Model S spontaneously catches fire on California Highway

[Mark II]

Unless you are unconscious and/or trapped, you should have absolutely no issue whatsoever evacuating from a battery fire.

So as a counter, how many folks here have actually tried to use the emergency release on the back doors in a Refresh Model S? If you have never tried, sit in the back seat, start a timer, and see how long it takes you. Don't cheat by looking at the manual first, since we know most back seat passengers most likely have never read the manual, even most owners have not read and understood the section on the emergency release. Seriously, try it and report back. Be honest.

Even if you think you know, try it anyway. You will likely be surprised how long it takes. It took me about 10 minutes. I will let others explain why after they try.

 

[Unclepaul]

6,000 gallons of water costs less than $100 retail. For the fire dept, the cost is out of a hydrant, and less than a couple dollars for bulk purchase.

Reality is that all vehicles are subject to fires, and making a Tesla fire national news is mostly click bate or the News sensationalizing the happening.

Whether you have a large battery pack or 20 gallons of explosive gasoline, any vehicle fire can be deadly.

As a side note, Elon Musk asked for his recent trial to be moved from San Francisco to Texas because of the tremendous release of negative Tesla articles in the press and on line, just before his trial about taking Tesla private at $420 per share was commenced. He made the case that interested parties were attempting to poison the jury pool. Since his innocense was proclaimed by the Jury, all those negative media stories have ceased. He personally thanked the Jury for clearing him of those claims. Most of the jury felt that Elon was sincere in his beliefs that resulted in his statements of "funding secured".

 

[Awiner]

So as a counter, how many folks here have actually tried to use the emergency release on the back doors in a Refresh Model S? If you have never tried, sit in the back seat, start a timer, and see how long it takes you. Don't cheat by looking at the manual first, since we know most back seat passengers most likely have never read the manual, even most owners have not read and understood the section on the emergency release. Seriously, try it and report back. Be honest.

Even if you think you know, try it anyway. You will likely be surprised how long it takes. It took me about 10 minutes. I will let others explain why after they try.

Folding back the Carpet to access the emergency release for the rear is a bad design. It’s latent even if you know what to do. The rear doors should employ the sane system as the front doors.

 

[SO16]

Folding back the Carpet to access the emergency release for the rear is a bad design. It’s latent even if you know what to do. The rear doors should employ the sane system as the front doors.

It is. Sadly other car manufacturers do this too.

https://dashboardsymbols.com/video-help/getting-out/

And Tesla’s seems to be the least obvious, which is dumb.

The best thing is to have a glass breaker because if the doors are damaged bad enough, you couldn’t get out with any type of door release.

 

[dmurphy]

So as a counter, how many folks here have actually tried to use the emergency release on the back doors in a Refresh Model S? If you have never tried, sit in the back seat, start a timer, and see how long it takes you. Don't cheat by looking at the manual first, since we know most back seat passengers most likely have never read the manual, even most owners have not read and understood the section on the emergency release. Seriously, try it and report back. Be honest.

Even if you think you know, try it anyway. You will likely be surprised how long it takes. It took me about 10 minutes. I will let others explain why after they try.

Climb to the front, or the person in the front opens the door from the outside. Both are 10 seconds or less.

That said, I agree with above - best thing is to have a safety glass-breaking hammer in the rear of the car. Should come with the vehicle, to be honest.

 

[ucmndd]

JFC what a dramatic hit piece that news story was.

Scary experience to be sure. But “seconds to escape” before certain death? Come on. They managed to get 50 yards away from the car and have the wherewithal to pull out the phone and start filming before the significant burst of flame out the side of the car.

Also, the passenger compartment is remarkably intact and the pack seems to have worked as designed and vented the flames away from the cabin. TBH it looks like someone could have sat in the back of that car the entire time and been fine.

Like I said, scary and nobody should go through this. But to my eyes it looks like everything worked as intended in the worst case scenario.

 

[BitJam]

Folding back the Carpet to access the emergency release for the rear is a bad design. It’s latent even if you know what to do. The rear doors should employ the sane system as the front doors.

I disagree. Many automotive design choices have a cost and a benefit. Since EV fires are so rare, the benefit of the current design outweighs the cost IMO. Being unable to child proof the rear doors in a Tesla would be a much bigger safety risk.

In addition, an adult in the front can pull a child from the back into the front and out their door. I'm not saying having easy to open back doors is a total minus. I'm sure there are some cases where it would save lives but only by sacrificing many more lives during normal operation.

If children (and even dogs) can open the back door then many of them will end up out of the car and in the street while you're driving. This happened to my sister when we were young. Luckily she was unharmed but she could have easily been hit by a car or we could have been moving at high speed.

I keep the door and window child locks on when my dog is in the back. If I don't then he will open them. Protip: If I lock myself in when I'm working in the back seat because I forgot to disable the child locks then I reach forward to the driver's door and roll down the rear window and then reach out of the window to open the door.

 

[father_of_6]

Being unable to child proof the rear doors in a Tesla would be a much bigger safety risk.

Yeah, I agree with this. The idea of being trapped in the back during a fire appeals to our fears and emotions, but it's more likely that a child would open the door at speed.

 

[zoomer0056]

Yeah, I agree with this. The idea of being trapped in the back during a fire appeals to our fears and emotions, but it's more likely that a child would open the door at speed.

Don't Teslas have child lock control from the main screen?

 

[BitJam]

Don't Teslas have child lock control from the main screen?

Yes. But, of course, they won't lock the emergency door handles. This was my point. You can either have child locks or you can have easy to access emergency door handles. You can't have both.

 

[David.85D]

According to the article linked to by @ucmndd for every one EV fire there are 2000 ICE vehicle fires. This is partly due to there being many more ICE vehicles on the road. But still, 1.5% of ICE vehicles catch fire while only 0.025% of EVs catch file which gives a ratio of 60 to 1.

