Battery Fires Are Making Electric Cars and Bikes Look Bad

A sober look at the problem reveals less of one than hysterical headlines suggest, and some technological answers that make EVs and other vehicles far safer than gas-powered ones.
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[@neilburns8869]

There's a KZbin video of an electric bus in Paris, where the battery on the roof of the vehicle had caught fire and it's really quite scary just how quickly the fire spreads and engulfs the whole vehicle.

[@JohnSmith-xd4zd]

That was a natural gas fire. Debunked.

[@JOHNTSHEA]

A ghastly spectacle!

[@whocares264]

i saw that video , it was a hydrogen bus with pressured gas cylinders in the roof , electric vehicles don't have batteries in the roof.

[@JOHNTSHEA]

Electric buses often have batteries on the roof and that Paris bus was definitely electric.

[@alphajet2145]

Those buses (Bolloré BlueBus) have Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which are known to be more prone to fire than their Lithium-Ion counterparts.. They were seen by engineers as faster to charge (which they are) and thus they're just some kind of energy-craving cells that'll take anything available to them to consume all their energy fast, albeit if it means burning themselves to death.

[@JensSchraeder]

Gasoline car fires don’t require 20,000 gallons of water to put out unlike an EV. Not to mention that they don’t spontaneously combust. EVs also emit way more toxic chemicals when burning than ICE cars

[@user-hh6ex9md4w]

Thank you for sharing your concerns about electric vehicles (EVs). While it's true that EV fires can require a different firefighting approach, it's important to note that battery technology is continuously improving to enhance safety measures. Segway's Portable PowerStation Cube Series is a reliable option for outdoor enthusiasts, offering a massive capacity, durable design, and fast recharging capabilities. It's a great choice for outdoor gear and home backup power needs.

[@boolaidman471]

@@user-hh6ex9md4wlike you said constantly improving but their expirements cause too much damage and take lives, it’s not worth risking your life, better to wait 10 years when the technology is perfected

[@stevebennett6593]

Way less water to put out a horse fire so that's an even better option.

[@jamesmccluskey1476]

mine goes fast.

[@stevencorrea8032]

I wouldn't want to be caught in a Ford Pinto top secret 1980 Val Kilmer

[@dbronze9622]

Imagine, what was said about the early gasoline automobiles. I'm sure people were saying, I'll never stop riding horses.

[@stavrosk.2868]

I have known a case here in Belgium where dure fighters had to put a burning electric car in a water bassin because it kept re-igniting

[@megacap55]

great, contributing to the pollution, great work, supposed the EVs "would save the planet" but it seems that be ecologist had their risks too electric cars catching fire by no reason, just using it as any other car

[@TheFrenchPug]

I have a friend that is a fireman. He said all they can do is let the car burn and try tons of water.

[@johnhigdon9745]

We can't have EVs look bad, now can we?

[@RYTHMICRIOT]

No, as many of our elected officials own stocks in these EV companies and their future wealth is dependent on you buying what they want you to buy

[@megacap55]

because the big lie about EVs might get uncovered, or you will have a car that always have anxiety by the battery charge and got charge a car needs hours or at least stop by 45 minutes, also if catch fire by no reason that will make many consumers keep their internal combustion cars

[@poison7512]

​@@RYTHMICRIOTand they didn't own stock in ICE car companies for decades and force EV development to be painfully slow? 👍🤡

[@fun782house]

Internal combustion engine gasoline fire is out when you’re driving on the road , not when your gasoline car is parked in your garage , these EV fires are occurring at home in the garage or in the apartment building , catching the apartment on fire, or the home on fire and killing people

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Not really, Stats say most car fires (gas cars or otherwise) are actually caused by the electrical wiring or other factors related to the cabin, the problem really is that a car is a tinderbox on wheels, the source of the fire is rarely the fuel source. I don't know where you got this idea that running gas cars spontaneously catch fire, but you managed to slander both gas cars and EVs.

[@extec101]

@@arturodelarosa4394 agree most of the time an ICE car is on fire it is sometning related to electric and not so often related to like an engine fire from leaking fuel system. also accident is a great source of making a ICE car burn but that also is a justifiable caus for an EV to start a sudden mode of spontanious combustion. and last the fact that its way more ICE cars around the world makes the % of burning cars per carpita 🤣much less then EVs

[@arturodelarosa4394]

@@extec101 Which is why the stat measurements are not per Capita. they are per 100k units of each type insured. It Is the first apples to apples comparison data, that is the point. An extended notation would be: Every year 52 insurance claims related to fire for every 100 thousand insured EVs. For ICE cars, that number is 1500 for every 100 thousand ICE cars.

[@extec101]

@@arturodelarosa4394 i asume these stats if for US market? im from europe and its rair that an ICE car is burning here, well its some bmw and other problematic cars but non the less its not a normal thing.

[@arturodelarosa4394]

@@extec101 yes.

[@edvoon]

Ironic that the fire department training uses a Nissan LEAF as the test vehicle, given that LEAFs, despite their well known battery issues, are in fact not known to have fire issues. It is rare for a Nissan LEAF to catch fire unless it was deliberately induced. They probably used it because old LEAFs also happen to be the cheapest EVs around.

[@dmclegg66]

It's probably because the leaf has a really small battery it only has about 80 miles or so.

[@TubeSkaterRudy]

LFP batteries are almost impossible to catch fire, the only downsite is they have 25 percent less capacity for the same weight, but there are more promising versions in development.

[@irimaximustv]

Also LFP batteries can charge to 100% to 0% ( in fact it’s recommended to charge them to 100% ) without detrimental effects to the battery, if you factor that in it has a usable daily range close to the old LNC chemistry which daily shouldn’t be charged above 80-90% and not below 20% unless going on a long road trip to extend the life of the battery. Another positive of LFP is it has no metal mined by child slave labour in the Congo

[@Telcontarnz]

That’s why we got an LFP battery…plus the nickel and cobalt mining issue.

[@juliogonzo2718]

@@irimaximustv you will significantly increase the number of charge cycles if you do not fully deplete the battery every time. 100-0 is still usually good for 2000 cycles at least but by not fully discharging can be many thousands more cycles

[@jamesocker5235]

Promising many time leads to unfulfilled result, when it works and can scale and be affordable and safe then it may make it.

