fire
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A Tesla fire in Los Angeles last week is drawing attention again to the safety of the cars' lithium-ion batteries. British television and stage director Michael Morris drove his Tesla Model S on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood when a couple in another car flagged him down and told him to pull over, according to a Tweet by his wife, actress Mary McCormack. McCormack captured and shared a video with flames shooting from beneath the Tesla. Morris exited the car before it was engulfed in flames, and no injuries were reported. @Tesla This is what happened to my husband and his car today...
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BMW i3 plug-in hybrid recall to fix fuel-vapor problem, fire concerns
BMW is recalling more than 19,000 i3 REx extended-range electric cars due to concerns over the potential for fires to be started by fuel vapors. The REx uses a small gasoline engine to charge its battery pack, offering a longer range than the all-electric i3 when both gasoline and electric power...
Stephen Edelstein -
Probe into Smart ForTwo engine fires started by NHTSA
The NHTSA is investigating eight reported engine fires in 2008 and 2009 Smart ForTwo city cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S fire in Norway caused by short circuit in car
The topic of electric cars and fires is a fraught one, not helped by the recent spate of videos of cheap Chinese hoverboards in flames. Any fire in an electric car tends to make headlines, regardless of whether the facts have been established. Now we have the results of an investigation into the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Cooperates With Police, Awaits Model S Crash And Fire Findings
Tesla Motors is assisting Los Angeles police and fire departments in their investigation following the high-speed crash of a stolen Tesla Model S early Friday morning. Officers reported chasing the Model S at speeds of up to 100 mph before the stolen vehicle hit another car on North La Brea Avenue...
Antony Ingram -
Stolen Tesla Model S Involved In Multi-Car Wreck In West Hollywood
A stolen Tesla Model S was destroyed in a crash Thursday night following a police chase that hit speeds of 100 mph through West Hollywood. Several other vehicles were also destroyed in the high-speed accident and at least four people were hospitalized, in a crash that left the Model S split in two...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will fit three new underbody components to all Model S electric cars to add further protection against impacts from road debris, which caused a pair of fires in its cars last fall. Those two Model S cars were severely damaged when their battery packs, mounted under the floor, were pierced by road debris and subsequently caught fire. A third Tesla fire occurred in Mexico after a Model S was stolen, run off the road at high speeds, and through a reinforced concrete wall, tearing off wheels and totaling the car. ALSO SEE: First Tesla Model S Fire...
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Tesla, Irvine Fire Dept Disagree Over Cause Of Garage Fire
Authorities are currently investigating the causes of a fire in a garage in Southern California that contained a Tesla Model S. While the actual cause of the fire remains undetermined, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] and the Orange County Fire Authority are publicly disputing possible causes, thought to...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Fires: NHTSA Will Probe, Warranty To Cover Fire Damage, Ride-Height Tweak
It's been quite a month for Tesla Motors and its CEO, Elon Musk. In the wake of three fires in Model S electric luxury sedans, a tsunami of media coverage about those fires, and a falling stock price--which may or may not be directly related--the company went on the offensive yesterday. MORE: Tesla...
John Voelcker -
How Tesla May Beef Up Its Model S Battery Protection System
Unless your name is Brinks, you rarely hear the words "armor" and "car" mentioned in the same sentence. But two recent widely-publicized fires in the Tesla Model S electric car have put the spotlight on how its battery pack is protected from severe impacts underneath the car. MORE: Tesla Fires...
David Noland -
Tesla Fires: What We Know, And What We Need To Find Out
There have now been three separate fires among roughly 20,000 Tesla Model S electric luxury sedans on the world's highways. The most recent one, two days ago, seems to have set off a fresh round of Internet fulmination--combined with much opining on what the news would do to the falling stock price...
John Voelcker -
Owner Of Tesla Model S That Burned Still Loves Car, Will Buy Another
Tesla Motors is responding to media coverage of the first Model S fire with information and a testimonial from the car's owner.
Stephen Edelstein -
It had to happen sooner or later: a fire in a Tesla Model S. And indeed, as first covered by Jalopnik, Tuesday's fire in one example of the luxury electric sedan outside Seattle, Washington, generated a remarkable amount of media coverage. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] issued a statement on the accident yesterday: Yesterday, a Model S collided with a large metallic object in the middle of the road, causing significant damage to the vehicle. The car’s alert system signaled a problem and instructed the driver to pull over safely, which he did. No one was injured, and the sole occupant had...
