So far, there have been no complaints of such fires in any Volt in consumer hands. Second, GM and NHTSA will be potentially working with SAE to define new standards for battery depowering across the hybrid market.

First, GM will contact all Volt owners, informing them of the issue and offering a replacement vehicle to drive while it and NHTSA investigate the problem. The automaker has announced an initiative in cooperation with NHTSA and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). In any case, GM is trying to get out in front of any public concerns over the Volt's safety. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play All production Volts have programming that GM put in place last July to 'depower' the battery after a crash, dissipating any remaining charge and rendering the battery inert. GM contends the fire happened because the prototype test vehicle's programming was incomplete. The prevailing theory explaining the battery fire says that the coolant lines serving the battery were probably severed during the crash, leading to a short or eventual overheating condition. As a result, NHTSA has opened an inquiry into not only the Volt's battery pack performance but also the post-crash performance of all hybrid vehicle battery packs. In followup testing, NHTSA crash tested a Volt battery pack and found it sparked at one point for 500 milliseconds before settling to a stable condition. After the test they stashed the mangled Volt outside, and three weeks later the vehicle's battery pack shorted and caught fire-an incident which has been widely reported on. NHTSA found the Volt to meet its five star crash rating. In the case of the Chevy Volt, those growing pains have come during testing done by the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) showing a possibility of fire in extreme crash scenarios.īack in May, NHTSA conducted a severe side-impact crash test that smashed a Volt against a pole-shaped barrier. Any time new technology hits the market, some growing pains are sure to follow.

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