | The Truth About Cars points to a press release issued by NHTSA today, 11/25/11.

 

This is not going to be good for any battery-powered vehicle, PIP, Leaf, Volt or others. The media will scare people. Not an expert, but gasoline is probably worst since it bursts into flames right away.

 

Well I suppose in a way it's a good thing they figure out this minor inconvenience now, rather than recall the entire fleet...... wait, they will have to do that anyway! Well at least they are catching fire so we can see there is really a problem!

 

How soon is "afterward"? We know it is less than a week.

 

^^^ From Statement of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration On Formal Safety Defect Investigation of Post-Crash Fire Risk in Chevy Volts | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

 

Battery placement & shape will likely come into play when designing with the highest possible safety considerations... and could become a big topic of debate.

One thing that PIP offers which Volt cannot is ease of removal. With the pack just a large object in the hatch area, lifting it out using an everyday engine-lift should be no big deal. All shops are already equipped for that. Removable of a T-shaped pack from underneath the vehicle, that's an entirely different matter.
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This is an additional incident that duplicates an earlier fire about 6 months ago.

'Rotate?" I wonder what that means .... I suppose it means they tip the battery on it's side .. like during a rollover?

 

yep...

"In each of the battery tests conducted in the past two weeks, the Volt's battery was impacted and rotated to simulate a real-world, side-impact collision into a narrow object such as a tree or a pole followed by a rollover..."

from the cwerdna-posted article above.

 

Source

 

But it is in a more vulnerable location to begin with. To kick the hornet's nest, it's like looking at the gas tank placement between the Pinto and Fit.

What also needs to be taking into account is the likely hood of these conditions happening in the real world. How often will a Volt tilt, with its heavy, low, centrally battery, enough for any spilled coolant to get in the battery. It appears to have taken some effort to figure out, and recreate the problem. Not calling this an non issue, and it needs to be address, but compared to all the other risks involved when driving, is this a problem that should keep owners and emergency personal up at night?

 

Location alone isn't the only consideration though. The PIP pack could be more robust, the shape certainly lends itself to be. The PIP pack is dry and uses subpacks instead.

How will the insurance companies look at the accident claim appraisal? I'd see PIP pack replacement far more likely due to lower cost & labor.
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Gas tanks can explode on impact. That is a serious danger. These battery fires have occurred long after impact -- NOT a serious danger.

IMO, the danger we face is electrocution if our vehicles are ever submerged. Not from driving into a lake, but in a case of flooding that covers the vehicle in three feet of water, we face a real electrocution hazard. My grandmother once drove her car into a flooded intersection that was four feet deep. She thought it was only a puddle. She swam away. In a Prius, she may have been killed.

 

The Prius HV battery is protected by ground fault. In the case of a flood the ground fault protection should protect the passengers.

 

That has already (unintentionally) been proven. Everyone was fine, though quite wet.
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Fighting gravity by lifting something out is not necessarily easier than dropping it out from under the car. The real advantage when removing the PiP battery is simply due to its being smaller. A regular Prius battery is even easier to remove...

 

Thanks For The Post.
Looks like I may postpone my Volt Test Drive until this issue is resolved one way or another.
Lucky for me this purchase of a new Toy is not urgent for me.
Both of our Cars are running just fine.

 

Three Chevy Volts burst into flames burning down garages, Toyota PIP safe?

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/new...evy-volt-fire-prone-feds-open-an-inquiry.html


Connecticut garage fire
Photo: WTNH-TV
Months after a Chevy Volt burst into flames following a crash at a federal test site, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening a formal safety defect investigation that could result in recalls and design changes in future models.

NHTSA issued an unusually lengthy, even apologetic, statement saying electric vehicles have "incredible potential" to reduce gasoline consumption but said it was necessary to determine whether the batteries in electric cars are safe.

"Chevy Volt owners whose vehicles have not been in a serious crash do not have reason for concern," NHTSA said, a statement that could apply to just about any vehicle.

In May, a Volt that had been subjected to crash tests at a NHTSA test site burst into flames three weeks later while it was stored in a garage. Just a few days ago, a battery that had been damaged in another test two weeks earlier burst into flames.

