IIHS Sticks By Volt Safety Rating: No Pack Issues After Crash Tests
Add to circle
Earlier this year, the public reputation of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt was changed forever after a crash-tested Volt caught fire in wrecking yard belonging to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
It didn’t matter either that the battery fire started two weeks after the original crash test, or that it was the result of a massive side-impact representing a worse-case, real-world collision: the Chevrolet Volt’s reputation was tarnished.
But while the NHTSA discovered one of its test cars caught fire after undergoing crash testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety -- which also totaled three Chevrolet Volts in the interest of crash-safety testing -- didn’t see any Volts catch fire.
The difference, according to EVworld.com, is that while the NHTSA managed to rupture battery coolant lines during testing, almost identical crash tests at the hands of the IIHS failed to damage the Volt’s battery pack housing or coolant pipes.
And without a ruptured coolant line or battery pack housing, the liquid coolant -- now believed to be the cause of the NHTSA crash-test fires -- couldn’t leak into the Volt’s 16 Kilowatt-hour battery pack and cause an electrical short.
Moreover, the IIHS test-cars, which were wrecked during testing in February, remained in a fully-charged post-crash test for nearly five months before a technician from Chevrolet came to discharge their battery packs.
It’s no wonder then, that the IIHS sticks by its own safety rating and top safety pick award for the plug-in hybrid car.
And yet we’ve not seen much mention of the Volt’s IIHS crash test successes since, allowing many commentators with political axes to grind the chance to continue their uninformed war against Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid.
What do the IIHS tests tell us?
Simply put, not every Chevrolet volt side-impact will result in a fire, and not every car with liquid battery cooling is dangerous.
But as 2011 turns into 2012, we hope that common sense, not hysteria, prevails.
+++++++++++
Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.
Related Articles
-
2014 Subaru Forester Aces New IIHS Crash Test; Other Crossovers, Not So Much
-
2013 Nissan Leaf Electric Car Gets IIHS 'Top Safety Pick' Rating
-
Fusion, Altima Get IIHS Top Safety Pick 'Plus'; Prius V, Camry Fall Short
-
IIHS: 2013 Dodge Dart Named A Top Safety Pick
-
Some Small Cars Generate Big Insurance Claims
-
Follow Us
On Facebook
Most Popular This Week
More »
Flying Electric Bicycle Debuts In Prague, Will NYC Ban These Too? 
2014 Ford Focus Electric: No Updates, No Love For Ford's... 
2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Luxury Coupe Featured On Jay Leno's... 
Nissan Leaf Electric Car: Ultimate Guide, What You Need To Know 
GM, BMW Complete Testing Of New CCS Quick-Charging Stations For... Find Green Cars
Photo Galleries
More from High Gear Media
- Follow Us
Have an opinion?
automakers have discovered. Like all Fed govt tests, they guarantee nothing and are not particularly relevant when cases come up in court. Ditto for the emissions tests that automakers must pass, but which provide zero immunity from lawsuits. Ain't
our system wonderful? Automakers must pass these test and, in the end, it means nothing. The IRS, of course, operates the same way. Regardless of what they tell you when you call and ask them a question about taxes, you are liable if you follow their advice and it turns out (as it often does) to be not quite accurate.
That's very deceptive wording. The evidence is that you have to crash it from the side, and leave it unattended but fully charged for 5 weeks. In other words, you have to work really hard to make it burst into flames. So, "Very, very few crashes wold result in a fire, and they would be delayed by weeks" would be a more honest summary.
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!