EV Battery Fires Not Really A Thing

[LovemyBolt]

Just an FYI... there are Bolt fires occurring one official report was Aug 5th, 2023...
Full disclosure... it was a 2021 Bolt and the leasee couldn't get the battery replacement due to the shortage and they did not get the free software installed to limit max charge to 90%

There are also an unsubstantiated claims of a 2023 Bolt caught fire in Oct 2023.

Ah, yes, you're right, I remember that latter story (seeing it again). I frequent that forum. I decided it wasn't of interest due to not looking like a battery fire and so forgot about it.
The former one, now I've been reminded to look at the reference thread there. I see. It would have been nice to have a definitive update on that one.
Maybe I should change my statement to no post - any-battery-related-recall battery fires.
Thanks for the correction.

[DANSPEED]

What cover-up? We can all be darn sure that we'll hear about every little fire involving an EV. It must be a large-scale cover-up to not hear about every ICEV fire then. Because they are far more frequent and we rarely hear about them.
And there have been many more ICEV's recalled for fire risk than what has been recalled for EV's.
I have not heard of a Bolt fire since the fall of 2021. That's over two years now. They're still selling. I see lots on the road.

Just an FYI... there are Bolt fires occurring one official report was Aug 5th, 2023...
Full disclosure... it was a 2021 Bolt and the leasee couldn't get the battery replacement due to the shortage and they did not get the free software installed to limit max charge to 90%




There are also an unsubstantiated claims of a 2023 Bolt caught fire in Oct 2023.
https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/2023- ... elp.52406/
Capture.JPG

Reading that thread it doesn't sound like a battery fire, comments started questioning OP's claim and OP only had three posts.

[spooker]

Reading that thread it doesn't sound like a battery fire, comments started questioning OP's claim and OP only had three posts.

As we see time and again, anything EV related gets the usual treatment by some of trying to scare with singletons ...

[hozzle]

Just an FYI... there are Bolt fires occurring one official report was Aug 5th, 2023...
Full disclosure... it was a 2021 Bolt and the leasee couldn't get the battery replacement due to the shortage and they did not get the free software installed to limit max charge to 90%




There are also an unsubstantiated claims of a 2023 Bolt caught fire in Oct 2023.
https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/2023- ... elp.52406/
Capture.JPG

Reading that thread it doesn't sound like a battery fire, comments started questioning OP's claim and OP only had three posts.

Are you referring to the second link? did I say it was a battery fire? why mention it if I didn't state it? I included links to my post for the very reason folks on this forum "shoot the messenger" more often than not.

[DANSPEED]

Reading that thread it doesn't sound like a battery fire, comments started questioning OP's claim and OP only had three posts.

As we see time and again, anything EV related gets the usual treatment by some of trying to scare with singletons ...

Still doesn't change my mind about lithium batteries. Solid-state batteries look promising and expected to be essentially fireproof.

[hozzle]

EV Battery Fires Not Really A Thing?... maybe ask a firefighter that question?

[spooker]

EV Battery Fires Not Really A Thing?... maybe ask a firefighter that question?

That news report got your attention ... they're good at their job, another penny for YouTube and the station ...

Cynicism aside though, thanks to the internet we know about every fire that has happened anywhere ... do we realize how that skews our perception of frequency and impact? Which is part of the reason that articles like what this thread started with is important to be able to put the incidents in a numerical context ...

[hozzle]

EV Battery Fires Not Really A Thing?... maybe ask a firefighter that question?

That news report got your attention ... they're good at their job, another penny for YouTube and the station ...

Cynicism aside though, thanks to the internet we know about every fire that has happened anywhere ... do we realize how that skews our perception of frequency and impact? Which is part of the reason that articles like what this thread started with is important to be able to put the incidents in a numerical context ...

Interesting points, but tell me how they are skewing perception how did they skew the numbers to alter impact... wasn't the bulk of the report about the level of preparedness of fighting these fires when they occur... cause semantics can be obfuscated, but the fact remains that EV Battery Fires ARE a real thing... correct?

