Chevrolet Volt Fires May Have Been Result Of Coolant Leak
GM engineers believe recent battery fires found after two Chevrolet Volt crashes may have been the result of battery coolant leaks that interacted with on-board electronics.
After two initial crashes showed issues with the cars systems GM engineers have promises to make the car battery “more robust” according to GM product chief Mary Barra.
The goal at this point is for engineers to learn more about fundamental issues that may occur because of electric vehicle system. In each case the battery waited hours and even days after each crash to catch on fire.
GM engineers are working with government engineers to determine how the issue occurred in the first place and how they can avoid future issues with their lithium-ion battery setup. At this time vehicles involved in a crash have their batteries drained by a team of GM workers.
It should be noted that after more than 100 years on the road the same type of issues occur with gas-powered vehicles. 200 non-electric cars caught on fire in the U.S. during crashes in 2010.
In the meantime GM is offering their 6,400 Volt owners a loaner car until the issue can be fully resolved and they have said that buying back the vehicles from worried customers could become a possibility should the issue not be solved in a timely manner.
In the meantime Volt owners have shown almost no concern over their electric vehicles, in fact I saw three non-dealer Chevy Volt’s driving around my city in the last three days and I’m sure that tally will increase as I keep track.
With GM hoping to revitalize their image with the Chevy Volt line their approach to helping customers immediately may in fact end up providing an unexpected benefit, proof that the company want their customers to be happy and fully satisfied with the GM vehicles they decide to purchase.
Do you think the Chevy Volt battery issue will ultimately hurt sales or will GM’s quick response and excellent customer service help the company attract an entirely new demographic of buyers.
[Image via Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com]
