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> ICE vehicles catch fire. It seems like this happened spontaneously. Do ICE vehicles ever spontaneously combust? Disconnecting it from a charge isn't really a

> ICE vehicles catch fire. It seems like this happened spontaneously. Do ICE vehicles ever spontaneously combust? Disconnecting it from a charge isn't really abnormal use.

vel0city 5y ago
Hyundai recently recalled a ton of ICE cars because they could catch fire. They had the possibility of catching fire when parked. https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-santa-fe-sport-recalled-for-fire-risk-again/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-... GM recalled over 1.4 million vehicles due to fire risks from oil leaks which could happen while the engine was hot and parked. https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/autos/gm-recall-fire/ https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/autos/gm-recall-fire/ > About 85% of the fires took place when the car was shut off and there was no one around the car, GM spokesman Alan Adler said.
- itsoktocry 5y ago
  Pre-emptively recalling vehicles for potential problems is a lot different than those problems actually occurring. I'm glad the people who need to know these things (ie actuaries) will be making the decisions, not the "yeah, but!" crowd. Are people ignoring that Tesla's battery pack in Australia has already burst into flames and they had trouble putting it out?
  - vel0city 5y ago
    > Pre-emptively recalling vehicles for potential problems is a lot different than those problems actually occurring. In both of the listed recalls hundreds of cars had self-immolated. In the GM one I personally knew a few people who had their homes catch fire from the car catching fire while parked in their garage.
foepys 5y ago
Yes. Electrical fires are not unusual in ICE vehicles. It's extremely rare that the ICE part catches fire by itself.
- sabujp 5y ago
  this exactly, every recent fire / recall has been because of a short in some electrical system igniting something like the brake fluid, which also exists in EV
  - tekstar 5y ago
    Please stop spamming the point that EVs also have brakes. The point was that all cars have the potential to spontaneously catch fire. Nobody has tried to make the point that ICEs are vulnerable where EVs are not, and your attempt to reframe the discussion as such is disingenuous.
    - sabujp 5y ago
      no my point is the EVs have far more electrical components, so if anyone is being disingenuous and not pointing out the entire picture it's the people also posting links to articles of ICE cars also catching on fire making people think it was the gas that combusted when it was actually an electrical fault. We have to look at the actual cause. Also I'm not saying EVs aren't the future, but there's still more work to be done in making electrical systems in cars safer, whether it's ICE or EV.
boardwaalk 5y ago
Yes, I’ve had it happen personally. It damaged a garage it was parked near — thankfully it was parked outside. It was a blackened ruin after, tires had gotten so hot they popped, etc.
- guerrilla 5y ago
  What was the cause? That seems unlikely without external cause.
  - jjjensen90 5y ago
    Commonly electrical systems and/or the battery itself in ICEs cause unattended fires.
dazc 5y ago
I had a vehicle catch fire whilst unattended about 20 years ago. The cause was either faulty wiring or a smoldering butt end left in the ashtray. The fire service and the insurer were both happy with this explanation.
gambiting 5y ago
Stationary car combusts, causing over $100M in damages: https://jalopnik.com/how-one-suv-fire-destroyed-45-million-in-cars-damaged-1826086012 https://jalopnik.com/how-one-suv-fire-destroyed-45-million-i...
- sabujp 5y ago
  “Brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder reservoir cap had been reported to enter the vehicles’ automatic braking system (ABS) wiring harness electrical connectors, causing short-circuits, melting, and fires,” the NTSB reported. By 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration knew of at least 260 vehicles that experienced a non-crash related fire. Last i checked EVs also use brake fluid and they could end up exploding the same way. Please post a link to an ICE vehicle spontaneously combusting while off due to spontaneous combustion of the gasoline contained in its tank.
  - gambiting 5y ago
    I'm not sure I understand what you're asking for, or what your point is. Why that specific threshold? Lithium in EVs also doesn't catch fire by itself, it's usually a fault somewhere else in the system first. Most bizzarely, I think you're assuming that I'm taking a side here? Like....there are no sides to take, it's just an article meant as a reply for someone who asked if ICEs ever spontaneously combust.
  - nonfamous 5y ago
    EVs do have brake fluid, but the brakes are used significantly less in EVs than in ICE vehicles. (Most slowing is done via magnetic resistance from regenerative braking.) Presumable this means brakes in EVs are subject to a lower rate of degradation caused by use.