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Cars Bursting Into Flames All Over China--And They're Not Electric
Discovering fire is undoubtedly a high point in mankind's history, but it's easy to overlook its benefits when it's consuming something you own. We'll forgive you if your thoughts turned towards electric cars at this stage. After all, the last few years have seen a few high-profile electric car...
Antony Ingram -
338 Fisker Karmas Wrecked By Sandy Waiting For Recall Parts
As luxury automaker Fisker prepares to battle in the courts over its Sandy-damaged Karmas, more details have emerged as to why its cars were sitting at Port Newark in the first place--they were there for recall work. 338 Fisker Karmas were submerged during the deluge of Superstorm Sandy, damaging...
Antony Ingram -
Sandy Flood Fire Followup: Fisker Karma Battery Not At Fault
It's becoming an awkward, unfortunate routine. Somewhere, somehow, a Fisker Karma catches fire, and the company rushes in its inspectors and engineers to analyze the incident. A few days later, Fisker Automotive issues a statement explaining that the battery of the range-extended electric car isn't...
John Voelcker -
Sandy Carnage: Fisker Karmas Submerged In Salt Water Burn At Port
For luxury automaker Fisker, things just go from bad to worse. While hurricane Sandy has caused more pressing issues for the East coast and its residents than a few submerged cars, images of sixteen destroyed Fisker Karmas will do nothing to ease nerves at the troubled firm. Worse still, the images...
Antony Ingram -
That Smart Electric-Car Fire? Never Mind; It's Not Electric At All
Our hearts sink a little every time we discover news of an electric car fire. Will others also go up in flames? Will the media turn it into an anti-EV frenzy, like they did with the Chevy Volt? Reports of an electric Smart ForTwo going up in flames at a home in Florida brought all those thoughts...
Antony Ingram -
Well, that was quick. On Saturday, just eight days after a fire badly damaged a 2012 Fisker Karma, the company has completed its forensic investigation, announced the cause, and started a recall for the part in question. Fisker concluded that the fire was caused by an internal fault in a sealed low-temperature cooling fan, located forward of the left-front wheel. That component, the company says, failed, overheated, and started a slow fire that spread to other components in the range-extended electric luxury sedan. Fisker will replace the cooling fan in all Karmas sold to date, and add a fuse...
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Fisker Fire Cause: Not Exhaust, Battery, Or Electric Drive, Company Says
While Fisker's new CEO may be getting headlines today, the company continues to grapple with fallout from Friday's fire in a 2012 Fisker Karma. Over the weekend, Fisker had issued a statement saying it was investigating the incident. Yesterday, the company issued a further statement. In the...
John Voelcker -
Second Fisker Karma Fire Casts Fresh Doubt On Plug-In Hybrid
Given the hurricane of bad publicity for the Chevrolet Volt last year over a battery-pack fire (in a crash-testing vehicle, a week after it was wrecked), any fire at all in a plug-in car is one too many. So the occurrence of a second fire among only 1,000 Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury...
John Voelcker -
High-Speed Impact, Not Batteries, To Blame In BYD Electric Car Fire
The post-impact electric-car fire which led to the death of three people in Shenzhen, China earlier this year was not caused by the car’s battery pack, crash investigators have concluded. The tragedy happened in May, when a BYD e6 all-electric taxi was hit early one morning by a speeding...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Huge 2012 Chevy Volt Crash Proves Its Safety Credentials
Ever since a battery pack from a 2012 Chevrolet Volt caught fire weeks after it was subjected to tough National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tests in a laboratory, critics of General Motor’s plug-in hybrid have been quick to question its safety credentials. But after a Toyota Camry...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BYD e6 Electric Taxi Burns After 112-MPH Drunk Supercar Driver Crash
Over the weekend we heard the disturbing news that a BYD e6 electric taxi in Shenzhen China had burst into flames and killed three of its occupants after being hit by a speeding drunk driver. According to eyewitness reports, the BYD e6 taxi, one of around 400 e6 electric taxis being used in the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield