GM recalls 68,000 Chevy Bolt EVs after reports of battery fires

You might need to take your Chevy Bolt in for major service. Detroit News and The Verge report that GM is recalling 68,677 Bolt EVs (50,900 in the US) to help it identify the causes of five battery fires between 2017 and 2019. The car maker has found some common elements behind the fires, including their origins at an LG Chem plant as well as charge levels.

The recall doesn’t cover 2020 Bolts that use an updated battery chemistry. GM doesn’t believe every Bolt is affected, but the company’s Jesse Ortega said it was “prudent” to take action while it investigated.

GM will try to “reduce the risk” of fires by flashing the Bolt’s firmware to limit charges to 90 percent capacity. The update should be available starting November 17th. The company should have a more definitive remedy in 2021, and is telling existing drivers to use either the Hilltop Reserve setting (2018 and earlier) or Target Charge Level (on 2019 models) to cap charge levels.

Battery fires in EVs are uncommon, but they also aren’t new. The NHTSA is already investigating Tesla over fire reports, while Audi and others have also recalled some vehicles. Those recalls were typically much smaller, though (Audi’s covered just 500 E-Tron units), while GM’s reflects a large portion of the Bolt customer base. If nothing else, this is a reminder that there are still a few lingering questions about EV battery safety.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news...ports-230044311.html


Hyundai faces lawsuit over EV fires as GM launches recall

SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co is being sued over a string of battery fires in its electric vehicles (EVs), just as General Motors Co recalls nearly 70,000 EVs with batteries from the same maker, LG Chem Ltd.

The owner of a Hyundai Kona EV, a South Korean civil servant who asked to be identified only by his surname Kim, is among some 200 people who lodged a class-action lawsuit against Hyundai last week, seeking compensation for what they say is the reduced value of their EVs and other losses, Kim and two lawyers representing them told Reuters.

The court filing is not a public record.

Kim had initiated a petition drive to sue the Seoul-based carmaker after the same brand of EV caught fire in his neighbourhood, forcing about 20 residents to evacuate their homes.

One of the lawyers said they were initially seeking 8 million won ($7,200) per plaintiff but they could increase demand as the trial proceeds.

The plaintiffs want Hyundai to replace the entire battery pack - the most expensive part of the vehicle - of their Kona EVs, not just update the software, as the company's recall provides.

EV sales are climbing globally as the technology holds out the promise of cleaner transportation, with costs falling and driving ranges increasing. But the emerging risk of fire from overheated batteries could set back the entire industry.

Recalls could mean reputational as well as financial damage to Hyundai and other automakers, which are pushing into the EV market to meet tougher emissions regulations and to challenge market leader Tesla Inc. The problems could also dent consumer demand for EVs.

"A battery that is not safe is like a bomb," said Park Chul-wan, a South Korean battery expert.

A series of fires involving automakers, including GM, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) and Ford Motor Co, expose the challenge the industry faces in managing the risks of new technology and the pressures to boost battery production and performance.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news...er-ev-220236256.html

Quickly charging a few hundred pounds of batteries doesn't seem like something that technology is ready for just yet.

Looks like I'll wait the five minutes it takes to put some dead dinosaurs in the tank.

Most of those Bolts are on the two left coasts, where they were offered initially before anywhere else. I say let them burn

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Quickly charging a few hundred pounds of batteries doesn't seem like something that technology is ready for just yet.

+1

I remember not long ago when hydrogen burning cars “had promise” but fizzled out...

No environmental impact to see here. Move along...

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I remember not long ago when hydrogen burning cars “had promise” but fizzled out...

For the same reason diesel engine cars fizzled....the EV lobby and politicians in the pockets of these lobbyists stomped out any and all competition.

Ask Richard Hammond what a lithium battery fire looks like.

FWIW, I drove a 1971 Pinto for 9 years with no problems. Don't have a rear-end collision and won't have a problem.

flashguy

quote:

FWIW, I drove a 1971 Pinto for 9 years with no problems. Don't have a rear-end collision and won't have a problem.

