Looks like some more Volt battery fires.

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.

 

GM may redesign Chevy Volt battery

http://insider.thomsonreuters.com/link.html?cn=share&cid=311268&shareToken=MzowZThkMGQ1OC00ZjhkLTQ5NWUtYWU1OC03YTk1YTNjNDNiMDc%3D

 

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.

 

As I read more and more, I really can't see an immediate problem except after a crash. We maybe overreacting with loaner cars and buying backs. Given the right lease price, I would still get one today!

Amid fire scare, GM willing to buy back Volts - Business - Autos - msnbc.com

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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?

 

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.

 

I'll gladly take anyone's Volt off their hands for $10k if they're that worried about them

 

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

I'm sure you meant Leaf instead of Volt

 

GM announced today they will bay back any Volt in which the owner od fearful of fire.

 

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.

 

Me thinks a new battery will be made and exchanged in all volts. A recall is coming ,ouch that will cost a few doneros $$

 

Maybe they need to outsource a new pack to Tesla.

 

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

 

If so, yowza.

That wouldn't be a first for GM. Some GM BAS (mild) hybrids (using NiMH batteries) were subject to two recalls: http://priuschat.com/forums/gm-hybrids/84014-yet-another-gm-mild-hybrid-recall-malibu-aura-vue.html.

 

Interesting.