Battery Fire Discussion

[SMAlset]

Saw this report on NBC Bay Area tonight. MS towed into a repair shop for a tire repair and it was hissing, shortly after caught fire. Fire department puts out, and several hours later after being towed to a storage lot catches fire again. While the article says it wasn’t involved in an accident I have to wonder with a flat tire if the car didn’t run over something and puncture the battery pack. Would it be possible for an incorrect tow to have damaged the pack? Video of the car in flames twice. New car 3 months old, 1200 miles. Feel bad for the owner.

Tesla Car Catches Fire in Los Gatos, Reignites Hours Later

 

[stevemc]

A Model S caught fire after a flat tire twice after waiting 6 hours for the battery to cool down!

Tesla that caught fire in Los Gatos reignites at auto shop in Campbell

 

[shiftkenny]

I wonder what would cause the fire to begin with

 

[Mark_T]

As usual there is a lot more still to come on this 'report' ...

Clearly it wasn't caused by a flat tire, but perhaps whatever damaged the tire also damaged the battery...

Either way this is less than half a story so far.

 

[David_Cary]

Sounds like he hit something - caused the tire damage and something else.
Interesting that the owner will not buy a Tesla again - "what if it was in my garage?". Well - maybe he should wait until all the facts are in. Mostly we don't see "sudden drop" in tire pressure in the garage...

 

[MiamiDubai]

From the article
“"If this had been in the house, and we were on vacation, and this thing caught fire in the garage, the whole house could go under," he said.”

He acts like the car spontaneously caught on fire. Like another poster said, whatever punctured the tire most likely punctured the battery which lead to the fire.

Wonder if it was towed correctly? There are multiple reasons why it caught on fire.

 

[crunchtime2k]

Toasty... wonder it it was road debris or improper lifting at the shop

 

[Ande]

not buy a Tesla again - "what if it was in my garage?"

Good luck buying a car brand that never caught fire in a garage, maybe something really odd may fill that requirement.

 

[Ken7]

This was the lead story? Slow news day in the area?

 

[morrisdl]

I bet they jacked up the car under the battery pack and shorted out the pack. Its going to spark FUD about tesla fire hazards, but just as no one would jack a ICE car up by the gas tank, they should reasonably know not to jack up an E/V by the battery.

 

[A-Wimoweh]

Might be a problem of lack of education? How many fires happened at gas stations, until it became widely known/accepted that you don't smoke while gassing up your car?

 

[scole04]

Input: flat tire. Response: Huge fire. Probability this is the whole story: 0.001%

 

[TSLA Pilot]

I bet they jacked up the car under the battery pack and shorted out the pack. Its going to spark FUD about tesla fire hazards, but just as no one would jack a ICE car up by the gas tank, they should reasonably know not to jack up an E/V by the battery.

Yes, I think you've got it as to the repeated fire.

Take a look at the video at about 1:30 and on: I am floored that a supposedly "trained" fire department went ahead and supported the car by apparently dropping it on its already compromised battery, at a hard angle, on sharp blocks of wood.

Really?

Looks like Tesla needs to reach out to more Fire Departments, more often, as they just don't quite get it yet . . . the battery is NOT to be used to support the car, especially when it's already been compromised.

Jeesh.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Input: flat tire. Response: Huge fire. Probability this is the whole story: 0.001%

Oddly, none of the other car fires that day seemed to gather this much media attention.

This may be an opportunity to stock up on TSLA shares if it affects the stock price today

 

[David.85D]

Oddly, none of the other car fires that day seemed to gather this much media attention.

Indeed, about 500/day in the US on average.

Oddly, none of the other car fires that day seemed to gather this much media attention.

500 car fires per day on average in the US. If Tesla’s caught fire proportional to the ICE rate and their sales, we should expect 4 Tesla fires every day....

All cars: 175,000 fires per year, 6,000,000 sold per year.

Tesla (2017 number): 50,000 sold per year

 

[Az_Rael]

I know as EV enthusiasts, we get worked up when it is implied that EVs catch fire more than gas cars. I don’t think that is true at all, however, this case does demonstrate how different an EV battery fire can be from a gasoline car fire. The fact that the car re-ignited 6 hours later isn’t something you really see once a gas car has been put out. The Mountain View X did the same thing - reignited several hours later in the salvage yard. And that was after Tesla sent engineers to safe the battery while the car was on the side of the road.

Fire departments big and small will have to learn new procedures related to battery fires as EVs become common in places they were rare before. In the Indianapolis fatality crash, the fire department delayed extracting the occupants due to their lack of knowledge about battery fires. Unfortunately, since Tesla is on the forefront of the mass adoption EV wave, they are going to see the brunt of this news coverage when the cars catch fire.

 

[Russell]

My first guess the damage to the battery pack was caused by the tow truck driver because the fire started outside the shop after the car was dropped off.

"The owner and an employee of the tire shop said the vehicle was brought in on a tow truck. They noticed a hissing sound coming from it before the vehicle ignited moments later."


Although whatever caused the flat tire could have damaged the battery pack, but wouldn't that have caused the fire to start sooner?
The owner had to wait a while for the tow truck driver to arrive then tow him to the tire shop.

 

[BulldogsRus]

Toasty... wonder it it was road debris or improper lifting at the shop

But think about that for a minute, the battery pack lines the bottom of the vehicle (although protected), which makes it somewhat more vulnerable than a gas tank. In theory you could puncture it without realizing it and

I bet they jacked up the car under the battery pack and shorted out the pack. Its going to spark FUD about tesla fire hazards, but just as no one would jack a ICE car up by the gas tank, they should reasonably know not to jack up an E/V by the battery.

Honestly, how would most towing companies or fire departments KNOW where the jack points are on an EV? The battery literally is flush with the bottom of the vehicle, unlike a gas tank. And it's possible that the black markers were no longer visible from the fire. As it is, the jack points are literally inches away from the battery pack:

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Good luck buying a car brand that never caught fire in a garage, maybe something really odd may fill that requirement.

the Flint Stones had something like that I think...

 

[kavyboy]

I bet they jacked up the car under the battery pack and shorted out the pack. Its going to spark FUD about tesla fire hazards, but just as no one would jack a ICE car up by the gas tank, they should reasonably know not to jack up an E/V by the battery.

I think that @wk057 has stated before that the battery pack housing is pretty darned strong, and that improper jacking would not breach the actual pack. (I reference that guy so much he's going to think I'm stalking him.)