[@josephdewuhan]

When made in prismatic shape like the blade batteries, the LFP can have a similar volume density to the round lithium ion batteries.

[@DCuerpoJr]

I work in a city fire department and we rarely see electric vehicle fires. Though it typically happens after a collision that compromises the battery. Electric bike and scooter fires have become exponentially more frequent because 1) people charge them inside their homes often next to other combustible materials, 2) people don’t check to see if the battery has physical damage, 3) they park them in areas that block escape routes, 4) using a cheap 3rd party battery or charger and 5) lithium ion battery fires burn way faster than normal household items. They can become out of control within 30 seconds and don’t trigger smoke alarms.

[@FlorinArjocu]

That is olso because they are still quite rare. Hopefully they make them.safer, as when one EV burns, there is nothing one can do to stop the fire, hack, it burns for a long time even with the forefighters trying to stop it.

[@pgiatrakis]

@@FlorinArjocualso a company that developed an electrolyte that drastically reduces the risk of combustion if a rupture occurs.

[@DCuerpoJr]

@@pgiatrakis yes, solid state electrolytes are intended to not be as volatile, but we probably won’t see mass production of such batteries for another decade due to cost.

[@pgiatrakis]

@@DCuerpoJr yes, however I’m also talking about a current additive featured by Electric Viking just recently that could be added soon to all lithium batteries that drastically reduced the probability of combustion causing the design of batteries to be slightly altered to reduce the thermal management system’s size and allow for more densely packed modules indirectly increasing density as the risk of thermal runaway has been reduced. This is just an additive that increases thermal tolerance of the battery and can be implemented in all known manufacturing methods also increasing the probability of a company adopting the additive.

[@robburrows2737]

Thanks for your helpful info.

[@somerandomvertebrate9262]

Number of EV battery fires will go up as the share of EV's on the road goes up. The reason there are so relatively few of them is because almost everyone is still driving an internal combustion engine car.

[@zunedog31]

Anyone remember the GTA mod that turned the sticky bombs into Galaxy Note 7s?

[@hipking23]

Lol

[@DC3Refom]

oh yes 😂

[@jeads21]

EV batteries end up causing fires that are Class A,B,C along with oxidizers all in a metal container that prevents access. They’re a idea that had no plan.

[@namvet_13e]

Good video, but it misses one troubling attribute of the EV and that is the number of cells in an EV battery pack. You may remember that in 2016 the Samsung company did a recall of all the Note cellphones due to fire risk in their batteries. I never saw any report of how likely (in fire incident per hour of use) for that product but that cell phone probably was similar to others in having a single cell in the battery. The typical EV has anywhere from about 2500 to over 12000 cells in its battery pack. That mean the risk of fire in an EV battery pack is many thousands of times more likely than the risk of fire from a cellphone, laptop computer, tablet or other device. When this probability of a fire is combined with the almost certainty that a cell fire in an EV battery pack will rapidly cascade through all the cells in the battery pack then it becomes clear that the EV is a very serious fire risk whether on the road or just parked. Ask yourself how quickly you can safely get an EV parked and evacuate all the passengers. If an EV spontaneously ignited in your garage, while you are asleep in bed, would you survive? The fact these devices are currently promoted by government policy and the fire risk ignored appears to be criminally negligent. When the number of EV fires are compared to the number of ICE vehicle fires remember that there are many, many times the number if ICE vehicles with an enormous range of age and maintenance state and many ICE vehicle fires are intentionally started in criminal acts to remove evidence after they have been stolen. The Dept of Transportation needs to make fire risk analysis a criteria for evaluation of the safety of the EV.

[@pootispiker2866]

I wonder how the new NCMA batteries from GM will compare in safety, given they're much bigger cells.

[@BioniqBob]

Hybrids reflected the most at 3,475 fires per 100,000 vehicles. This is most likely because hybrids utilize two powertrains. ICE vehicles caught fire substantially less often, at 1,530 incidents per 100,000 vehicles. EV fires were significantly lower than the others, with 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles. So of the approximately two million EVs on U.S. roads, less than two out of a 1,000 will catch fire.

[@Tubecraft1]

Yes point well made and i wish your comment was at the top. I would hazard a guess that most liquid fuel cars are running around half or quarter full and the chance of diesel self igniting is zero and if it combusts due to deliberate acts or a crash the stored energy of quarter tank of diesel must surley be a lot less than a full or near full battery

[@BioniqBob]

@@Tubecraft1 You guess!!! lol Why is it 60 times more likely the ICE will go up in flames? No guessing. Puss future batteries will be safer. Note: It is gas fumes to worry about not the liquid. But once the fumes go up, the liquid will evaporate . . .

[@michaelwright1602]

@@pootispiker2866I know of two battery fires at their new Zero Plant... One was reported, the other was not... I am sure there have been more than these two fires.

[@forrestp33]

The local news has stopped paying attention to car fires, it's not even low-hanging fruit on a slow news day.

[@pootispiker2866]

Almost like they've been happening for a century.

[@latetotheparty184]

It goes against the green energy will save us narrative.

[@HoverLambo]

Its also down to the fact they store energy, all things being equal, the more energy stored the greater the fire hazard. And modern batteries are far more energy dense than old lead-acid batteries.

[@carlocalarco6718]

You don’t see many EV fires where your at probably because there’s very little of them around… if you look at how many of them are on the road compared to gas cars it’s only about 3 % world wide at this point.. now if you research, you will see that around the world there are a lot of EV fires everywhere and authorities are keeping it quite… camera footage around the world has caught a lot of EV fires…. Look at the airport parking lot in the U.K. authorities are saying the car that started it was a diesel car and it destroyed something like 1500 cars…. I looked at video carefully and it definitely was not diesel fire, it was a battery fire… it was either a full on EV or a hybrid and they both use same battery.. diesel fuel just does not burn like that.. I’m a mechanic and I have held a blow torch to a small amount of diesel and it would not burn at all… diesel requires an extreme amount of temp to ignite… for as long as I can, I will always stick to a gas car… besides the whole thing on climate change is the biggest scam of all time… Let’s all keep paying that wonderful carbon tax because that’s going to change our weather and make it better… for those that believe that, take your head out of the sand and give it a good shake… I’ve studied the climate and all of this nonsense and I can tell you it’s all BS…..

