GM recommending customers park the Bolt fire machine 50 feet from others!

prdude

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So I'm assuming if you've done the recall you're ok right? They're just having issues because there aren't enough batteries to do all 140k cars?
If I'm not mistaken, GM hasn't started repairing/replacing batteries in any vehicles yet, because they aren't confident LG can supply batteries without the defect (whatever the defect is)
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AZBill

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The question that hasn't been answered, as far as I know, is "Does the Mustang Mach-E use the same batteries as the Bolt EV?"

If yes; then what assurances do we have the defect has been addressed?
If no; then zero problem.
No, they are not exactly the same cell, but they are LG pouch batteries. The NHTSA is now investigating LG directly and has concerns about other vehicles using their batteries. It is a manufacturing defect by LG. Kona use LG pouches, not exactly like the Bolt cells, and they are all recalled. LG made a home storage system with pouch batteries, and those were recalled due to fire. One VW ID3 in Europe appears to have had a battery fire.

Can LG assure Ford, Audi, VW or Porsche that their batteries do not have the same or similar manufacturing defects? We do not know yet. GM has already stated that they are not yet confident LG can produce defect free batteries.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...1/08/30/gm-lg-chem-bolt-batteries/5652862001/

FYI, my Bolt is parked 50 feet from my Mach E, GMC Sierra and Saturn Sky.
 

ZuleMME

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Gas fires are a completely different animal because while yes, you have a large tank of highly flammable liquid, you also likely have the fire at the engine area away from that tank and the fire starts from a leak in a fuel line and consumes the limited fuel it has. Then its contained by the limited ignition of the surrounding parts.

EV fires are a WHOLE other ballgame. When one lithium ion cell shorts it becomes a fast expanding and heating fireball of doom. It proceeds to heat and squish the neighbor cells until they do the same thing. Repeat. EV fires are almost guaranteed to have a cascade reaction to every cell in the same module and maybe just maybe if designed right it'll stop there.

Still, I think they are blowing the low number of these out of proportion.
 

silverelan

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The majority of gas-powered car fires occur while the car is being driven. Sucks for sure, but it's not the same danger as parking your EV inside a garage and coming back to find the EV and garage are no more.
I once owned a Nissan Pathfinder that self-immolated in the Seattle Center parking garage. I thought someone was pranking me when Seattle FD called me at work to let me know. The garage attendant was pretty excited to tell me the story of watching my SUV go up in flames and how he called 911.
 

TruWrecks

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The majority of gas-powered car fires occur while the car is being driven. Sucks for sure, but it's not the same danger as parking your EV inside a garage and coming back to find the EV and garage are no more.
Aren't you glad it is illegal to have a gas pump in every garage?
 


ab13

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theo1000

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EV fires are a WHOLE other ballgame. When one lithium ion cell shorts it becomes a fast expanding and heating fireball of doom. It proceeds to heat and squish the neighbor cells until they do the same thing. Repeat. EV fires are almost guaranteed to have a cascade reaction to every cell in the same module and maybe just maybe if designed right it'll stop there.
It doesn't have to be so. There are barriers in place to prevent this runaway in most vehicles. Obviously in the Bolt this is not entirely working. It is not an accident that GM, sorry gm, main recommendation is to back off on the full charge and have a more robust reserve. That's the main problem. The lack of a robust reserve which allows the cells some wiggle room.
 

silverelan

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I just heard that Amazon is now banning the Bolt EV from all company garages.
 

JCHLi

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The question that hasn't been answered, as far as I know, is "Does the Mustang Mach-E use the same batteries as the Bolt EV?"

If yes; then what assurances do we have the defect has been addressed?
If no; then zero problem.

Hopefully this won't impact other vehicles. As far as I gather, gm indicated this was cause by two manufacturing defects, which, when stacked allowed the cathode and anode to get to close (which is not good).

If they used the exact same design and manufacturing for all batteries, I'd be worried, but I infer the each customer has their own specifications and even within gm, not all batteries would have the same design, so the defects could still potentially occur but might not stack such that there is a fire risk...

I feel awful for anyone with a recalled Bolt.. there must be a lot of anxiety waiting to see when or if it will be fixed. Other then this it's a cool car!
 

JCHLi

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If I'm not mistaken, GM hasn't started repairing/replacing batteries in any vehicles yet, because they aren't confident LG can supply batteries without the defect (whatever the defect is)
I think they started doing some recalls before finding that they didn't fix the issue so the current recall is paused until they know they won't have to do it again...
 

silverelan

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I think buybacks are going to be very popular. The good news is that EA stations are going to be a lot emptier.
 

JSW

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I loved my Bolt. It operated flawlessly from moment one (unlike my MMe). I drove it hard, set the cruse at 77 mph for my daily commute, and charged it to 100% every single day for years - never noticed any degradation in battery performance.

The Bolt was kinda ugly though, which is ultimately why I traded it in for my MMe.
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