NHTSA says it knows of no highway accidents that caused Volts to catch fire, but there have been two reports of Volt fires involving Volts parked in garages:

In April Autoblog reported that two plug-in vehicles were destroyed in a fire in a home in Barkhamsted, Conn., April 14. The cars were a brand-new 2011 Chevrolet Volt with just 2,000 miles on the odometer and a converted all-electric Suzuki Samurai that the homeowner, Storm Connors, had converted himself years ago.
In October, fire broke out at a home near Mooresville, N.C., causing an estimated $800,000 of damage to both the home and the garage where the 2011 Chevrolet Volt was parked. Investigators said it appeared the fire did not start in the Volt.
General Motors, meanwhile, says it is working with NHTSA and monitoring not only the situation but also all of the Volts that are on the road. GM said that with its OnStar safety communications system, it "knows real time about any crash significant enough to potentially compromise battery integrity."

"Since July, GM has implemented a post-crash protocol that includes the depowering of the battery after a severe crash, returning the battery to a safe and low-powered state," the automaker said in a statement.

Electric cars are an essential element in President Obama's goal of putting 1 million EVs on the road by 2015, and the Energy Department has provided about $2.5 billion in funding to battery companies, automakers and related firms, a circumstance that perhaps contributes to NHTSA's unusual circumspect language in announcing the investigation.

What to do
NHTSA says its current guidance for responding to electric vehicles that have been in a crash remains the same. It urges consumers, emergency responders, and the operators of tow trucks and storage facilities to take the following precautions in the event of a crash involving any electric vehicle:

Consumers are advised to take the same actions they would in a crash involving a gasoline-powered vehicle — exit the vehicle safely or await the assistance of an emergency responder if they are unable to get out on their own, move a safe distance away from the vehicle, and notify the authorities of the crash.
Emergency responders should check a vehicle for markings or other indications that it is electric-powered. If it is, they should exercise caution, per published guidelines, to avoid any possible electrical shock and should disconnect the battery from the vehicle circuits if possible.
Emergency responders should also use copious amounts of water if fire is present or suspected and, keeping in mind that fire can occur for a considerable period after a crash, should proceed accordingly.
Operators of tow trucks and vehicle storage facilities should ensure the damaged vehicle is kept in an open area instead of inside a garage or other enclosed building.
Rather than attempt to discharge a propulsion battery, an emergency responder, tow truck operator, or storage facility manager should contact experts at the vehicle's manufacturer on that subject.
Vehicle owners should not store a severely damaged vehicle in a garage or near other vehicles.
Initial spark
The enveloping controversy grows out of last May's incident in which NHTSA crashed a Chevy Volt in a test designed to measure the vehicle's ability to protect occupants from injury in a side collision.

During that test, the car's battery was damaged and the coolant line was ruptured. When a fire involving the test vehicle occurred more than three weeks after it was crashed, the agency concluded that the damage to the vehicle's lithium-ion battery during the crash test led to the fire.

The agency called in experts from General Motors, battery maker LG, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to conduct further tests.

NHTSA said that in an effort to recreate the May test, it conducted three tests on the Volt's lithium-ion battery packs that intentionally damaged the battery compartment and ruptured the vehicle's coolant line. In each test, the Volt's battery was impacted and rotated to simulate a real-world, side-impact collision into a narrow object such as a tree or a pole followed by a rollover.

Following a test on November 16 that did not result in a fire, a "temporary increase in temperature" was recorded in a test on November 17, NHTSA said. During the test conducted on November 18, the battery pack was rotated within hours after it was impacted and began to smoke and emit sparks.

Last week, the battery pack that was tested on November 17 and that had been continually monitored since the test caught fire at the testing facility -- two weeks after it had been damaged.

NHTSA said it is "concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire."

 

Like the "Runaway Toyotas", the news can make a national panic by repeating a story like this with a slant which may not prove to be correct. ICE cars burst into flames many times every day but this does not make the news because it is so common as are the 30,000 or more fatalities on the road every year.

Americans do not have a sense of proportion of these things so we get manipulated.

It is proper that this is being investigated. We will learn the results.