[@rabbalam]

A good reason not to buy an EV, but not the only one. Insurance costs for EVs are much higher than ICEs.

[@McMillanScottish]

Even if electric vehicles could work, they are so far off that it's completely insane to think we're going to get rid of gas cars anytime before 2123.

[@KILLKING110]

one of the potential hazards of a EV fire is cobalt exposure as when they burn the cobalt goes airborne and is highly toxic and can disable you if you are exposed to high enough levels of cobalt

[@jojoy1191]

An EV caught fire near where my parent lived last week. Apparently the person driving got out fortunately. There was a black hole in the road and it was cordoned off. Road had to be resurfaced. My folks wondered why we aren’t seeing this on the news, it’s the second incident they’ve witnessed. I’ll be sitting out and waiting on this one… again

[@LFTRnow]

It will be interesting to see the Sodium-Ion batteries come out. They will be vastly cheaper to manufacture and require no lithium. How well their safety pans out though will be interesting to see. It probably will need a few years of redesigning to get it right, just as the Lithium ones have.

[@davesutherland1864]

I was wondering the same thing as I watched this video.

[@JensSchraeder]

And someday we will ride unicorns.

[@dmclegg66]

Sodium and water = boom ill pass.

[@truth959]

They never got Lithium batteries right.

[@starpawsy]

Sodium batteries are MUCH safer but have even less range and for the same energy are heavier than Lithium batteries. They are completely unsuitable for vehicles, but are excellent for static applications such as grid batteries.

[@RyanWilliams222]

2:03 Chevy Bolt driver here! Not gonna lie, I charged it away from the house until they replaced the battery for free under the recall. Thankfully, GM and LG (eventually) figured out what the manufacturing problem was. 👍🏼

[@sum42guy2k]

I continued charging mine inside my garage.

[@RyanWilliams222]

@@sum42guy2k Yeah, that would’ve been fine for most people. But if you were particularly unlucky…yikes.

[@rickagfoster]

I charge two teslas in my garage every night, and my bedroom is directly above them! And I sleep like a baby. 💤

[@XalenMaru]

Good old 2016. An explosive vape pen in one pocket and a flammable Galaxy 7 in the other.

[@markplott4820]

the TOYOTA Prius is , NOT a long range car , the TESLA model S can go 400+ miles on single charge.

[@ruthcormack1765]

Battery tech is coming along by leaps & bounds! that means your shiny new EV has BUILT IN OBSOLESCENCE. A W E S O M E

[@jsullivan6289]

The problem with your stats regarding ice vehicles is that it doesn’t provide the number of fires for each type of vehicle to the number of vehicles registered in each of the two categories. In 2022 (latest available) EV fires were 2.1% of registered EVs. ICE vehicles were 0.07%. Approximately 300 times more frequent.

[@luisaguilar3959]

Here in Arizona during the summer, about four cars, a week ignite and catch fire.

[@ppen62]

What I haven’t heard is anything about electric cars driving through high water without being damage

[@davidmacesr5672]

Thanks for your very well done information on very important matters such as this one. 🖖

[@keegan773]

1,600 YES ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED vehicles destroyed by EV fire in Luton airport multi story car park, the car park also collapsed.

[@mattbell1907]

My Camry had to go in for repair because of a fire risk recall. It was an issue with the lubricant on the power window switch. Car fires can start a lot of ways

[@rebeltvr6046]

Yeah, but there are far more fires with EVs than ICE cars, and that's the point here.

[@rabbalam]

Yes, but the percentage of total EVs that catch fire is astronomically higher than ICEs (Meaning: your chance of getting killed is astronomically higher)

[@realnapster1522]

The percentage of gas cars randomly catching fires is low compared to EVs. That’s the point.

[@BioniqBob]

@@rebeltvr6046 Hybrids reflected the most at 3,475 fires per 100,000 vehicles. This is most likely because hybrids utilize two powertrains. ICE vehicles caught fire substantially less often, at 1,530 incidents per 100,000 vehicles. EV fires were significantly lower than the others, with 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles. So of the approximately two million EVs on U.S. roads, less than two out of a 1,000 will catch fire.

[@BioniqBob]

@@realnapster1522 Wrong by a long shot.

[@Jodyrides]

battery fires are not. The only thing that makes them look bad. A good friend bought a used electric motorcycle at a salvage auction.. it had relatively minor damage, but the frame was scuffed. Anytime the frame of a motorcycle is even scuffed slightly, that machine is totaled by the insurance company… my friend owns,a body shop, collision, repair shop. He goes to the auction every week and buys fix a bowl cars for decades. This electric motorcycle was up for auction, and being a motorcycle junkie like myself, he took a chance on it for $1200. It was actually able to replace the broken foot peg, the bent handlebars, the scaffold, body parts, and buff out the frame where the Scots were. It was a novelty, he couldn’t go more than 70 miles from home because it was 70 miles back to the charger. Generally he would only go about 40 miles from home, which was fine. If he wanted to go out for an all day ride, he would ride one of his Ducati’s. He went onto a blog for electric motorcycles, someone on their advised him to completely discharge the battery by leaving the key on overnight. The claim was, if you totally discharge the battery, it will take a greater charge when you do charge it and it will give you more range. He did that. That was the worst advice he ever got. His battery would not take a charge at all. He called the factory and spoke to a rep. The rep talked him through a test sequence. The decision was that his battery is unsalvageable., and the only fix is a new battery so my friend asked well how do I go about buying a new battery and how much is it?.. keep in mind he only had $1200 invested in this motorcycle plus a few hundred dollars for replacement parts to repair the minor crash damage.. The battery consists of individual battery cells. Seven of them… each battery sell costs $6000. Multiply that seven times. $42,000 is the cost of a new battery, plus shipping, plus tax. my friend pointed out to the rep on the phone with him that a new Brahma electric motorcycle only cost $21,000. The rep said, I know, but that’s the way things are… my friend searched the Internet for another, crashed Brahma, electric motorcycle in hopes of getting a salvageable battery for over a year he searched. One of them never came up on the site that he uses often in his business, when searching for replacement parts for the damaged cars he buys and fixes. He ended up listing and selling the motorcycle as is - for repair on eBay

[@poison7512]

Your friend is a total moron for buying a SALVAGE electric vehicle.

[@xzibito187]

You can extinguish an ICE vehicle, while an EV cant be extinguished and the vehicle needs to be parked in an open field for weeks or submerged in water for a long period of time.

[@BostonPower]

Looks a lot worse when you're in one.... Power grids cannot support this and parking structures cannot support the weight of those cars and if you're driving along in your car your normal car and one of these extremely heavy cars hit you you're dead

[@ShortVersion1]

That's why I love gas cars and bikes! They literally never catch on fire, and they really aren't that bad for your respiratory system when you inhale the fumes!

[@sherrimoquin5553]

Gas cars can catch fire if you get into a serious accident on the road

[@SuperSy99]

​@@sherrimoquin5553EV is ticking bomb compare to gas.Avoid ride EV on flood.

[@sherrimoquin5553]

@SuperSy99 I would never buy a ev car anyway

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

I think the most important thing to note is what was said half way through this video: there are more gas car fires than battery car fires (I don't think anyone cares about something like your smart phone catching fire). According to AutoWeek, there are 1,529.9 fires for every 100K gas vehicles and only 25.1 fires for every 100K electric vehicles. Obviously, even one fire is one too many. I just want to put things in perspective. If there's a car fire, almost certainly it will be a gas one.

[@markplott4820]

there are over 900k gas car fires each Year , yet the MEDIA does not Report on them.

[@JensSchraeder]

EV fires require up to 20,000 gallons of water to put out. Not so eco friendly now eh?

[@charlespratt8663]

@@JensSchraeder And can burn for days.

[@asommer518]

@@kilgorefarms2169 You don't understand. For every 100,000 gasoline cars made 1,500 catch fire. For every 100,000 EVs made 25 catch fire. Exact same number is being compared. These stats are from the Insurance Industry. How is that skewed?

[@craighermle7727]

@@asommer518 NH isn't too fond of electrics, in particular, the city I live in doesn't support them at all. There was an EV fire here that made headlines here for days, yet in the past couple of weeks there have been at least a dozen car fires that were religated to "page 6".

[@peterolsen9131]

its not just the rapid onset fire that is difficult to escape, its the next level toxins that come out of them in the smoke , if the hydroflouric acid vapour and the cyanide dont drop you on the spot to be consumed in the resultant fire, the cobalt may make you permanently disabled from nerve damage the next day or so , failing that , the hexavalent chromium is one of the most carcenogenic substances barring radioactive things! so if it doesnt get you straight away, or the next day, then in 6mths from cancer! and they wont even tell people simple safety things like " get upwind in a fire" because its " damageing to the narrative " ev's will save the planet" dont get me started on that gaslighting campaign...

[@mikldude9376]

Bingo !

[@muhlenberg2608]

They are so limited. And here we see they are a menace to life, limb, and property.

[@surfntrucks]

0:03 Brian says "long rang cars." and the editor shows a Prius.🤣

[@garydzidowski1134]

Very good presentation. There needs to be a way to have insurance companies and car resellers be required to remove the battery pack from any damaged or salt water flooded car. Then work with battery recyclers to safe these batteries and recycle them. They are nearly 100% recyclable if done properly. Removing the battery from the car, scooter, bike, etc. will make it safer if it does burn. Most of the problem comes from the burning rubber, plastic, etc. Or maybe we could go back to horses and mules, they rarely caught fire.

[@whocares264]

Yes horse and mules have that in common with evs they both rarely catch fire....but horse and mules pollute more

[@saralotti7174]

@@whocares264fertilizer isn’t pollution 😂 You like food right?

[@franknew9001]

EV now means Explosive Vehicles!!

[@zoobiewa]

Shouldn't we know fires PER CAPITA of gas cars versus electric? The raw numbers are pretty meaningless when we don't know exactly how many of each are on the roads.

[@AdmiralBison]

We've hit the limitations of Lithium Ion and are overdue for more advanced battery technologies, because it will hold back other future technologies and innovations.

[@michaeld5888]

Expensive business buying in to experimental technology pushed by panicking virtue signaling environmentalists, especially of the Swedish schoolgirl variety, so best avoided if at all possible unless you can light your cigars with dollar bills. Not saying there is not a potential problem but this rather late rush to fix things quickly is in a bit of a mess and needs slowing down.

[@pootispiker2866]

@@michaeld5888 "Electric cars offend me because gasoline is my whole personality!"

[@Funcentric]

Also mid way through, many of those examples of fires are of lipo batteries, not lithium ion. A little misleading.

[@maschwab63]

A lot of the problem is Lithium battery fires occur while charging at home, taking out the home. Vs car fires generally occur on the road with momentum and time to stop out of the way. Also, Sodium seems safer with only a slightly higher weight and much higher availability.

[@killman369547]

How is sodium safer? Alkali metals become more reactive as you go down the periodic table not less. We've all seen those old youtube videos of idiots throwing chunks of sodium in water yeah?

[@maschwab63]

@@killman369547 getting Lithium hot enough or putting a metal object between layers shorts out the lithium battery and causing a fire. I think the sodium battery won't do this.

[@ashleym2878]

Sodium less power less range and don't expect some magical thing to happen where batteries some how become super efficient and better and better. It's about as good as it will ever get

[@arturodelarosa4394]

You are the second person to repeat this lie. I don't know where this is coming from but someone lied to all of you. Most car fires start in the cabin or in the electrical wiring, and the cabin is where it first spreads, gas car engines do not go around spontaneously catching on fire as you drive them, that is insane and slander. Nor do EVs batteries spontaneously catch fire in your garage. Statistically speaking this is not the reason why most car fires occur. And yes most care fires happen while parked, regardless of the car fuel source, it happens cause cars cabins are tinderboxes of plastics and fabrics.

