{"id":464336,"date":"2022-06-17T14:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/"},"modified":"2022-06-17T14:00:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T11:00:34","slug":"how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Often Do Electric Cars Catch Fire?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2cf98acd789\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2cf98acd789\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/#%E2%80%9CHow_Often_Do_Electric_Cars_Catch_Fire%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How Often Do Electric Cars Catch Fire?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/#Do_EVs_Catch_Fire_More_Often_Than_Gas_Cars\" >Do EVs Catch Fire More Often Than Gas Cars?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/#EV_Fires_Are_Rarer_But_More_Difficult_to_Extinguish\" >EV Fires Are Rarer, But More Difficult to Extinguish<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/#What_Can_Cause_an_EV_to_Catch_Fire\" >What Can Cause an EV to Catch Fire?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/#Should_You_Worry_About_Electric_Car_Fires\" >Should You Worry About Electric Car Fires?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_Often_Do_Electric_Cars_Catch_Fire%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How Often Do Electric Cars Catch Fire?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-809412\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/car-burning-fire.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A car in flames.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/burning-car-fire-smoke-398716537\">Krzysztof Smejlis\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Given the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2021\/08\/04\/tesla-fire\/\">intense stories<\/a>\u00a0about electric vehicle fires, and past disasters with overheating lithium-ion cell phone batteries, it\u2019s reasonable to be concerned about an electric vehicle (EV) battery catching fire. But how often does that actually h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en, and why?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_EVs_Catch_Fire_More_Often_Than_Gas_Cars\"><\/span>Do EVs Catch Fire More Often Than Gas Cars?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Compared to how long gas cars have been around, there isn\u2019t a ton of data on electric vehicle fires at the time of writing. But there is enough to make some determinations. AutoinsuranceEZ <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.autoinsuranceez.com\/gas-vs-electric-car-fires\/\">compared data<\/a> from multiple sources to try and find an answer to the question of how often electric cars catch fire.<\/p>\n<p>Their sources were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Recalls.gov<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Per 100,000 vehicles sold, it was actually hybrids that had the most fires, and battery electric vehicles the least. As for the vehicle type with the highest <em>total<\/em> number of fires, it was far and away gasoline cars. Recall data showed a variety of components could cause a fire in a gas car, but with EVs and hybrids it was almost always the battery.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, EVs were about .3% likely to catch fire, while gas cars were 1.05% likely to ignite. That should be good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> for EV owners, but as the AutoinsuranceEZ report points out, car fires are dangerous no matter the cause.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"EV_Fires_Are_Rarer_But_More_Difficult_to_Extinguish\"><\/span>EV Fires Are Rarer, But More Difficult to Extinguish<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Though the data show EV fires to be rarer than fires in gasoline cars, EV car fires burn hotter and for a longer period of time. In gas cars there\u2019s usually a single reaction, like a spark in a puddle of gasoline, that leads to the fire and that reaction eventually burns down. When an EV\u2019s lithium-ion battery ignites the battery burns the energy stored inside, becoming the fire\u2019s main source of energy and taking much longer to expend itself.<\/p>\n<p>Lithium-ion traction batteries are designed to contain a massive amount of energy in a very small space. Each cell inside it is filled with a flammable electrolyte, as well as electrodes that could short if they get damaged or are improperly maintained, causing the cell to overheat.<\/p>\n<p>If one cell overheats, it can enter a process called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.evfiresafe.com\/ev-fire-what-is-thermal-runaway\">thermal runaway<\/a> \u2014 basically, a positive feedback loop where it keeps making itself hotter very quickly \u2014 and ignite the neighboring cells in the battery pack until the whole thing goes up. Lithium-ion batteries can also reignite after they\u2019ve been put out if moving them causes further damage to or new short circuits in the battery.<\/p>\n<p>Since first responders are mostly trained in how to extinguish fires in a gasoline car, they can have trouble putting out an EV fire because it behaves differently. Instead of cooling down the part of the car a firefighter normally would, they need to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=J6eS6JzBn0k&amp;t=13s\">direct water to the underside<\/a> of the vehicle where the battery pack sits. Stored energy left over inside the battery, called stranded energy, can cause the battery to reignite hours or even days after the initial fire is extinguished if that energy is not properly dealt with.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Can_Cause_an_EV_to_Catch_Fire\"><\/span>What Can Cause an EV to Catch Fire?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Multiple factors can start a fire in an electric car, mostly pertaining to the battery. If the battery is damaged in a crash, for example, it can cause a short circuit in one or more of the lithium-ion cells and start a thermal runaway chain reaction.<\/p>\n<p>If poorly maintained, components inside the battery pack may degrade to the point where a malfunction starts a fire. Manufacturing defects can also be the cause of car fires, both in EVs and gasoline vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Age may also be a factor. There isn\u2019t enough data yet to show whether electric car batteries that are, say, 20 years old are more of a fire risk but it is something to be aware of as the components may degrade over time with hard use and poor maintenance.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_You_Worry_About_Electric_Car_Fires\"><\/span>Should You Worry About Electric Car Fires?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The bottom line at the time of writing is that EV fires are far rarer than fires in gasoline cars. They\u2019re also much hotter, burn for longer periods, and can therefore be very dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that all EVs are more dangerous than gas vehicles, just that standardized safety guidelines should be developed specifically to deal with these fires if and when they happen. If you own one, make sure you\u2019re taking excellent care in maintaining the components so that the risk stays low.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Why Does an Electric Car&#8217;s Battery Degrade?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/809238\/how-often-do-electric-cars-catch-fire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How Often Do Electric Cars Catch Fire?&#8221; Krzysztof Smejlis\/Shutterstock.com Given the intense stories\u00a0about electric vehicle fires, and past disasters with overheating lithium-ion cell phone batteries, it\u2019s reasonable to be concerned about an electric vehicle (EV) battery catching fire. But how often does that actually happen, and why? Do EVs Catch Fire More Often Than Gas&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/car-burning-fire.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}