NHTSA crash tests results/videos

[lorih]

I'm pretty sure Tesla has done this inhouse: severly crashed a couple of Model S's (or at least the battery packs) and then just let them sit there for a while to see that there is not thermal runaway.

I agree, my point was that I have confidence in the safety, and that third party confirmation is not something to be afraid of.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Now I don't want the pano roof. :-(

The pano roof uses the same "Lamisafe" laminated safety glass as the front windshield. Notice how the front windshield just cracks under the pressure of the side pole impact. The pano roof would likely do the same. A small amount of glass might come down, but it won't explode like the side windows do as they are tempered glass.

 

[AMPd]

Amazing!
Can the MS get any better?

 

[brianman]

Amazing!
Can the MS get any better?

Elon (at Conf Call): Yes.

 

[Mayhemm]

With Elon saying at Teslive that the vehicle was designed for safety, I would have expected nothing less.

Always good to have official confirmation though.

 

[ElectricAvenue]

NHTSA Crash tests of the Model S are complete

The NHTSA crash tests of the Model S are now complete and online.
I don't know the official results but it looks like we are all pretty darn safe!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2FMfv-CSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNyjiFmjfxw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvH3lysmJA

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

I passed this up to John Voelker at Green Car Reports and he had somone write it up here -

Tesla Model S Gets Five Stars For Crash Safety From NHTSA

I'm about a month late on a story they asked me to write on another subject, so I figured I owed them, lol.

 

[mknox]

- the rear view mirror came flying out; it's quite a projectile, it'd appear.

I noticed that too, in two of the tests. It also appeared that the whole back seat assembly came flying forward in the frontal impact test. Overall, quite impressive though.

 

[Zythryn]

Some details are available.

Chance of rollover is rated at 5.7%!!

According to this article on the cars with the lowest rollover chance, the best sedans come in around 9-10% and even the best sports cars around 8%!
http://www.carsdirect.com/car-safety/top-4-best-rollover-rated-suvs#Best_Rollover_Rated_Sedans

 

[twinklejet]

How soon will this "news" be out in front of the major press? Sorry but greencarreports doesn't count as major...

 

[hockeythug]

How soon will this "news" be out in front of the major press? Sorry but greencarreports doesn't count as major...

http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/08/autos/tesla-crash-test/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

[Cutwolf]

I hate to be a debbie downer, but I don't know how or why we're discounting the fact that the rear seat came detached.

I was as excited as everyone else when I saw 5 stars, but as someone who would be driving the Model S with a child in the rear seat, there is absolutely no way I could ever take that risk. That's a 35 MPH crash, and the person unlucky enough to be sitting in that rear seat would have either been killed or seriously injured.

Imagine it at slightly higher speeds.

I think this is a much bigger deal than it has been made out to be in this 5 pages, and either there needs to be an explanation, or Tesla can expect to see this video played in front of a jury the first time a rear seat passenger is killed in the Model S. In other words, there needs to be some sort of explanation (this was equipment, this was modified, this was prior to the recall, something).

The projectile rear view mirror is a concern too, but not nearly as much as the backseat turning into a ejection seat.

 

[Gear]

I hate to be a debbie downer, but I don't know how or why we're discounting the fact that the rear seat came detached.

I was as excited as everyone else when I saw 5 stars, but as someone who would be driving the Model S with a child in the rear seat, there is absolutely no way I could ever take that risk. That's a 35 MPH crash, and the person unlucky enough to be sitting in that rear seat would have either been killed or seriously injured.

Imagine it at slightly higher speeds.

I think this is a much bigger deal than it has been made out to be in this 5 pages, and either there needs to be an explanation, or Tesla can expect to see this video played in front of a jury the first time a rear seat passenger is killed in the Model S. In other words, there needs to be some sort of explanation (this was equipment, this was modified, this was prior to the recall, something).

The projectile rear view mirror is a concern too, but not nearly as much as the backseat turning into a ejection seat.

I don't know how anybody is seeing this as being a rear seat. It doesn't have a seat back on it and has tons of wires and sensors attached to it. It's probably just some equipment for the test. It might be the seat bottom, but clearly it's been modified heavily to accommodate all the equipment that's attached to it and wasn't any part of the test. Do you really think that's something they overlooked when they gave it 5 stars on every test and that a bunch of random people on the internet know better?

 

[kendallpb]

Wonder if that would be shattering glass in the pano version?

Oh, good Q. I'd like to see videos of that; I have the pano. Mind you, I "plan" to avoid having accidents, especially like these tests. But I'm not sure what all the other drivers out there are planning. . . .

 

[Alexander]

I think perception is everything. When I watched the Model S crash test I was like "ok, what's the big deal." But then I Google'd the crash test for the Prius V (which got one of the worst crash ratings for 2013) I'm now VERY impressed with how the Model S stood up.

Here are 4 video's I watched that changed my perspective:

 

[Longhorn92]

A brief search shows the following sedans/wagons/2 doors with 5 stars in all tests:

Tesla Model S
Cadillac ATS
Audi A4 and S4
Chevy Camaro
Honda Accord 2Dr
Kia Optima 4Dr
Subaru Legacy 4dr
Volvo s60 4dr
Ford Focus BeV

I think the standards should be raised again, if only to separate the men from the boys. I'd bet money that the Model S would score higher than the other cars here, primarily because of the battery pack in the floor.

Notice: no Mercedes, no BMW, no Jag, no....

However, when you look at the details of the tests, many of the cars on your list did not get five-star in every single category (e.g. driver on side-impact, or side pole rating). Besides the Model S, I think there are only three that truly received five-stars on every sub-test AND every seating position:
Cadillac ATS
Chevy Camaro
Volvo s60 4dr

And among those cars, the Model S had the lowest rollover risk percentage, so I think it wins overall.

 

[vfx]

Amazing!
Can the MS get any better?

It has been said the Model S is the worst car the Tesla will ever build.

 

[bollar]

The details have been posted: 2013 Tesla Model S 5 HB RWD | Safercar -- NHTSA

 

[doug]

NOOOOOOOOOOoooooo...... I just saw the destruction of 3 great cars!

I suppose you haven't seen this then?
Model S Destroyed in EV Safety Training Video

 

[Musterion]

VINs and specs of the crash-test cars

If you go to the NHTSA website there are about 100 photos and 15 videos for each crash test, plus you can download the data and reports. I haven't gone through all of them yet, but you can check VIN numbers with the recall. I read in another thread someone saying that the recall applied to at least one of the cars and the service was done before the test, but this would need to be verified. Perhaps the info is in the reports but not all are downloadable currently. I collected the specs of the 3 crashed cars from the document photos of each test and summarize below in a table:

Front impact		S60: P11283, Manufactured 5/13 Options: Silver Paint
Side impact		S40 (!): P11412, Manufactured 5/13 Options: Grey Paint, Black Nappa Leather, Tech Package
Side pole impact		S60: P11290, Manufactured 5/13 Options: Silver Paint

(Presumably the mods are going to merge the various new threads so I posted in the one with the most responses).