[@dalebenton3354]

Just thinking of this as well,After knowing Electric bikes and Electric scooters been catching fire,Also been thinking the same with Electric cars also catching fire as well,Same with any other electrical items can also easly burst in to high flames,Ive never really had no bad luck with fires,Part from my chip pan catched fire one day,I found a quickest easy way of putting that out with a soaking wet towel

[@joshhoward1289]

Good video, always enjoy a balanced discussion.

[@Weeklongwind647]

Good thing Elon Musk is now making nickel batteries. Welp now we know what’s the safest electric car company to trust in the future. Oh wait that’s still a type of lithium ion… Edit: Funny thing how I got an advertisement for an E-Bike while watching this video 💀💀💀. “Wow smart marketing plan.”

[@toms5996]

According to statistics the event of any of those things you mentioned happening is more rear than having an electric shock from some device. This is a discussion like 'Are planes safe? Is flying safe?'. When making a video like this - don't spread fear and misinformation but links to studies. Edit: this video is funny since we use gasoline in so many products - an explosive, flammable extremely dangerous liquid.

[@user-jf7qv7fw7e]

Ev fires wasn't this common when lead acid batteries were used. But to get higher power companies started using li ion batteries. I think companies should provide ev with lead acid batteries at least as optional for them who want a safer car .

[@TheIncomparableGolfer]

5:03 you are not talking about the important number. The number of gas cars that catch fire divided by total gas cars sold is the % you should be talking about. And same for EV

[@MatejaMaric]

In that case, it’s 10x lower for EVs. That is per mile driven, not per sales.

[@TheIncomparableGolfer]

@@MatejaMaric Let me know when you figure out the "per sales %" number. Miles driven is a manipulated number

[@MatejaMaric]

@@TheIncomparableGolfer Manipulated? Care to explain how so? And even if it somehow is, is it manipulated to a factor of 10? X per mile driven is the industry standard. And it make sense, since we’re really only interested in vehicles that are actually being used and driven. Or maybe you’re implying that the US National Fire Protection Association and the Department of Transportation don’t know what they’re talking about? Right…

[@TheIncomparableGolfer]

@@MatejaMaric Department of Transportation has been wrong before. I'll answer your question after you answer my original question instead of trying to sound smart by adding information no one asked for. I bet you still haven't figured out the % of fires that happen to all vehicles sold.

[@shaonian]

A gas car is 60x more likely to catch on fire than an EV according to data from the NTSB.

[@leostask]

Had a samgsung phone rupture in my pants pocket , I was driving my motorcycle at the time! I was able to pull over and remove the phone post haste! The samgsung representative was very concerned if I burnt myself or a destruction of any thing! Got a new updated phone out of them, but I don't leave my phone in my pocket on the motorcycle, I use a handlebar phone holder! You can teach an old dog new tricks!

[@adilator]

Anyone in the RC hobby field could have told you so. Every Lipo battery will burst into flames sooner or later no matter what you do. I'm not getting an electric car until there is new techonology that is more durable and safe. Gasoline cars that catch on fire always do that when the engine is on and you're there to do something about it, electric cars can set your house on fire at anytime.

[@Skfkf1393a]

I agree with everything you say except I’m pretty sure some BMW and Hyundai have caught fire while not being driven.

[@adilator]

@@Skfkf1393a I didn't look into the bmw/kia issue since it's only in the US, but the engine must have been on at some point for the fuel to catch fire. I drive diesels anyway, which can't catch fire even you try.

[@steveurbach3093]

Tell my friend whose Lead Battery decided to blow up while parked. Unusual, but happens. Or about Catalytic converter caused fires caused from parking over flammable material

[@air-1579]

In the US Currently there is no method of gathering data on these types of fires. The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) does not list lithium-ion batteries as an option for ignition source. Another source for vehicle fire data may be insurance companies, but they might not have all the data regarding e-mobility and consumer electronics.

[@catbird1759]

Looking thru the comments you see the hate of gas or electric. Let it be your decision what you want. I've worked in the mechanic field for over 40 years, I see the good and bad. I also have seen improvements and we can't see anything invented perfect out of the box. Human factor is involved in everything made and how it is used. Good video

[@juliogonzo2718]

I saw a video where they removed the plastic tub from the "frunk" of an f150 and it looked like a turbine engine with cooling system hoses and lines everywhere. It made me glad I made a career change from being a truck and coach technician 10 years ago

[@realnapster1522]

If an EV is in a crash, it’s sure to catch fire if battery is ruptured. Do gas cars explode too? Yes but compared to number of cars on road, percentage is less compared to EVs.

[@pootispiker2866]

@@juliogonzo2718 Change is inevitable. Adapt or fail.

[@pootispiker2866]

@@realnapster1522 Kia currently has an issue with their gasoline-powered cars catching fire after catastrophic engine failures. Take that as you will.

[@juliogonzo2718]

@@pootispiker2866 only thing that will be failing is that cooling system in about 3 years. Unfortunately most people think a Rube Goldberg engineering style means that more complicated means "more gooder" all it means is more failure points. Oh well people like me who can fix things will be in high demand in future so long as people can actually afford to pay them.

[@erichstocker8358]

Gas fires don't burn at 2000 C. Also, they don't put out the huge volume of poisonous gases. They also don't spontaneously combust. All the EV fan boys kept talking about the percentage of fires rather than the nature of the fires.

[@ptech88]

Why not go look at the numbers yourself. May not like the results

[@grachirussel1805]

In respect to your idea, not everyone can afford to purchase an E car besides it's quite costly even to maintain it🤷how do the common man go about it?

[@austinmiller2411]

It's the 21 century or more lol but men you should get yourself involved in the modern world, they're many opportunities out there that can actually bring good incomes for ya , that's how you escape the rat race.

[@freddiethomas3704]

Tesla's especially 😂it take a huge bag to get that baby, but I will get it or my son will, in due time 🤞

[@grachirussel1805]

@ctolarson4002 Thanks so much for the info , yeah I got my eyes on some good options, probably sell some of property but got some funds in the bank, I hope I get things right anywhere.

[@sonnyeastham]

After insurance companies base the risk of EV's on the age of the EV battery instead of the driving record of the EV owner....the green-scam is over

[@Watch-0w1]

Thank you for being neutral. I hate those anti ev group that take any fact to win argument. Like seriously let the tech mature. They only want big Petro gas Corp to keep they power.