I have some friends who were victims of a rear collision Pinto fire. One of their twin daughters died.

Whoever thinks batteries are "green" has never seen what has to be done to obtain the metals. Besides the mining operations, some of them come from countries unfriendly to the US, are in states of war or both.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I remember not long ago when hydrogen burning cars “had promise” but fizzled out...

I suspect creating hydrogen is the issue. I believe it takes a whole bunch of energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Guess I was wrong I thought it was the Chevy Volt. So it's the Chevy Bolt?? Who knew?

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
FWIW, I drove a 1971 Pinto for 9 years with no problems. Don't have a rear-end collision and won't have a problem.

flashguy

My first car was a '71 Pinto. It was totaled by woman slamming her Caddy into my rear bumper at 40 mph. Fortunately, didn't burst into flames. I'd love to have that car back!

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I remember not long ago when hydrogen burning cars “had promise” but fizzled out...

I suspect creating hydrogen is the issue. I believe it takes a whole bunch of energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

A million years ago in my first life as a chemist (American chemist) I worked on creating Hydrogen "sponges" for safe storage hydrogen fuel cells. Making the hydrogen isn't difficult; there are many rather efficient ways to get it with more being developed all the time.

I'd rather have seen the hydrogen avenue of alternative fuel developed before the battery car idea. Those batteries are horrible for the environment. Egregore summed it up nicely.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Quickly charging a few hundred pounds of batteries doesn't seem like something that technology is ready for just yet.

Looks like I'll wait the five minutes it takes to put some dead dinosaurs in the tank.

We’ve been safely fast charging 1000’s of pounds of batteries on yachts and submarines for many decades now. Perhaps not as fast, but relatively fast. There will always been an accident every once in a blue moon charging batteries. Chargers go bad, batteries go bad, one will grenade etc. the difference or problem in this scenario is the amount of storage capacity of batteries in such a small area.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
FWIW, I drove a 1971 Pinto for 9 years with no problems. Don't have a rear-end collision and won't have a problem.

flashguy

My wife had a 2 dr Pinto. It was a treat pulling on to the highway with the auto trans. Just hold it to the floor and prey....

It will be interesting to see when they come up with an electric airplane that can go 1000 miles on a charge. I think the batteries would weigh so much that it wouldn't even get off the ground, let alone carry any passengers.

flashguy

My brother has that car. Lots of batteries have caught fire. For a while phones were cooking off in pockets. The chemistry has gotten better and they are more stable now. He gets the equivalent of 123 MPG. I'm getting 57-59 MPG in a Corolla Hybrid I just bought and thought I was doing fine.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
My brother has that car. Lots of batteries have caught fire. For a while phones were cooking off in pockets. The chemistry has gotten better and they are more stable now. He gets the equivalent of 123 MPG. I'm getting 57-59 MPG in a Corolla Hybrid I just bought and thought I was doing fine.

He gets what he's TOLD is 123 mpg equivalent. Problem is those numbers aren't honest. They don't factor in line losses, the efficiency cycle of of the engine/power source generating the electricity, or in impact of higher than average demand cycles due to drivers "hot rodding" the vehicle. One example is the new Hummer with it's 1000 hp power rating. GM is claiming a 350 mile range for that whale and I can guarantee that it won't get 350 miles if you make it a habit to use all those 1000 hp.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I remember not long ago when hydrogen burning cars “had promise” but fizzled out...

I suspect creating hydrogen is the issue. I believe it takes a whole bunch of energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

It does take more electrical energy to split water than what you get by recombining the hydrogen and oxygen, BUT...

Nuclear reactors cannot simply be throttled down like natural gas during off peak hours, so running hydrogen generators off peak is getting traction in countries with a lot of nuclear power plants.

And hydrogen refueling stations look a lot like gas pumps, which is surprising...