My Lightning burned to the ground

[Maxx]

This is not a universal human trait. With a basic understanding of statistics and probably, we can feel at peace riding on an airplane or parking our EV indoors.

I'm about as worried my truck will catch as I am all my cordless tool batteries will.

Rivian R1T (original) had a flashlight in the door with one 2170 battery cell in it. Its battery pack had 7776 cells in it. An R1T owner should be 7776 times more worried about the pack catching on fire than they are about their flashlight.

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[Runaway Tractor]

Odds of fatal commercial plane crash 1 in 11 million.

Odds of an EV fire 4-25 in 100,000. (Depending on the source)

A basic understanding of statistics indicates this is very relevant. Furthermore EV fires typically burn for hours. So for EV owners weighing the risk to their spouse, children, and pets, to me it’s pretty understandable if they choose to park outside.

There is something significant missing from your statistics and logic...

Furthermore EV fires typically burn for hours. So for EV owners weighing the risk to their spouse, children, and pets, to me it’s pretty understandable if they choose to park outside.

Apparently you've never seen a vehicle of any kind catch fire. The EV "burning for hours" is irrelevant. Any vehicle catching on fire in a garage presents the exact same danger to the home occupants. The hours after doesn't matter. The vehicle is on fire, and therefore so is your house. Doesn't matter if it is an F150 Lightning or a Honda Civic.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

There is something significant missing from your statistics and logic...


Apparently you've never seen a vehicle of any kind catch fire. The EV "burning for hours" is irrelevant. Any vehicle catching on fire in a garage presents the exact same danger to the home occupants. The hours after doesn't matter. The vehicle is on fire, and therefore so is your house. Doesn't matter if it is an F150 Lightning or a Honda Civic.

The amount of posturing here is incredible. Ironically seems to be the same people speculating on a fire that they truly don’t know the cause….

Yes, I’ve seen MULTIPLE vehicle fires. As I’ve said, I spend a significant amount of time on track. You know how many fires I’ve seen to grow and become out of control when caught early? ZERO!!! Are you a firefighter, as in someone who responds well after the fire is established? If so, your bias is showing…..

 

[flyct]

Another “Lightning Fire. It’s not a Ford Lightning on fire, but where Lightning struck my friend‘s 2 month old F-350 diesel and Lightning CAUSED it to burn to the ground.

 

[Henry Ford]

Another “Lightning Fire. It’s not a Ford Lightning on fire, but where Lightning struck my friend‘s 2 month old F-350 diesel and Lightning CAUSED it to burn to the ground.

Well, that's it! I'm definitely not parking outside anymore!

 

[RickLightning]

Another “Lightning Fire. It’s not a Ford Lightning on fire, but where Lightning struck my friend‘s 2 month old F-350 diesel and Lightning CAUSED it to burn to the ground.

I have to ask, did he park there to protect the truck from the storm?

40 years ago, we were moving with a U-Haul and the car on the back. A hurricane was approaching, and although we were in-land in Massachusetts the wind was picking up considerably. We diverted off the Mass Pike to my uncle and aunt's house located 20 miles inland.

With the trees swaying, I removed the car from the trailer and parked it near the house for safety. A large tree limb fell and dented the roof (noticeable, but not functionally an issue). Had I not moved it, it would have been fine...

This was before PDR, so never fixed it.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Bit since ICE vehicles are magnitudes more likely to catch fire, nothing should be parked in the garage...

Context matters. ICE fires happen due to three main items: heat management, fuel containment, and electrical. From a garage perspective, the instance of a cold, powered-off, well-maintained vehicle spontaneously combusting seems to be statistically insignificant.

I’m not here to convince anyone that they shouldn’t be parking in their garage. I’m simply stating that the risk to my family and pets is higher than I’m willing to accept. Furthermore, I know insurance companies are looking into this very subject, so it will be interesting to see if homeowner insurance policies are risk-rated higher due to the presence of an EV or battery backup system. I already know companies will drop customers if they have large non-UL backup systems.

 

[flyct]

I have to ask, did he park there to protect the truck from the storm?

Yes, he parked it under a big Oak Tree because a hailstorm was approaching. There was no place to park it indoors at the ranch he was at.

He loved that ruck. i helped him speck it out and special ordered it. It was the first new truck he ever ordered.

He took a picture before the storm where it was parked. The Oak tree took a direct lightning hit and split the tree trunk. He ordered an exact same truck as a replacement.

The before picture below about 30 minute before the storm hit.

 

[jefrank]

I'm about as worried my truck will catch as I am all my cordless tool batteries will.

I park outside because it don't fit both our vehicles with all my shop equipment, wife gets the garage if needed, I use the carport.

Tool batteries and my Lightning are all in the barn... maybe I should move my laptops and power banks out there, too... then I can have all the lithium in one place. lol

 

[Zprime29]

Context matters. ICE fires happen due to three main items: heat management, fuel containment, and electrical. From a garage perspective, the instance of a cold, powered-off, well-maintained vehicle spontaneously combusting seems to be statistically insignificant.

Recall for 3.3 Million cars told to park outside. One model is a fuel cell, the rest are ICE. The reason for the recall is not ICE related, but thought it worth pointing out that just because you maintain the vehicle, it doesn't make the risk of spontaneous fires negligible.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/consumer-alert-kia-and-hyundai-park-outside

Everyone manages risk differently and that's fine. I think your justification that EV's are higher risk than ICE seems misplaced. Is it reasonable and fair to claim that those owners should have been maintaining their ABS system? Googling "Park outside recalls" returns a lot of results and most are for ICE. That to me says the risk of an ICE combusting overnight is not insignificant.

 

[truthlesshunter]

guys...guys... (and gals)...can we get back on topic please?

which is the post is obviously a psy-op with ice not being able to melt. Lightning fires can't melt winter ice.

 

[Granger Ford]

Sadly my truck burned to the ground tonight. Felt a pop under my feet. There was a loud pop followed two smaller ones. We had barely enough time to get a few things out of the back seat before it was fully engulfed in flames. Scary night.

More info:

No issues. It’s been great. We thought we hit something the pop was so loud. And we felt it under our feet. How was there no warning? I remember seeing the battery temp and it was normal.

Wow that is crazy and scary! Glad you guys are okay!

 

[Wattsgas]

You know the bonus of driving an aluminum vehicle is that aluminum melts and burns at about 1220 degrees, about half the temperature of steel. I had a cardboard fire that melted and burned a heavy duty extention ladder a few years back.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Googling "Park outside recalls" returns a lot of results and most are for ICE.

Indeed, Googling the subject does yield significant results. In fact, of the 7 major park-outside campaigns, more than half are PHEV or EV-related to the HVB.

If you remove Kia/Hyundai, the ICE exposure drops dramatically. The Kia/Hyundai ABS recall was really the only significant issue in the last 20 years. It’s also important to note that the BMW recall was proactive and not reactive, and there are no reported house or other structural fires related to the recall.

So back to my earlier comment, context matters.

 

[PJnc284]

Sidenote I'm more concerned about these fancy lithium jump starters than my truck battery.

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