It is an impressive statistic, but you also have to consider the mean age and age distribution. The oldest Model S is 10 years old. The oldest ICE is 100+ years old.

 

[BitJam]

It is an impressive statistic, but you also have to consider the mean age and age distribution. The oldest Model S is 10 years old. The oldest ICE is 100+ years old.

The average age of cars on the road is 12 years. I doubt that ICE cars much older than this are so much more likely to catch fire as to move the overall average very much. The fact that 1.5% of ICE vehicles catch fire is staggering. If most of this is coming from, say, the oldest 10% then 10% or more of those cars are catching on fire.

 

[Awiner]

I disagree. Many automotive design choices have a cost and a benefit. Since EV fires are so rare, the benefit of the current design outweighs the cost IMO. Being unable to child proof the rear doors in a Tesla would be a much bigger safety risk.

In addition, an adult in the front can pull a child from the back into the front and out their door. I'm not saying having easy to open back doors is a total minus. I'm sure there are some cases where it would save lives but only by sacrificing many more lives during normal operation.

If children (and even dogs) can open the back door then many of them will end up out of the car and in the street while you're driving. This happened to my sister when we were young. Luckily she was unharmed but she could have easily been hit by a car or we could have been moving at high speed.

I keep the door and window child locks on when my dog is in the back. If I don't then he will open them. Protip: If I lock myself in when I'm working in the back seat because I forgot to disable the child locks then I reach forward to the driver's door and roll down the rear window and then reach out of the window to open the door.

Valid points that I didn’t consider. Thank You.

 

[Mark II]

I disagree. Many automotive design choices have a cost and a benefit. Since EV fires are so rare, the benefit of the current design outweighs the cost IMO. Being unable to child proof the rear doors in a Tesla would be a much bigger safety risk.

That is a good point. However I do think they could have made the perforated cutout in the carpet more obvious by putting a red edge around it. Considering some folks mention pulling the carpet back they may not even be aware there is a perforated section that allows the carpet to to be opened. How would passengers that don't know about Tesla's even consider pulling the carpet back? When I first tried to open the doors I was pulling the lever that loosens the car seat, and wondered why it did not work. I then consulted the manual and realized the correct latch was hidden away.

 

[BitJam]

That is a good point. However I do think they could have made the perforated cutout in the carpet more obvious by putting a red edge around it. Considering some folks mention pulling the carpet back they may not even be aware there is a perforated section that allows the carpet to to be opened. How would passengers that don't know about Tesla's even consider pulling the carpet back? When I first tried to open the doors I was pulling the lever that loosens the car seat, and wondered why it did not work. I then consulted the manual and realized the correct latch was hidden away.

Good points!

 

[cwerdna]

Video Shows Tesla Suddenly Catching Fire, Being Engulfed in Flame included a pointer to

https://twitter.com/x/status/1622344844999012353

.

 

[Gumball]

That definitly is a battery fire, I wonder if there was damage to the pack before this happened?

 

[zoomer0056]

Tesla ‘spontaneously’ catches fire on California highway

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KRON) – A Tesla was in flames after the car’s battery compartment “spontaneously” caught fire on Highway 50, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District sa…

ktla.com

There's no real information in OPs post. It's surface only, headline antics, no details.... no substance. Nothing to see here ... move along.

 

[Ridgeline]

So here's the thing, right?

Tesla battery packs don't just suddenly explode. It's not like gasoline vapor where there's a flashpoint and a sudden combustion. Lithium battery fires do burn hot and feed themselves, so they take substantial water to extinguish, but it takes minutes - not fractions of a second - for a fire to get going. Unless you are unconscious and/or trapped, you should have absolutely no issue whatsoever evacuating from a battery fire. So yes - it is great to see the cabin intact.

On a side note, what I see just from those 3 photos is a well-trained fire crew. They apparently knew exactly what to do for a Tesla fire:

1 - Ensure the passengers are out of the vehicle
2 - Cut the first responder loop under the hood
3 - Apply water DIRECTLY to the battery pack; lift the vehicle if possible. DO NOT vent the pack.
4 - Scan for hotspots using an IR camera - cool those with a steady stream of water.

Water - lots and lots of water - is the best firefighting agent for a lithium battery fire. Other agents such as foam etc tend to enscapulate the individual cells, retaining the heat and actually accelerating the thermal runaway.

Our local Tesla Owners Club' (Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club - Home) offers a Crash Course to our local first responders - we come in, provide a 2-hour classroom training and then take them hands-on to explore owners' vehicles. Truly a service I'm very proud to be part of.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not challenging any of what you said and I thank you for the advice in case of a Tesla fire. I remember in my 1963 high school chemistry class the teacher, Mr. White, in order to demonstrate the volatility of lithium, brought a thin strip of lithium (much smaller than a matchbook match). He put it in a small container (like the lid of a jar) of water. I think there was a second or so delay before It erupted into a very bright white flash of a flame about a foot high. Can anyone verify this phenomenon? perhaps it wasn't lithium maybe something else near lithium in the periodic chart.

 

[Awiner]

Don't misunderstand, I'm not challenging any of what you said and I thank you for the advice in case of a Tesla fire. I remember in my 1963 high school chemistry class the teacher, Mr. White, in order to demonstrate the volatility of lithium, brought a thin strip of lithium (much smaller than a matchbook match). He put it in a small container (like the lid of a jar) of water. I think there was a second or so delay before It erupted into a very bright white flash of a flame about a foot high. Can anyone verify this phenomenon? perhaps it wasn't lithium maybe something else near lithium in the periodic chart.

Likely was magnesium?