Model S catches fire in France-8/2016

[Az_Rael]

Tesla Model S catches on fire during a test drive in France

During a test drive in a Model S 90D, the vehicle suddenly made a loud noise and sent a visual alert on the dashboard stating that there was a problem with “charging”. The Tesla employee giving the test drive made the driver park the car on the side of the road and all three (the driver, the Tesla employee and another passenger) exited the vehicle.

The Tesla Model S caught on fire only a moment later (pictured above), according to witnesses.

Electrek did note that electric car fires are no more common that ICE fires, but this one is notable, since as of right now, no impact or road damage was involved.

Will be interesting to hear the details once Tesla investigates.

 

[BluestarE3]

It'll be interesting to find out what the "loud noise" was that preceded the warning... some type mechanical failure or damage that may have led to an electrical short? The fact that the car alerted the occupants of a potential hazard so they could exit the vehicle beforehand is a safety feature that should not be overlooked.

 

[CapeOne]

The fact that the car alerted the occupants of a potential hazard so they could exit the vehicle beforehand is a safety feature that should not be overlooked.

The warning was apparently some sort of 'charging problem' message but that alone wouldn't necessarily prompt someone to pull over and exit the car or assume a potential fire hazard.

It will be interesting to see what the investigation determines.

 

[Matias]

So, did they buy the car?

 

[int32_t]

Well, this sucks.

If anybody out there is concerned their Model S will catch fire, I'll take it. Won't even charge you a dime!

I'm tempted to think the "loud noise" was the sound of a thousand amps rushing somewhere they shouldn't, turning a few thick copper conductors into oven elements and starting a fire.

 

[W0QR]

Well, this sucks.

If anybody out there is concerned their Model S will catch fire, I'll take it. Won't even charge you a dime!

I'm tempted to think the "loud noise" was the sound of a thousand amps rushing somewhere they shouldn't, turning a few thick copper conductors into oven elements and starting a fire.

Yea, my thoughts too. This could be a black swan. Something we (Tesla) hadn't thought of. I saw a picture of the flames and it appeared they were forward of the aft part of the vehicle. Quite a blaze. We don't need this right now.

 

[Canuck]

From the article: "It is important to note that while electric vehicle fires are widely reported, there’s no evidence that there are any more frequent than gas-powered car fires."

In fact, there is evidence that they are less frequent:

"The nationwide driving statistics make this very clear: there are 150,000 car fires per year according to the National Fire Protection Association, and Americans drive about 3 trillion miles per year according to the Department of Transportation. That equates to 1 vehicle fire for every 20 million miles driven, compared to 1 fire in over 100 million miles for Tesla. This means you are 5 times more likely to experience a fire in a conventional gasoline car than a Tesla!

For consumers concerned about fire risk, there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery than a large tank of highly flammable liquid.

— Elon"

 

[stopcrazypp]

Someone in another article suggested it may be debris like the previous fires. The shield has help tremendously in reducing the likelihood of a puncture from debris, but that doesn't mean zero.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Surprisingly it really hasn't hit the news all that hard.

Even in this forum there is hardly much discussion, and there has been plenty of time to talk about it. The supercharger fire had a lot more activity.

Odd, considering that a fire while moving is something pretty fearful.

At least the car is still really considerate in giving you ample warning to pull over and get out before it burns itself to the ground.

 

[CuriousG]

So, did they buy the car?

I heard it was a fire sale.

 

[BluestarE3]

I heard it was a fire sale.

The buyer will be joining these forums shortly to seek advice on how to rebuild this salvage Tesla.

 

[brkaus]

This thread reminds me of something I had long forgot. Our family car caught fire in the garage when I was much younger. Fuel line burst. We didn't have a fire extinguisher, so pushed it out of the garage quickly. It did burn the garage door a bit, but not bad. Mostly discolored the paint. The car didn't do to well though.

After that time, our garage always had a full sized fire extinguisher. Actually, two. A CO2 one and a chemical powder one.

 

[Electroman]

Expect the usual trolls to have field day in this thread.

 

[ecarfan]

That is the first Tesla fire (not from a collision) story I can recall hearing about in over two years, with the single exception of the Model S charging at a Supercharger in Norway that caught on fire (did Tesla every release an explanation of that incident?).

 

[Drivin]

From the article: "It is important to note that while electric vehicle fires are widely reported, there’s no evidence that there are any more frequent than gas-powered car fires."

In fact, there is evidence that they are less frequent:

"The nationwide driving statistics make this very clear: there are 150,000 car fires per year according to the National Fire Protection Association, and Americans drive about 3 trillion miles per year according to the Department of Transportation. That equates to 1 vehicle fire for every 20 million miles driven, compared to 1 fire in over 100 million miles for Tesla. This means you are 5 times more likely to experience a fire in a conventional gasoline car than a Tesla!

"

Funny! Fun with silly math and stats!
The above comparison that the multi billion dollar corp rationalized is only relevant if they are comparing new car fires to the Tesla new car fires.

The average age of a car on the road is 11 years.
This was a new car, so it is 11 times younger.
So you aren't 5 times safer, you are less safe on a per mile/per month basis.

You don't hear a lot about $100k new ICE cars that are on fire due to some new tech they are promoting. (Although you will see the occasional super car have a fire, but that is a different comparison)

We have no idea whether when they are 11 years old if Tesla's will be more or less safe than the average car on the road.

 

[evp]

Battery fire in France. The reddit comments are hysterical.

 

[Drivin]

That is the first Tesla fire (not from a collision) story I can recall hearing about in over two years, with the single exception of the Model S charging at a Supercharger in Norway that caught on fire (did Tesla every release an explanation of that incident?).

Yes.
There was a fault in the car.

The cause was a short circuit in the distribution box in the car.

You don't hear a lot about it here, since in the original threads here almost every theory but a fault was put forward. It was arson, etc. etc.

 

[BluestarE3]

Yeah, already a thread here:
This will be making the news rounds - Model S catches fire in France

 

[Canuck]

Apparently, just revving an Lamborghini can cause it burst into flames...

Lamborghini Aventador driver revs engine until it catches fire in Dubai

Lamborghini catches fire when valet revs engine in South Beach

And these are new cars too.

 

[malcolm]

Fun with silly math and stats!

And you've added your own. Kudos.