EV safety

M

Meni

New Member
Hi,

MY current lease is ending in a few months and for my next car I might consider EV (I'm thinking of getting the Cadillac VISTIQ)


However, after reading few months ago this news about a Electric Mercedes which exploded in Britain, I'm little hesitate.


https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5l46l2vdxo


How safe are Electric Vehicles?


My concern is, if it happened to Mercedes which is very known manufacture, it's somewhat concerning


Thoughts?


Thanks
 
Meni said:
Hi,

MY current lease is ending in a few months and for my next car I might consider EV (I'm thinking of getting the Cadillac VISTIQ)


However, after reading few months ago this news about a Electric Mercedes which exploded in Britain, I'm little hesitate.


https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5l46l2vdxo


How safe are Electric Vehicles?


My concern is, if it happened to Mercedes which is very known manufacture, it's somewhat concerning


Thoughts?


Thanks
Click to expand...
GM has more experience with EVs than Mercedes-Benz. GM lost a lot of money replacing the batteries in all their Chevy Bolts and they don't want to go through that again. The company's extensive experience with lithium-ion batteries, their post-Bolt focus on the bottom line, and their desire for repeat customers should reduce the chances your Caddy will explode. Gas-powered cars explode, too, but the cause of these explosions is usually more obvious than fires in EVs.
 
insightman said:
Gas-powered cars explode, too, but the cause of these explosions is usually more obvious than fires in EVs.
Click to expand...
Also gas-powered car fires are not considered newsworthy, so nobody hears about them. You’re Wrong About EV Fires:

There's a car fire roughly every five minutes in America. The vast majority of them never make the news. But if a Tesla or a Chevy Bolt catches fire? It's probably on the front page nationwide and going viral online. If the sensational headlines and social media videos are to be believed, EVs are flaming deathtraps that could spontaneously combust at any minute.​
 
insightman said:
GM has more experience with EVs than Mercedes-Benz. GM lost a lot of money replacing the batteries in all their Chevy Bolts and they don't want to go through that again. The company's extensive experience with lithium-ion batteries, their post-Bolt focus on the bottom line, and their desire for repeat customers should reduce the chances your Caddy will explode. Gas-powered cars explode, too, but the cause of these explosions is usually more obvious than fires in EVs.
Click to expand...
I think I read somewhere that Mercedes used cheap Chinese batteries and was criticized for this. Is it relate ? Does the batteries GM uses consider safer ?

it says in the news:

"One theory is the car, which they bought in 2022, entered a ‘thermal runway’, when the battery uncontrollably overheats, and is not able to cool down."

Does GM batteries are more withstand to ‘thermal runway’ ?
 
Meni said:
Does GM batteries are more withstand to ‘thermal runway’ ?
Click to expand...

Yes/No/Maybe, but way less likely. Early lithium EV batteries had numerous issues with their BMS (management) systems, and the manufacturing processes were not mature.

The problem with thermal runaway is when a cell goes out of control, it ignites adjacent cells, and boom. Nowadays the BMS's control charging much better and will detect problems and hopefully fault / disable cells before that happens.

Some vehicles are now using LifePO4 batteries. They are not as dense but do not suffer from thermal runaway. Anything will burn if you get it hot enough, you really just don't want it to explode. Thermal runaway makes things go 'boom'. We've been using lithium batteries for a fairly long time. This really came to light during the Samsung Note 7 debacle, and Boeing 757/777 issues, so it obviously is something that was not super common until the volume of cells in use got fairly large, and we started pushing the envelope on the technology. It took a bit of research and time to mitigate the associated issues.

I will say this: I think one of the 'scary' things is you can get a battery fire in an EV when it is not 'running'. In general ICE fires occur after the engine is running, and are related to a fuel or other fluid leak. 12V batteries have been known to go boom in an ICE as well. The other issue with an EV fire is it's harder to put out. 'Mag' wheels used to be made of MAGnesium. Once you ignite magnesium you can't put it out. This created some interesting car fires, it burns hot enough to melt steel. Now 'Mag' wheels are made of aluminum alloys. The bottom line is if your EV catches fire color it completely gone. If your ICE catches fire you might be able to put it out and save the dice hanging on the rearview mirror after. There really are not very many EV fires.
 
I am on my 3rd EV and have no concerns about fires. My first 2 EVs were Leafs. I know of no instance of a fire in a Leaf. My current is a VW id.4 and there's no history of fires in them that I'm aware of. I live in a small city with a population of about 120,000. There has never been an EV fire here. For a time there were numerous fires with Hyundai ICE vehicles what with fuel or lubricants leaking onto the exhaust manifold and catching fire. As another poster has mentioned, these don't make media headlines. In short I have no concerns over EV fire safety and neither should you.

I do advise you to do your homework and make sure that an EV can meet your needs. Digging deep through the posts in this forum will be most helpful.
 
Paul K said:
I am on my 3rd EV and have no concerns about fires. My first 2 EVs were Leafs. I know of no instance of a fire in a Leaf. My current is a VW id.4 and there's no history of fires in them that I'm aware of. I live in a small city with a population of about 120,000. There has never been an EV fire here. For a time there were numerous fires with Hyundai ICE vehicles what with fuel or lubricants leaking onto the exhaust manifold and catching fire. As another poster has mentioned, these don't make media headlines. In short I have no concerns over EV fire safety and neither should you.

I do advise you to do your homework and make sure that an EV can meet your needs. Digging deep through the posts in this forum will be most helpful.
Click to expand...
Actually reason for my post in the forum is my "homework".

Right now there are two things that I'm concern:
1. Safety - the reason for the post.
2. Range - the VISTIQ according to Cadillac should have ~300 miles. However, people said in other website that since it based on the LYRIQ which also has 300 miles , and the VISTIQ is bigger and heavier, probably the VISTIQ is going to have less miles between charges.

Back to 1. (safety) - what batteries does GM use ?
Like, who's the manufacturer? Is it Chinese? American? etc.?
 
Meni said:
what batteries does GM use ?
Click to expand...
Ultium Cells, LLC, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, makes Ultium batteries for GM. LG Energy Solution, Ltd. is a battery company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. LGES is one of the largest battery makers in the world.
 
I drove a Bolt for a week and felt smooth rides. Heard no horror stories from mechanics either. Also saw the headlines about that Mercedes fire in Britain. Spooked by that headline? But fires can hit any car, gas or electric. EVs pass tough crash tests. They use smart battery management plus the odds of a freak blaze are very low. If you’re curious about EMF stuff, check CarsRadiation.org as it has lots safety tips. Anyway, the Cadillac VISTIQ looks slick to me and slashes bills at the pump. Test drive one, feel it out, and trust your gut. Good luck!
 
Mercedes are playing catch up so maybe they’re cutting corners to bring cars to market. Also, if you look at the reliability statistics over the years, Mercedes have often hovered near the bottom of the charts. Not good for a premium product.
 
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