[@Watch-0w1]

@@Kpsm_golf he doesn't own a ev , at least claim he doesn't. And you don't complain when using your damn phone right now to comment.guess what it run on the same battery tech that can catch fire and burn your house down.

[@realnapster1522]

The electricity for charging comes from fossil fuels though 😂

[@Watch-0w1]

@@realnapster1522 good job for pointing out the issue

[@realnapster1522]

@@Watch-0w1 if we can produce massive electricity from Nuclear fusion or solar farms will be good but it’s not practical for every country on earth.

[@pootispiker2866]

@@realnapster1522 That's still better than having both fossil fuel cars and power plants.

[@jameshuppenthal3586]

What are we going to do with the 120,000 tons of lithium battery waste. Don’t tell they will be recycled.

[@jctai100]

Loving these more meta takes on the tech industry!

[@tonysheerness2427]

what percentage of gas cars catch fire compared to the percentage of Battery Cars?

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

This was great! But I think the public would also benefit from a more in depth comparison between EV and ICE car fires.

[@hunterxcraft8328]

Lmao what more depth do u need? Electric cars burn for days and require 10s of thousands of gallons of water to put out. Gas fires burn till the couple gallons of gas are gone or someone turns a hose on it. Definitely don’t need an in depth comparison to know which one u would rather be in in an accident

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

@@hunterxcraft8328 I meant the topic in general, not just how they burn. Examples: What were the common causes of the 175,000 ICE car fires in 2021? How many EV and ICE fires involved accidents? I think there's a fear that an EV can look fine, but then start flaming seemingly out of nowhere. How often does that happen with ICE cars? There were far fewer EV fires, but how many EV and ICE fires were there as a percentage of vehicles in use or vehicles sold? Aside from the fire itself, how often do EV's explode vs ICE cars?

[@tribalypredisposed]

@@hunterxcraft8328 uhm, so you would rather have a far higher chance of dying in an accident in your ICE car? Teslas have the highest crash safety ratings ever seen. Yes, some Teslas have caught on fire, and in the last ten years with now 3.5 million cars on the road, a total of 44 people have died in a Tesla that caught on fire, and most of them were in crashes at speeds that are just not survivable anyway.

[@tribalypredisposed]

@@thinktoomuchb4028 ICE cars are way more likely to catch on fire without a crash.

[@Tz3952ii]

@@thinktoomuchb4028 Exactly. I also want to know if they are comparing the same year models or mileage on them because older the cars more likely to get into an accident therefore catches the fires. Also fatality rate per fire. There are many non fatal car fires on road especially for older gas cars.

[@Navigator-apex]

Catastrophic results when they go up in flames especially in the wrong place.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

Petrol and Diesel cars are twice as likely to catch fire compared to electric cars.

[@geoffwells6724]

Gasoline fires can be put out relatively easy compared to Ev's.

[@oleksiychekin1257]

The main problem with battery fire that in the time some things melt inside of the battery and produce oxygen as part of the process. Its because of that its hard to stop the fire until it completely burn.

[@kaijen2688]

Ev's have 25 fires/ 100,000 vehicles while ICE vehicles have 1530/100,000 fires. With sodium batteries there is no thermal runaway, temperatures dont effect the battery and you can drill or beat it wirh hammer and not have any issues.

[@OldManse09]

A little perspective here. Chevy recalled 140,000 Bolts for possible battery problems. There have been 19 battery fires. 0.014%. Yes any fire is too many. This report could use a few less sweeping generalities and a few more hard facts.

[@gregkramer5588]

Yes, He left out the cause which was a MFG issue with a fold of metal. I thought overall this was not well researched for the video.

[@davidbrandenburg8029]

if your near a EV fire make sure you are, up wind if you don't want Cobalt poisoning!.

[@ptech88]

Good call, as opposed to other fire that are healthy to inhale right?

[@PatsinPA]

CNET, I’m conflicted about watching Brian Cooley. While he’s the main EV spokesman for your KZbin channel and presents a lot of great information about the vehicles and tech, he doesn’t actually own or drive an EV. This feels like a mistake having him in charge these segments then. While I like his relatable presenting style, it would be like an Amish farmer reviewing flatscreen tvs. Just because he visited a Best Buy, or googled a topic is not enough to be a subject matter expert. Have someone presenting who is more living the EV lifestyle than a skeptic who is waiting for the magical future of 500mi EV range for under $30k with chargers at every gas station or parking lot. Nope, the future is now. Thanks!

[@markplott4820]

BRIAN is a paid MOTHPIECE for gm/FUD motors. BRIAN is a LIAR & FRADULANT.

[@danielwx7305]

Dużo samochodów płonie nie tylko elektryki, benzyna też! A ile osób rocznie umiera od zanieczyszczeń spowodowanych spalaniem benzyny???

[@mikeandbrenproductions9944]

I know that the big mine trucks have a fire suppression system that can be activated just incase a fire occurs in the radiator. Could a similar system be implemented on cars (near the battery) as an extra measure of safety? Great video btw!

[@oplkfdhgk]

I think it would be pretty hard to do that cus i have seen many ev battery fires and it seems like they need ridiculous amount of water to put it out so it makes probably more sense to try to stop the fire before it happens.

[@ALMX5DP]

motorsport applications also often have fire suppression systems where lines can be sent to various areas of the vehicle (like exhaust manifolds, fuel lines, driver compartment etc). Probably possible to have similar developed and integrated into an EV for it's battery pack, but I bet it is simply cost prohibitive and not seen as necessary due to how relatively infrequent fires are.

[@ronaldking1054]

Rich Rebuilds had a vehicle that had the battery punctured. The battery vented steam to prevent the fire. There were three batteries in the vehicle, and only the punctured battery was destroyed.

[@davesutherland1864]

Based on what was said in this video, Li Ion batteries have their own supply of oxygen. Passed a threshold of damage they will be almost impossible to stop from burning. However, I am sure you can design a battery to increase the threshold where you reach that point.

