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Every time something like this happens, people point out that gas powered cars catch fire much more often than electric ones. Quote: "That’s five fires for eve

Every time something like this happens, people point out that gas powered cars catch fire much more often than electric ones. Quote: "That’s five fires for every billion miles traveled, compared to 55 fires per billion miles traveled in gasoline cars." So why don't I want to own an electric car? Because my assumption is that the typical electric car fire happens while it is being charged, whereas the typical gas-powered car fire happens while it is being driven. There's a huge difference between a fire that potentially destroys my home, quite possibly starts while I'm asleep, and a fire that just totals my car. And that holds even more for people who live in multi-family buildings. This particular incident didn't happen at night while the car was being charged. But is that representative?

pmorici 5y ago
I knew a guy growing up who's gas car caught fire in his garage while it was parked and burned it down. I think your assumptions about when and how different kinds of cars catch fire are wrong.
- perl4ever 5y ago
  Ok, but why do you think they are wrong? Your first sentence isn't enough to tell me. An anecdote is a data point, but it's only one, and I've got my own. I have seen a car on fire by the side of the road, and I've also owned a car with a history of recalls for issues with the fuel injection that caused fires for some owners. I've also heard of (read about) people who had fires that started under the hood while driving. Another point is that while sometimes old cars have messed up wiring either because of design issues or amateurs messing with it, on the whole, I'm more confident it's still working as designed than my home, especially when I'm driving something in the 0-10 year range. My home will be used indefinitely, and I don't know for sure what people may have done to the wiring over several decades before I lived in it. But I've seen some stuff.
  - pmorici 5y ago
    I think most electric car fires are the result of serious damage to a vehicle from a serious crash. I don't believe there are any documented cases of a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down. There are some instances of them catching fire in public garages but it isn't clear those incidents aren't arson. Gas cars have electrical systems that cause them to catch fire. There are loads of news stories about gas cars catching fire in private garages. It isn't clear they are less risky in this regard than an EV. The stat of fires per miles driven isn't saying that fires only happen while driving it is just a way of comparing the relative prevalence adjusted for the fleet size and usage.
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      > a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down The thing that sticks in my mind is that Ford had some issues with their charging cable and had a big recall to substitute one with a (presumable 50 cent) thermistor. I guess there is a very general sense in which I associate electric cars with electronics where the tiniest software or hardware error can be catastrophic, whereas I expect that the scope of problems is easier to limit in a conventional vehicle. Like, gas powered cars rely heavily on electronics, but if a specific sensor or something goes out, they tend to have a "limp home" mode, and mechanical failures are planned for in the worst case. I observe that shipping a lithium ion battery is a big deal, considered hazardous. They have brought down aircraft in the past. So I would tend to discount people saying that they are only an issue in a collision, just because without particular numbers, I see people worrying about spontaneous combustion. Due to manufacturing defects, I guess.
s5300 5y ago
I think you're much more likely to have a counterfeit/faulty USB C cable that somehow makes its way to you lead to a fire with any of several objects containing Li-Ion that people tend to have in their houses anymore. EV charging systems are pretty robust and fail-safed.
- deleted 5y ago
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new_realist 5y ago
Tesla's statistics are borderline lying. They compare the fire rates of brand new luxury EVs with ICE cars which can be up to 25 years old. Further, they never talk about the odds of Teslas burning from a minor collision, which a much higher than for ICE.

pmorici 5y ago

I knew a guy growing up who's gas car caught fire in his garage while it was parked and burned it down. I think your assumptions about when and how different kinds of cars catch fire are wrong.

perl4ever 5y ago
Ok, but why do you think they are wrong? Your first sentence isn't enough to tell me. An anecdote is a data point, but it's only one, and I've got my own. I have seen a car on fire by the side of the road, and I've also owned a car with a history of recalls for issues with the fuel injection that caused fires for some owners. I've also heard of (read about) people who had fires that started under the hood while driving. Another point is that while sometimes old cars have messed up wiring either because of design issues or amateurs messing with it, on the whole, I'm more confident it's still working as designed than my home, especially when I'm driving something in the 0-10 year range. My home will be used indefinitely, and I don't know for sure what people may have done to the wiring over several decades before I lived in it. But I've seen some stuff.
- pmorici 5y ago
  I think most electric car fires are the result of serious damage to a vehicle from a serious crash. I don't believe there are any documented cases of a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down. There are some instances of them catching fire in public garages but it isn't clear those incidents aren't arson. Gas cars have electrical systems that cause them to catch fire. There are loads of news stories about gas cars catching fire in private garages. It isn't clear they are less risky in this regard than an EV. The stat of fires per miles driven isn't saying that fires only happen while driving it is just a way of comparing the relative prevalence adjusted for the fleet size and usage.
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    > a Tesla catching fire in a private garage and burning the owner's house down The thing that sticks in my mind is that Ford had some issues with their charging cable and had a big recall to substitute one with a (presumable 50 cent) thermistor. I guess there is a very general sense in which I associate electric cars with electronics where the tiniest software or hardware error can be catastrophic, whereas I expect that the scope of problems is easier to limit in a conventional vehicle. Like, gas powered cars rely heavily on electronics, but if a specific sensor or something goes out, they tend to have a "limp home" mode, and mechanical failures are planned for in the worst case. I observe that shipping a lithium ion battery is a big deal, considered hazardous. They have brought down aircraft in the past. So I would tend to discount people saying that they are only an issue in a collision, just because without particular numbers, I see people worrying about spontaneous combustion. Due to manufacturing defects, I guess.

s5300 5y ago

I think you're much more likely to have a counterfeit/faulty USB C cable that somehow makes its way to you lead to a fire with any of several objects containing Li-Ion that people tend to have in their houses anymore. EV charging systems are pretty robust and fail-safed.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

new_realist 5y ago

Tesla's statistics are borderline lying. They compare the fire rates of brand new luxury EVs with ICE cars which can be up to 25 years old. Further, they never talk about the odds of Teslas burning from a minor collision, which a much higher than for ICE.