Thread: EV general discussion

I was in the UK for Grenfell, so I watched it unfold minute by minute. The engineering and construction failures that provided the holes in the cheese which aligned to ensure that was going to be a disaster were big enough to drive a truck through. Build it fast, build it cheap and don't maintain it. Oddly enough, built to solve a housing crisis. I look at the urban slums growing like zits across our suburbs and can't help wonder when our first one is going to happen.

In your average tall tower (mixed use, not solely private residential) there's generally enough fire suppression to mostly stop a widespread blaze. Once the fire moves from the battery vehicle to conventional vehicles the water has far more of a chance at keeping the fire contained. The water required to deluge a burning battery however is more than your common car park sprinkler system is built to provide, let alone the drainage.

Additionally, most of these facilities are constructed to sustain a not inconsiderable structural compromise and not fall down (think car boot of explosive material), so the structural damage caused by a battery fire shouldn't adversely impact the remainder of the building. All this is predicated on the building being properly planned, designed, constructed and maintained however.

One of Perths tallest buildings has recently been re-clad. Unlike Grenfell, the cladding was entirely contained in Aluminium with no space for fire intrusion, however ultimately the insulating core was flammable (you had to cut the panel apart to set fire to it though). Eventually the external pressure applied from various financial services became too much to bear, so even though the cladding had been phsyically tested and proven safe, it had to go.

When it comes to cheap accommodation towers, then it's a different kettle of fish. Much like the flammable cladding, my gut says it's going to take a couple of really bad fires bordering on disaster for insurers to wake up and apply sufficient financial pressure it'll override "but, but, but green!!".

Originally Posted by Tins

I think maybe we need a "famous last words" thread.

Now, I'm not saying that EV charging caused this, but imagine if it did.



Or this. I know there were serious "code" issues here, but that's the point I guess.

i think its really important not to blame every fire on batteries. I'm not impressed with the very few I've bothered to look at (the airport fire in the UK being blamed on a range rover diesel, when it was obviously the lithium hybrid battery torching off) and the house fire in new zealand where there is phone footage of the car torching off and the house being untouched .... being later written down as a "house fire, that spread to the car". when there is phone footage completely disproving this.

Everyone just needs to be honest. The real root cause of each fire needs to be investigated so we can work out a way of making sure it doesn't happen again. There needs to be trust in the authorities, they shouldn't just be blindly following the zealots from various industries. Whatever the route cause (be it flammable cladding, batteries or poor building design). this needs to be highlighted and catered for, not hidden.

Not cheap yet of course- Cheaper is good as some newer ones will tow my boat!

"Tesla and Polestar are not the only brands to reduce prices on electric vehicles as competition increases with more electric car makers on the way Down Under, such as Zeekr and a reborn Smart.BYD, MG and GWM have all lowered prices on electric vehicles in Australia, with Ford reducing the price of its Mustang Mach-E and e-Transit – the latter by $15,000.
The falling prices of electric cars in Australia has been described as an ongoing price war which is set to continue well into 2025.
The post 2025 Polestar 4 Australian prices dropped by almost $5000 appeared first on Drive."

Mia Cupla. I am borrowing my sister's petrol 4wd next week to tow two trailers. It is sub par to my prior Disco 3.5 tonne towing. Enough but just enough! Her other half has the same MG 4 as I have. They have two of them next week while I move.

The recall includes 12,535 EVs in the US.
More than 12,000 Mini Cooper SE electric vehicles are being recalled in the United States. It’s part of a global recall effort that affects over 140,000 Mini EVs that could have an issue with their batteries.

The recall affects 12,535 2020-2024 Mini Cooper SEs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Recall Report, the high-voltage battery may not have been produced according to the automaker’s specifications. The document didn’t specify a direct cause, stating, “Faults may occur in the high voltage battery or high voltage system, which could be caused by various reasons.”
A fault could lead to a short circuit, overheating the battery and causing a "thermal event," i.e., a fire. It can even happen when the EV isn’t even in operation, but a warning message will appear to the driver.
BMW North America said it’s not aware of any injuries or accidents related to the issue. It began investigating a Mini that suffered a thermal event in October 2023 before learning in January 2024 of a second incident occurring in Germany.