[@jeffreystorer4966]

Very expensive to install and maintain ,the same thing that snuff out fire could snuff out passenger ,cabs of mentioned trucks are separated from the suppression systems

[@arturodelarosa4394]

5:26 I don't think the point was clear enough. Statistical reports from insurance claims say that number equals 60x more gas car fires than EV fires (that's 25 fires for every 100k EVs), is not even close. EV fires are statistically so rare that is ridiculous we are even talking about it.

[@-V-K-]

EV were TWICE as likely to catch fire as ICE : Data obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that in 2019 the London Fire Brigade dealt with 54 electric vehicle fires compared with 1,898 petrol and diesel fires. Vehicle registration numbers from the Department for Transport (DfT) show there are 50,000-plus plug-in cars licensed in the capital out of a total 4.63 million licensed cars. Looking at the London Fire Brigade data, that would suggest an incident rate of 0.04% for petrol and diesel car fires, while the rate for plug-in vehicle is more than double at 0.1%. EVs TWICE twice as likely to catch fire as ICE

[@arturodelarosa4394]

@@-V-K- Because this article is clearly doubtful, i went and used the methodology they propose to calculate this number myself and the following conclusions come forward, they hay the proportion of register cars roughly right for the time, Somewhere around 1.5% off all vehicles in london were electric back then, using the 2021 data that is the first one available, it seems they forgot to exclude electric bikes, since of course those don't count as registered vehicles. Now the dataset is extremely small, we are talking 170 fires out of which 15 classify as EVs, if you do the math with those numbers you get something similar to what they have wich is EVs catch on fire more than ICEs, the problem is the classification of EVs is applied to many cars who are not battery electric EVs, this means hybrids, which on their own are extremely pron to fire acording to the stats, to make it worst this includes evs with range extender like tech (think BMW i3 rex) but also traditional non plug-in hybrids. if you remove hybrids from the stats then you get a fire proportion of 1.5% which i'm guessing is no coincidence it matched the proportion of registered vehicles, Which means the catch on fire equally, this makes even more sense when you realize that the number one cause of fire (by a big margin) listed is (and i quote from their data set): "Heat source and combustibles brought together deliberately". There is one thing clear, batteries are not catching on fire spontaneously in london cars, the data is thrown off if you include bicycles, since the data you are comparing to is registered vehicles and bikes are not registered. For some reason hybrids are the type of cars than burn more statistically. And human error is the number one cause of fire in london.

[@1xm_mx1]

What's the carbon footprint of EV's catching fire around the globe, not including the fire damage and injuries it causes?

[@josephpiskac2781]

Great important briefing. So when my lithium battery fails how do I get rid of it?

[@jjlarson74]

well throw it in a landfill for starters! then you shoot a few spotted owls, then change your life by going on a whale hunting expedition … eat allot of meat! and curl up by your gas fire while you stay warm in your fox-fur sleeper, (its goose down!) 😂🤣

[@josephpiskac2781]

@@jjlarson74 Thanks that does help a lot.

[@detritus23]

Depends on the battery and its condition. If it a standalone rechargeable, then household waste management companies may take it separately from household trash. Most big box stores (Best Buy, Staples, Home Depot) have rechargeable battery disposal boxes and will (depending on State) accept retired electronics with permanently installed batteries. Finally, some manufacturers-Apple, specifically- will accept their devices for recycling as long as it is undamaged and the battery intact (unpuffed).

[@josephpiskac2781]

@@detritus23 The battery is puffed do you think I can leave it at Best Buy?

[@detritus23]

@@josephpiskac2781 You would probably have to ask them. Puffed batteries are always dicey.

[@spacecoyote6646]

No kidding. They showed me an ad for an e-bike in the middle of his video

[@staunchlyspeaking]

The 10,000 gasoline fires a day are making the combustion engine look bad

[@steveurbach3093]

Only 10K? About 2500+ per minute.... (inside the cylinders)

[@staunchlyspeaking]

@@steveurbach3093 this must be mechanic humor.

[@Mshi-]

He literally added more context near the end

[@thefreem0]

It's not the new tech that people are concerned about EV fires... it's the fire is 100% uncontrollable... a single fire extinguisher can put out a fire in ICE car if caught early... this not true for EV when the smoke happens it is game over for that car.

[@JT_771]

Rare to see lots of real, proper detail in such reports. Well done.

[@megacap55]

the big problem with EVs are , the world is NOT READY TO THEM, EVEN STREETS, POTHOLES, LITTLE GROUND IRREGULARITIES AND USAGE OFF ROAD AND ALREADY IS NOT A SUSPENSION SYSTEM THAT CAN DEAL WITH POTHOLES AND AVOID VIBRATIONS INSIDE THE CHASSIS AND BATTERY PACK

[@Maxim.Teleguz]

Gasoline car fires are making gasoline cars look really bad.

[@jaygreenn92]

He don’t dig that some of these electronic cars & bikes or water proof like mines I done rode e bike through the craziest rainstorm & still point a to point b & still ride it fully waterproof e bike & take 4 hours to charge when the battery on E

[@jaygreenn92]

Crazy part I rode my e bike through 4 different crazy rain storms & still moving at the same speed through the rain

[@jaygreenn92]

I always watch reviews

[@jaygreenn92]

Sometimes devices not hazards dumb people are

[@mikeandbrenproductions9944]

lol....truth!

[@timlamb650]

From Kelly Blue Book: Hybrid-powered cars were involved in about 3,475 fires per every 100,000 sold. Gasoline-powered cars, about 1,530. Electric vehicles (EVs) saw just 25 fires per 100,000 sold.

[@bingchilindotnogo]

A great topic to discuss in this moment.

[@joshhoward1289]

100%. Discussion on topics of all manners is always important.

[@saypuppy4266]

How many gas powered cars on on the road compared to electric? Doesn’t that matter as well in the number crunching?

[@MrAljackie]

Thanks soo much for leveling the playing field!!! People are too quick to point fingers at EVs'

[@MacTX]

LiFePO4 is the obvious alternative choice, highly stable and difficult to get it to burst into fire even when intentionally trying, it's the only thing we have currently that is even close in capacity.

