Exploding Kona Electric

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Yet another "oops " moment as another manufacture equipped with those same LG cells. This time a Jaguar I-Pace around the same vintage.
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"The owner heard loud popping noises from the car shortly after he parked the car in his garage. He thereafter discovered dense smoke as a result of the blazing flame. Bravely, the owner was able to drive the 2019 I-Pace model out of his garage to mitigate the impact of the fire."
Utilizing the EV burn list in Wiki
this would be the 3rd Jaguar I-Pace documented catching fire while parked or charging.
Manufactures using the same cells:
Kona EV count to date: 21
Renault Zoe : 13 to date
Chevy Bolt (honorable mention) : 10 to date
 
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KiwiME said:
Not that I like posting this but knowledge is power.

Another Kona fire and hopefully one that can be explained once more details emerge.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1909351/incendie-force-evacuations-lebourgneuf
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Once again fortunately no one was injured. The firemen did a wonderful job, thanks in part to the building sprinkler system. (The smartest place to park in a parkade - under a sprinkler head...just be sure to close the sunroof)
Given the low damage to the car ( compared to previous fires) and the ability to remove it quickly to the outdoors, I have to wonder if the coolant was the newer low conductivity variety which may have delayed the inevitable fireworks display we have become accustomed to. This is assuming a cell pack issue of course.
Only following details (such as model year) after some investigating would provide more info, but I doubt that will be available for some time (if ever)
 
FWIW Ionic 5 joins the ranks with various inferno exploits.
c540ae4772fa490c8a8863a75a8fca3b_800.jpeg

with casualties, not fire related, however.
The latest, a taxi smashes into a building, also with casualty:
Zarathustra on Twitter: "#SouthKorea #EV #Fire "Firefighters rushed to extinguish the fire after an electric car taxi hit the building, but the driver eventually died. The number of electric vehicles is increasing rapidly, but there is not enough equipment to extinguish the fire." https://t.co/vk8dcdmOpI" / Twitter
"low conductivity coolant" didn't seem to do the job adequately as in the first one, it ignited within 3 seconds of impact:eek::(
 
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"Not enough equipment". When will fire departments ever accept the concept of containment? Our local department won't even consider a donation of a car fire blanket. They told me "thousands and thousands of gallons of water is the only way".
 
electriceddy said:
"low conductivity coolant" didn't seem to do the job adequately as in the first one, it ignited within 3 seconds of impact:eek::(
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Nobody is promising "low conductivity coolant" will prevent a fire on a high-energy crash. If battery cells get crushed or punctured during a crash, the cell will short circuit internally with predictable results.

The job of "low conductivity coolant" is to prevent battery cells from short circuiting in case coolant leaks inside the battery pack.
 
Vehicle fires...I am always amazed at the press that EV fires get but ICE vehicle fires just are not news.
I have attended a couple dozen fire scenes that involved ICE vehicles in the last 10 years (I am now retired) as part of Insurance clean up/repair work in the business I was involved in. All of the vehicles where parked either inside or adjacent to residential buildings and all of the vehicles where just sitting there minding their own business when they caught fire.
This just happens, hell a couple where VW diesel Jetta's - nothing to do with fuel type, everything to do with electrical shorts in complicated electrical systems.
Besides having our Kona EV I also have a couple of older MG's - they can have fires as well...do I still park them inside? Yes. Do I worry about it? No....I do make sure all our insurance premiums are paid though!
Mike
 
Listening to traffic reports on the radio, there are a few dozen 'car-b-que's reported every year that I hear about. I've witnessed a few in a drive by on my commute. However unlike in a hollywood movie, gasoline generally just burns albeit sometimes with a big whoosh if it was spilled. Explosions occur when you contain the burning. A lithium battery will get hot and may explode because it has all the burning material encased/trapped inside a containment vessel, so it builds up pressure and goes boom!
 
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