Mini will update the potentially affected vehicles with new software that includes a diagnostic function that can detect malfunctions in the high-voltage battery and discharge it below 30 percent. The update is free, and the automaker will begin notifying owners on October 7.
I just copied and pasted the article.
Here is the link if you want to see it.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/cars/news/...be17171f&ei=14

Originally Posted by spudfan

The recall includes 12,535 EVs in the US.
More than 12,000 Mini Cooper SE electric vehicles are being recalled in the United States. It’s part of a global recall effort that affects over 140,000 Mini EVs that could have an issue with their batteries.

The recall affects 12,535 2020-2024 Mini Cooper SEs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Recall Report, the high-voltage battery may not have been produced according to the automaker’s specifications. The document didn’t specify a direct cause, stating, “Faults may occur in the high voltage battery or high voltage system, which could be caused by various reasons.”
A fault could lead to a short circuit, overheating the battery and causing a "thermal event," i.e., a fire. It can even happen when the EV isn’t even in operation, but a warning message will appear to the driver.
BMW North America said it’s not aware of any injuries or accidents related to the issue. It began investigating a Mini that suffered a thermal event in October 2023 before learning in January 2024 of a second incident occurring in Germany.

Mini will update the potentially affected vehicles with new software that includes a diagnostic function that can detect malfunctions in the high-voltage battery and discharge it below 30 percent. The update is free, and the automaker will begin notifying owners on October 7.
I just copied and pasted the article.
Here is the link if you want to see it.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/cars/news/...be17171f&ei=14

How does a car discharge itself when sensing a "thermal event". I can't imagine how you will rapidly discharged a fully charged battery of that size. It could power most houses for days its stores so much energy ....

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

How does a car discharge itself when sensing a "thermal event". I can't imagine how you will rapidly discharged a fully charged battery of that size. It could power most houses for days its stores so much energy ....

The thermal event is the discharge....

2019 Jaguar I-Pace Recalled For The Fifth Time Over Battery Fire Risk
This time, a new software update will limit the state of charge to 80%. A permanent fix still hasn’t been found, though.
The Jaguar I-Pace battery fire risk recall saga continues.
This latest recall for the 2019 model year still doesn't provide a permanent fix.
Instead, the temporary solution is to limit the maximum state of charge to 80%.
Jaguar I-Pace owners in the United States have had a rough time, especially those who bought a 2019 model year. the first to be sold. That’s because the British company’s first mass-market electric vehicle–and one of the first modern long-range EVs–has been recalled yet again for a battery fire risk.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this is the fifth time the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace has been recalled for the same problem. However, the bigger issue here is that there’s still no permanent fix for the problem.
The first recall, dated May 25, 2023, explained that some I-Pace EVs from all model years might have high-voltage battery packs that are prone to overheating, thus increasing the risk of a fire. The fix was to install an over-the-air software update for the battery energy control module that would monitor the state of the high-voltage pack and, in some cases, individual battery modules were to be replaced.
For the 2019 I-Pace, however, the problem persists, with three reports of battery fires in the U.S. coming in even after the latest fix. In the most recent recall dated August 23, 2024, the automaker advises owners to park and charge their vehicles outside and away from structures until the repair is complete and for an additional 30 days after that.
But the repair still doesn’t exist. As a temporary fix, the recall report says the affected vehicles will get a new software update for the battery energy control module which will limit the maximum state of charge to 80%.

A total of 2,760 U.S.-spec Jaguar I-Pace EVs manufactured between January 5, 2018, and March 14, 2019, are affected by this latest recall.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/cars/news/...c33979cd&ei=24

There are reports that car manufacturers in Britain are limiting sales of ICE vehicles so that they can (hopefully) meet Govt. sales requirements for EVs in order to avoid the GBP15,000/vehicle fine for not meeting targets.

A good way to have people keep their old ICE vehicles.