> ICE vehicles catch fire. It seems like this happened spontaneously. Do ICE vehicles ever spontaneously combust? Disconnecting it from a charge isn't really abnormal use.

vel0city 5y ago

Hyundai recently recalled a ton of ICE cars because they could catch fire. They had the possibility of catching fire when parked. https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-santa-fe-sport-recalled-for-fire-risk-again/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-... GM recalled over 1.4 million vehicles due to fire risks from oil leaks which could happen while the engine was hot and parked. https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/autos/gm-recall-fire/ https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/autos/gm-recall-fire/ > About 85% of the fires took place when the car was shut off and there was no one around the car, GM spokesman Alan Adler said.

itsoktocry 5y ago
Pre-emptively recalling vehicles for potential problems is a lot different than those problems actually occurring. I'm glad the people who need to know these things (ie actuaries) will be making the decisions, not the "yeah, but!" crowd. Are people ignoring that Tesla's battery pack in Australia has already burst into flames and they had trouble putting it out?
- vel0city 5y ago
  > Pre-emptively recalling vehicles for potential problems is a lot different than those problems actually occurring. In both of the listed recalls hundreds of cars had self-immolated. In the GM one I personally knew a few people who had their homes catch fire from the car catching fire while parked in their garage.

foepys 5y ago

Yes. Electrical fires are not unusual in ICE vehicles. It's extremely rare that the ICE part catches fire by itself.

sabujp 5y ago
this exactly, every recent fire / recall has been because of a short in some electrical system igniting something like the brake fluid, which also exists in EV
- tekstar 5y ago
  Please stop spamming the point that EVs also have brakes. The point was that all cars have the potential to spontaneously catch fire. Nobody has tried to make the point that ICEs are vulnerable where EVs are not, and your attempt to reframe the discussion as such is disingenuous.
  - sabujp 5y ago
    no my point is the EVs have far more electrical components, so if anyone is being disingenuous and not pointing out the entire picture it's the people also posting links to articles of ICE cars also catching on fire making people think it was the gas that combusted when it was actually an electrical fault. We have to look at the actual cause. Also I'm not saying EVs aren't the future, but there's still more work to be done in making electrical systems in cars safer, whether it's ICE or EV.

boardwaalk 5y ago

Yes, I’ve had it happen personally. It damaged a garage it was parked near — thankfully it was parked outside. It was a blackened ruin after, tires had gotten so hot they popped, etc.

guerrilla 5y ago
What was the cause? That seems unlikely without external cause.
- jjjensen90 5y ago
  Commonly electrical systems and/or the battery itself in ICEs cause unattended fires.

dazc 5y ago

I had a vehicle catch fire whilst unattended about 20 years ago. The cause was either faulty wiring or a smoldering butt end left in the ashtray. The fire service and the insurer were both happy with this explanation.

gambiting 5y ago

Stationary car combusts, causing over $100M in damages: https://jalopnik.com/how-one-suv-fire-destroyed-45-million-in-cars-damaged-1826086012 https://jalopnik.com/how-one-suv-fire-destroyed-45-million-i...

sabujp 5y ago
“Brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder reservoir cap had been reported to enter the vehicles’ automatic braking system (ABS) wiring harness electrical connectors, causing short-circuits, melting, and fires,” the NTSB reported. By 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration knew of at least 260 vehicles that experienced a non-crash related fire. Last i checked EVs also use brake fluid and they could end up exploding the same way. Please post a link to an ICE vehicle spontaneously combusting while off due to spontaneous combustion of the gasoline contained in its tank.
- gambiting 5y ago
  I'm not sure I understand what you're asking for, or what your point is. Why that specific threshold? Lithium in EVs also doesn't catch fire by itself, it's usually a fault somewhere else in the system first. Most bizzarely, I think you're assuming that I'm taking a side here? Like....there are no sides to take, it's just an article meant as a reply for someone who asked if ICEs ever spontaneously combust.
- nonfamous 5y ago
  EVs do have brake fluid, but the brakes are used significantly less in EVs than in ICE vehicles. (Most slowing is done via magnetic resistance from regenerative braking.) Presumable this means brakes in EVs are subject to a lower rate of degradation caused by use.