GM advising some Bolt EV owners to park 50 feet away from other cars in case of fire
www.cnbc.com
The warning follows GM recalling more than 140,000 of the EVs due to the risk of batteries spontaneously catching fire.

Apparently they’re a ticking time bomb

  • freely@lemmy.ml
    5·
    3 years ago

    On the upside, I bet a used Bolt will be really cheap now. Just need to wait for the fixed battery and it’s a solid option.

  • a_Ha@lemmy.ml
    3·
    3 years ago

    Bad if you lose your E.V. , even more if park close to something important.
    Now, what if you are driving inside a tunnel, jam packed, close to fuel trucks ?

    Lithium battery technology sector is not mature enough for vehicles. (?)

    Edit ; after comments from @Brattea@lemmy.ml & @freely@lemmy.ml +explanation to follow below.

    • Brattea@lemmy.ml
      31·
      3 years ago

      EDIT MISTAKES MADE BELOW, REPLY IS MORE TEMPERED I PROMISE

      This isn’t true, it’s called depth of discharge and chevy is putting these batteries under stress they should never be going under. 4.2v is bad for lithium batteries especially under high load, and cycling down do 3v is also a terrible condition for these batteries. This is an engineering issue not a technology issue. From the cells to the pack to the protection circuit and the voltage ratings this vehicle needed to leave some power in the tank as head room to protect users and it failed to do so. They did this to maximize distance in a way that wasn’t meaningful. They also failed to add any temperature protection, and failed to leave not just headroom in the discharge depth but also in current rating to reduce the heat produced by the cells under operation. This car was a ticking time bomb from the start and while I like the sentiment, this misinformation means people will not hold gm accountable to this inexcusable disaster. All of these companies have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving the safety of these EV’s but this was negligent.

      • freely@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 years ago

        Where did you get that info? Their site says it’s 2 manufacturing defects in the battery.

        Specifically it says

        The problem consists of two LG manufacturing defects (a torn anode tab and folded separator) that, in rare circumstances, can simultaneously present in a single battery cell in the LG battery module.

        Also, the Bolt does have battery heating/cooling last I checked. The Nissan Leaf, however, doesn’t.

        • Brattea@lemmy.ml
          4·
          3 years ago

          Upon checking yes you are right. I definitely got it wrong. I recalled incorrectly and didn’t read the article. I have seen manufacturers cut corners in the EV space and got them mixed up. I would keep some what I said though. “This is an engineering issue not a technology issue.” applies. I felt the way stated above about the Nissan leaf. Torn anode tabs and folded separators are inexcusable. There’s really no excuse for this. The companies know these batteries are lethal and safety needs to come before profits. And until executives who only graduated in business with no engineering background are in prison this will keep happening.

          • a_Ha@lemmy.ml
            2·
            3 years ago

            So … on top of manufacturing in this sector, there will be a need for a regulating body just like what happened in aviation. (?) (( present comment relates to the edit I made in my root comment ))