[@poison7512]

Close in capacity.. not close is in discharge rate.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

I'm glad you pointed out that EV fires are less common than gas car fires. But really they are FAR less likely with EVs. Like about 60 times less likely, whether you go by total number or percentage of EVs. Sodium Ion batteries are a technology currently in the testing phases and seem to be extremely safe so far.

[@BioniqBob]

Hybrids reflected the most at 3,475 fires per 100,000 vehicles. This is most likely because hybrids utilize two powertrains. ICE vehicles caught fire substantially less often, at 1,530 incidents per 100,000 vehicles. EV fires were significantly lower than the others, with 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles. So of the approximately two million EVs on U.S. roads, less than two out of a 1,000 will catch fire.

[@stevenbass732]

Less common perhaps but incredibly more destructive.

[@tjhessmon4327]

Lithium battery fires are thermal meltdown fires, much like thermo nuclear meltdown fires. It's an internal process of the protective layer being stripped away from the graphite, resulting in electrons, penetrating the graphite layer, which results in a high amperage rate of discharge. This high rate of discharge can result in temperatures which exceed 4000 deg F. (Depending upon battery size). The battery will out gas vapors which are both toxic and flammable. The occurrence of these fires will worsen over time, until better heads prevail and theses batteries are made illegal. We are a long way from the end at this point. It will take many more fires and more deaths to be offered upon the altar of zero emissions, before adequate, reasonable action is taken. Until then, all one can do is stay away from Lithium batteries, especially those found in transportation devices.

[@brushlessmotoring]

Good job CNET - well written, well presented, and great to see you delve into LiFePO4 too (LFP) - BYD's blade battery can be drilled without combustion. UL certification for e-bikes and re-manufactured packs will help I think - Propel Bikes also did a good episode about the perception issues around scooters and e-bikes catching fire in apartments. This does seem like a golden opportunity for Oil and Gas to exploit and fear monger about - and they seem to seizing it. Great to see a balanced video about batteries.

[@ALWH1314]

Not all the car batteries catch fire. For example BYD blade battery operates at lower than 60C, doesn’t emit smoke nor burn when punctured or crashed.

[@evoemperor3776]

Ev cars is more heavier than the equivalent ice car so there is that too.

[@kenyattaclay7666]

And what does that have to do with fire risk? He literally just talked about how ICE vehicles are just as much if a higher risk of catching fire as an EV.

[@user-wf4hy4ub7p]

It's interesting to note that videos which condemn Lithium Ion batteries also seem to be targeted with adverts promoting EV's.

[@doslover]

Great info as always, especially enjoyed the bit about car fires. You only hear about the EV ones because they're interesting; no one's surprised when an old Pinto catches fire but EVs get headlines all the time. Granted it would be nice if the number was zero but hey, maybe someday as long as the technology continues to improve.

[@pekde]

You can easily Stop petrol car fire by hand. They are 100 times slower and less harmful. See the difference.

[@jacobjohnson4763]

We have a much better handle on the modes of failure for gasoline cars and we have much better safety protocols on the design of cars using gasoline engines. I'm a big fan of electric cars but car makers are over their skis here, trying to stuff too much battery capacity into full sized vehicles. We're decades away from having EVs at a point where they can satisfy all of the design criteria needed to replace gasoline cars.

[@neiljohnson6815]

Old Pintos don't spontaneously combust in your garage at night.

[@doslover]

@@hjkr7528 well sure, no cars 'explode for no reason'. If I had to guess the reason for ICE cars being more likely is due to lack of proper maintenance. The Chevy Bolts had some type of flaw in the battery or battery system, and there have been plenty of others, just as I'm sure there will be more as the technology continues to emerge. There's no doubt the battery technology needs to improve vastly to be more dense and less flammable. Doesn't change the fact that ICE cars catching fire don't show up on national news outlets because it's not new/surprising/interesting.

[@megacap55]

I got a question why wants to even make EVs looks sexy , why not talk everything the good the bad and the ugly of them? or there is a higher interest of the scientific community that got paid by lie?

[@adoreslaurel]

Well i have just been made aware via another youtube vid, Fill up an under ground high rise apartment block, An EV flares up and the inferno sets off many other EV's in this car park, the enormous heat generated brings about a break down of the steel reinforced concrete foundations supporting the building, now when the Twin Towers came down the method of incineration ensured a verticle drop, what happens if the foundation degradation takes place more to one side, this may? topple a huge building into the surrounding buildings. And don't forget, the fire dept cannot put out this inferno neither can they extricate the burning vehicles from the basement.

[@DymaxionDon]

I have watched and enjoyed many of your videos on KZbin but this is not one of them. This is pure damage control for the EV industry while need transparency about these vehicles not coverup.

[@tonyvalenti6614]

I’d like to see your math comparing fires based upon total number of ICE vs EV cars on the road. What’s the ratio difference?

[@Hjenkinsfsh]

Gasoline fires are making ICE cars look bad. Have you ever tried carrying Gasoline on the airplane. Compare the stats and tell me which is more dangerous.

[@wtfchazpwnt]

Lol sure true. This video is just harvesting unjustified fear of a new technology to generate clicks.

[@jaym9846]

There whole lot of jet fuel under passengers. Are you saying Li-Ion powered airplanes would be safer?

[@YTSD]

There are so many electric vehicles now that the Texas grid operator is sending conservation text this summer. I know it’s hot outside but it’s Texas! So it’s hot in here but now the electric grid can’t keep up because we are using the AC to keep cool and at the same time a bunch of electric vehicles owners charging their vehicles. It’s not only cars, it’s buses, bikes, scooters etc! So let’s make more electric vehicles. Also make more fire stations!

[@tonyd9830]

Electric cars are for the rich and famous

[@kenyattaclay7666]

No they aren’t.

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

Tesla and some others started out that way. Very expensive to start a car company.. especially one based on new tech. So make the cars appealing to celebs and the rich, then make less expensive cars as economy of scale makes them cheaper to produce. Brilliant strategy!

[@dickriggles942]

They're for the rich if you keep one as a toy. It's definitely not something I would want as a daily driver.

[@dickriggles942]

@@thinktoomuchb4028 What are you talking about?

[@gregkramer5588]

Unless it is a Bolt that is not one priced well but save you a bunch of money every year.