NEWS:
Battery fires prompt
govt probe of Chevy Volt
YAHOO NEWS -- November
28, 2011 – US
federal regulators have
launched a formal safety
defect investigation of
the Chevrolet Volt after
new battery fires in
tests, the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration said.
Earlier this month, US
officials said they had
launched an
investigation into
electric vehicle safety
after a damaged lithium
battery in a Volt caught
fire three weeks after a
crash test.
Nobody was hurt in the
May fire, which damaged
property at a government
testing facility in
Wisconsin.
The NHTSA then sought to
recreate the May test,
carrying out three tests
last week on Volt
lithium-ion battery
packs, intentionally
damaging the battery
compartment and breaking
its coolant line.
In two of the tests, the
batteries caught fire,
it said.
"NHTSA is therefore
opening a safety defect
investigation of Chevy
Volts, which could
experience a
battery-related fire
following a crash," the
safety watchdog said in
a statement.
"Chevy Volt owners whose
vehicles have not been
in a serious crash do
not have reason for
concern," the statement
stressed.
There has so far been no
recall, and the NHTSA
said it had no reports
of real-life crashes
that led to
battery-related fires in
Chevy Volts or other
vehicles powered by
lithium-ion batteries.
Still "the agency is
concerned that damage to
the Volt's batteries as
part of three tests that
are explicitly designed
to replicate real-world
crash scenarios have
resulted in fire," it
stressed.
"If NHTSA identifies an
unreasonable risk to
safety, the agency will
take immediate action to
notify consumers and
ensure that GM
communicates with
current vehicle owners,"
the statement added.
GM insisted in a
statement that the
vehicle is "safe and
does not present undue
risk as part of normal
operation or immediately
after a severe crash,"
and said it supported
further testing by the
NHTSA.
"GM and
the agency's focus and
research continues to be
on battery performance,
handling, storage and
disposal after a crash
or other significant
event, like a fire, to
better serve first and
secondary responders,"
said GM's chief engineer
for electric vehicles.
"There have been no
reports of comparable
incidents in the field."
MORE RECALL INFO:
NOVEMBER 2011
--
On May 12, 2011, NHTSA
performed a NCAP side
pole impact test,
followed by a post
impact rollover test on
a Chevrolet Volt. In
connection with that
testing, NHTSA has
identified the potential
for intrusion damage to
the battery which may
result in a substantial
thermal reaction and
fire. Twenty-one days
after the May 12, 2011
testing, delayed thermal
heating and pressure
release resulted in a
fire that consumed the
Chevrolet Volt and three
other vehicles in close
proximity at the test
facility. During the
week of November 14,
2011, NHTSA performed
follow-up battery-level
tests to simulate the
incident. NHTSA
performed three tests
simulating the
mechanical damage to a
battery pack observed
from the first incident.
Two of the three tests
produced thermal events,
including fire. Because
of these test results,
NHTSA has opened this
investigation to examine
the potential risks
involved from intrusion
damage to the battery in
the Chevrolet Volt, in
coordination with the
agency’s ongoing review
of the emerging
technology involved in
electric vehicles
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