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And it probably happens a lot. But since it's not a Tesla or owned by Dick van Dyke, it's not considered news.
How do you know that the average of ICE cars on the road that catch on fire isn't 2 weeks old? If you have statistics to say otherwise, please back that up. Otherwise it's meaningless to compare car age.
Well, to start off, the Model S definitely isn't the worst when it comes to fires. For instance, the Renault Kangoos with NiCad batteries have regularly been going up in flames for years. Probably something like 80% of the BEV fires here in Norway have been the Kangoos.What makes Tesla's more fire prone than other EVs on the market?
Why don't other EVs have these fire problems?
The number one selling BEV is the Nissan LEAF with nearly twice as many cars sold than the Model S (228,000 vs 129,000 as of June 2016). The LEAF has its battery pack under the car but has been involved in almost no fires.Now, when it comes to modern li-ion BEVs, the Model S ranks pretty high on the number of fires. There are three important reasons for this. One, the Model S is the second most sold BEV in the world. With more cars on the road, there will be more fires. Two, Tesla has placed the battery at the bottom of the car, for best utilization of the space, and a low center of gravity. The BMW i3 is the only other BEV with this today. With a more exposed pack, damage is more likely
What makes Tesla's more fire prone than other EVs on the market?
Why don't other EVs have these fire problems?
I know of the Toronto story because a troll on CBC posted it as "proof" that Teslas spontaneously catch on fire. Nowhere did it say that the Tesla was the cause of the fire.There was also a fire in a garage in Toronto Canada, I never did hear any form of conclusion on it. At the time there was a lot of speculation that it might not have even been Tesla related despite all the media. (it was a RWD vehicle, and all the damage was right up near the front end, and the ?lexus? parked beside it looked to have at least as much (or more) damage.
Basically though, Tesla fires get media attention because it's new and exciting. People are afraid of "different" and will always blow the risks way out of proportion. This isn't even a case of vehicle specific risk either. More people die in swimming pools than of shark attacks, but many people are more worried about the later than the former. We could also talk about the whole "terrorism" thing and how many people have died that way vs any number of other causes of death (and the resultant allocation of government resources)
As for vehicle fires themselves and ICE vs EV. We do know that fire risk goes up with age and with lack of maintenance, we also know the current numbers are something like 5 times less likely in an EV. When you combine the two, I bet you'd find that over the long run the EVs end up only 2-3 times less likely to burn than an ICE vehicle. but those are still odds I'll happily be on the right side of.
That said, it's inevitable. Moving a large heavy vehicle long distances takes a lot of energy, being able to accelerate in a reasonable amount of time, or charge in a reasonable amount of time, both require the ability to transfer large amounts of energy quickly, There is no possible way to have those abilities without some risk. (Despite various press releases to the contrary)
Just be glad we're not talking HFCV... just wait until one of those levels a city block, then we can talk about how safe various technologies are.
The average car on the road is 11 years old.
This car wasn't even sold - it was being test driven.
If you honestly believe that is a valid comparison and you believe that there is no correlation between the age of a car and the reliability of a car, then I have no more responses for you.
Who says they don't?
Search Nissan Leaf fire and there are a bunch.
Simply, Tesla news is big news. Other cars, not so much.
I suspect there are plenty of Leaf fires that have happened, they just don't go reported. So far I am certain that every single Tesla fire had made headlines, but not so for other EVs. If I remember correctly two were from high speed accidents (a Leaf seems less likely to be involved in such crashes given the lack of sportiness).The number one selling BEV is the Nissan LEAF with nearly twice as many cars sold than the Model S (228,000 vs 129,000 as of June 2016). The LEAF has its battery pack under the car but has been involved in almost no fires.
Yes, the LEAF rides a little higher and drivers are apt to go slower.I suspect there are plenty of Leaf fires that have happened, they just don't go reported.
How is that relevant?Tesla's battery is not only under the car, but also swappable
how do you know that the fires are caused by the HV battery? Could have started from the lv battery systems. Most of the MS fires that we have seen have started from the HV battery pack.Yes, the LEAF rides a little higher and drivers are apt to go slower.
As of this November, 2015 article there was apparently only one suspicious Nissan LEAF fire widely known (the one in Texas that @techmaven embedded above):
Nissan Leaf car fires
How is that relevant?
I'm not claiming that Tesla cars are an unusual fire hazard. I haven't seen evidence for that.
I know of the Toronto story because a troll on CBC posted it as "proof" that Teslas spontaneously catch on fire. Nowhere did it say that the Tesla was the cause of the fire.
I didn't even know that fire happened that the one was not reported on national news as far as I can tell.Yes, the LEAF rides a little higher and drivers are apt to go slower.
As of this November, 2015 article there was apparently only one suspicious Nissan LEAF fire widely known (the one in Texas that @techmaven embedded above):
Nissan Leaf car fires
The swappable point is a proxy to saying that the pack must be exposed to the outside and can't be behind a structural member or some other external sheet metal covering it up. That makes far more likely to be the point of first contact during a debris hit.How is that relevant?
I'm not claiming that Tesla cars are an unusual fire hazard. I haven't seen evidence for that.
I couldn't find one Nissan Leaf that burned during a test drive. Can you please post the link? If this is such a common issue, it should be easy to find.
I couldn't find any Chevy Volt fires, other than the one used in crash testing. You would think an ICE + EV would be even more likely to have fires, but so far the Volt seems to be less fire prone than the Model-S despite having sold more than the Model S.
Like "during a test drive" is relevant? Did you check for Nissan Leafs that caught fire on a Monday? Or on the same stretch of road? These incidence are all very rare, I think we're up to a total of 2 Tesla's that have unexplained spontaneous fire issues--the one in Norway was it, and this most recent one. 3 others all involved collisions and 2 of those were to the underbody by road debris and a fix was found in a few weeks and there have been no recurrences.I couldn't find one Nissan Leaf that burned during a test drive. Can you please post the link? If this is such a common issue, it should be easy to find.
I couldn't find any Chevy Volt fires, other than the one used in crash testing. You would think an ICE + EV would be even more likely to have fires, but so far the Volt seems to be less fire prone than the Model-S despite having sold more than the Model S.