A few weeks ago, General Motors issued a small aside regarding an investigation into the Chevrolet Volt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The issue revolved around the car’s lithium-ion battery and a vehicle fire caused because of it, but the evaluation outfit had yet to make their inquiry public. That is until now as the NHTSA has unveiled the reasonings behind the defect investigation. Covering both 2011 and 2012 model year cars, the battery has a high probability of being affected by ” intrusion damage”, i.e. a crash. In a separate statement, Jim Federico, General Motors chief engineer for electric vehicles, said that the company is in full support of the investigation and will do what it can to remedy any potential issue.
On May 12, 2011, a Chevrolet Volt was brought into the NHTSA’s testing facility where a side pole impact and post impact rollover test were performed. The car then sat for 21 days at which point ” delayed thermal heating and pressure release” caused an entire vehicle fire that took out three other cars in the general area. During the week of November 14, follow-up tests were conducted to simulate the first incident and two of the three tests resulted in a fire.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informed GM today that it will begin a preliminary evaluation of Chevrolet Volt battery assemblies. The move to take this formal, procedural step is not unexpected as GM has worked closely and cooperatively with NHTSA over the last six months on a part of a broader program designed to induce battery failure after extreme situations,” said Federico. Currently, GM is working with the administration to figure out the operating limits of the lithium-ion batteries in hopes of setting industry-wide performance standards. “The Volt is safe and does not present undue risk as part of normal operation or immediately after a severe crash. GM and the agency’s focus and research continues to be on battery performance, handling, storage and disposal after a crash or other significant event, like a fire, to better serve first and secondary responders. There have been no reports of comparable incidents in the field.”
Source: General Motors & NHTSA