[spooker]

Interesting points, but tell me how they are skewing perception how did they skew the numbers to alter impact... wasn't the bulk of the report about the level of preparedness of fighting these fires when they occur... cause semantics can be obfuscated, but the fact remains that EV Battery Fires ARE a real thing... correct?

In the original article it stated that ICE fires occur 1,530 per every 100,000 sold. On the other hand, pure electric vehicles (meaning those powered only by batteries) were involved in just 25 fires per 100,000 sold.

Big difference between 1530 and 25 ...

The title of this thread was to poke at the idea that so many EVs are catching on fire that it needs to be foremost on our minds ... similar to how people like to claim people don't ride bikes because of all the bike theft everywhere means it will never be safe ...

Our child was not allowed out in the fenced-in yard by my spouse because of all of the stories of children being stolen ... but that wasn't that children were being stolen locally it was because we hear about kids getting kidnapped everywhere so our perception is that it's happening all the time while in our locality the chance is very rare ...

And again, one of the points made in the original article is that while fires of Li batteries are different, with the correct training they don't have to be huge conflagrations that one would expect to take out a city block if started in a parking garage ...

[hozzle]

Interesting points, but tell me how they are skewing perception how did they skew the numbers to alter impact... wasn't the bulk of the report about the level of preparedness of fighting these fires when they occur... cause semantics can be obfuscated, but the fact remains that EV Battery Fires ARE a real thing... correct?

[...]
And again, one of the points made in the original article is that while fires of Li batteries are different, with the correct training they don't have to be huge conflagrations that one would expect to take out a city block if started in a parking garage ...

And again.. the thread title is " EV Battery Fires Not Really A Thing"

[DANSPEED]

Even companies like Toyota are concerned about the safety of lithium-ion batteries....

Toyota, Solid State Batteries

Solid-state batteries are set to become a real alternative to lithium-ion batteries, and we’re focused on using a sulfur-based electrolyte in our prototypes as it provides a more efficient power transfer. They would lower the risk of fires, and multiply energy density, which measures the energy a battery can deliver compared to its weight. Next-generation batteries, such as solid-state and metal-air batteries, are safer and demonstrate higher performance than lithium-ion batteries.

"Lower the risk of fires" and "safer" than lithium-ion batteries. Toyota said it, not me!

EV technology is relatively new so if just one EV catches fire for every 4000 sold it's going to be headline news. If the term "lithium-ion battery" becomes synonymous with fires and EV sales drop, I'm pretty certain EV manufacturers will attempt to distance themselves from it by updating the manufacturing process or adopting a safer battery technology like the one mentioned above thus restoring consumer confidence in EVs.

[LovemyBolt]

+
EV technology is relatively new so if just one EV catches fire for every 4000 sold it's going to be headline news.

Yet here we have one ICEV catches fire for every 65 sold (far from 4000) gets completely ignored for the headlines and the naysayers think the sky is falling. Go figure.

[DANSPEED]

+
EV technology is relatively new so if just one EV catches fire for every 4000 sold it's going to be headline news.

Yet here we have one ICEV catches fire for every 65 sold (far from 4000) gets completely ignored for the headlines and the naysayers think the sky is falling. Go figure.

But ICEV fires are preventable. The same can't be said for today's EV fires and current lithium-ion battery technology. Just wait until EV owners start sourcing cheaper aftermarket replacement batteries out of warranty to save a buck, talk about adding fuel to the fire (pun intended).

[LovemyBolt]

But ICEV fires are preventable.

Preventable?! Lol

[DANSPEED]

But ICEV fires are preventable.

Preventable?! Lol

What causes an ICEV fire? A fuel leak duh! ... What causes thermal runaway? Who knows! Is it preventable? No! I'll keep driving my ICEV until EV manufacturers reassure consumers that EV fires are a thing of the past.