Millions of cars are under recall for catching fire while parked

[wiyosaya]

Back in reality, alternative chemistries all suffer from one or more of the following:

Pathetically low energy density
Extremely heavy
Difficult to make outside a lab
Terrible recharge count before failure
Extremely expensive
Impossible to scale production
Can't function outside of extreme temperatures

You act like we want lithiums. Battery tech has held us back for decades. As it turns out, making viable alternative chemistries is really really hard!

And the writing is on the wall for the upcoming change. Here's a few articles to consider:

Solid-State Battery Revolution 2026: 500+ Wh/kg Achieved, Mass Production Accelerates - iEVChina

After years of promises and incremental progress, solid-state battery technology has reached a critical inflection point in 2026. Multiple Chinese

ievchina.com

https://www.batterytechonline.com/industry-outlook/lithium-solid-state-batteries-in-2026-promise-physics-and-the-path-to-commercial-reality

Solid-State Battery Status in 2026: Chemistry, Challenges & Commercialization

Understand solid-state battery chemistry, commercialization status, key challenges, and sulfide, halide, and oxide electrolyte tradeoffs in 2026.

xnergy.us

Stellantis is road testing SSBs - https://www.autovaly.com/articles/solid-state-batteries-hit-the-road-2026
Many more articles out there if you care to look that paint a better picture than these articles.
But once solid-state batteries hit the market, its a whole new ballgame.

You don't have to live in Japan to purchase a Toyota or Honda, ya dink!

I second that.

 

[Hecate91]

Moose muffins!

The Pontiac fiero was recalled for fire risks that could occur after the vehicle was turned off. So was the 1.5l bronco. The c8 Corvette. Over a million jeeps.

Stop getting your facts from TV buddy. I know fox news makes the EVs look scawwy uwu, but they're safer then gas cars.

That's a strawman argument to defend EV's catching fire, in reality EV's are more dangerous once they ignite, lithium battery fires can't be easily extinguished like a gasoline fire can.

 

[wiyosaya]

Get rid of about 75% of the electronic do-dads in vehicles these days would help. Buttons, knobs, dials need to be in cars. Not massive stupid touch screens along with cameras & sensors all over the place.
If you can't OPERATE a motor vehicle without all of that nonsense, maybe you shouldn't be driving a vehicle. I just read the other day Chrysler recalled about a million vehicles because the software that runs the stupid backup camera could render it non functional. OH NO!!! You mean you might actually have to turn your head around, look out the back window of your vehicle, or use the rear view/side view mirrors without that stupid beeping sound with the yellow lines on the screen showing you how to BACK UP your vehicle? Oh the humanity!

In my '24 Toyota Prius Prime, who needs buttons when you can just say, "Hey Toyota"
reply "What do you want to do?"
"Tune the radio to 108.9 FM"
reply "Tuning the radio to 108.9 FM".
Or turn on the heat, ask for directions to whereever.
Come on man! Get with the program!!!

 

[Hecate91]

In my '24 Toyota Prius Prime, who needs buttons when you can just say, "Hey Toyota"
reply "What do you want to do?"
"Tune the radio to 108.9 FM"
reply "Tuning the radio to 108.9 FM".
Or turn on the heat, ask for directions to whereever.
Come on man! Get with the program!!!

Well it's because if you just had a simple radio volume and tuning knob, you wouldn't need a bunch of tech gadgets in the car so you wouldn't have to be distracted from driving.
Although it's not like people aren't already still on their phones or poking on the dash screen.

 

[lonetac]

Vehicle type	Average age

Battery EV (BEV)

3.7 years

All light vehicles

12.8 years

The failure rate grows exponentially with time. Fair comparison ?

“Vehicle fires” ≠ spontaneous vehicle fires. Statistics often include fires caused by crashes, external fires, garages/buildings, wildfires, etc.

Arson/vandalism (extremely common in some neighborhoods) is a separate category in many datasets, but it can still distort overall fire statistics if not explicitly excluded.
Different denominators: some studies report fires per vehicles sold, others per registered vehicle, vehicle-year, or miles driven. These are not directly comparable.

Vehicle age bias: EV fleets are much younger than ICE fleets. Comparing fires with sales strongly favors EVs because an ICE vehicle can burn 15 years after it was sold.

Exposure time matters: the correct denominator should ideally be vehicle-years in service (or miles driven), not simply the number of vehicles sold.

Small EV sample sizes: EV fire statistics are based on a much smaller and younger fleet, making precise comparisons less certain.

I mean his respectfully but. thanks for saying "nuh uh" without any supporting evidence that was asked for. Its not a fair comparison. In fact, its completely irrelevant as its not the discussion. The statement and what the studies show is that ICE cars catch fire more than electric cars. Period.

You have not shown anything but an opinion vaguely claiming the numbers are skewed for reasons that you made up. This is often referred to as gaslighting, goal post moving, lying or irrelevance. We dont get to make up points and then claim a fact is wrong.

The numbers dont lie, I am not going to debate the fact that electric cars are catching fire much less than ICE cars. Its not debatable. Show us any study that says otherwise.

If it doesnt hold true in 15 years, we can revisit this discussion and the studies will show it. But for now, thats where we are.

 

[Superconductor]

Legislation? LMAO

 

[Megalomaniac]

I have a 2026 Cadillac Vistiq. The battery chemistry isn't "lithium ion" - it's Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum. Never had a problem with it. 300 miles range, recharges overnight in just 4-5 hours on Level 2 home charging. Same for my 2024 Lyriq.

HYBRIDS are far more likely to catch fire than EV or gasoline cars simply due to the marriage of the complexity of gas cars with the complexity of the high voltage battery.

Gasoline cars are far more likely to catch fire than EV. EV fires are a rareity nowadays.

I don't see myself going back to gas anytime soon.

You get instantaneous power from EV...more than 650 HP/ pounds of torque for instant acceleration and there is less wear and tear with cheaper maintenance.

 

[wiyosaya]

Well it's because if you just had a simple radio volume and tuning knob, you wouldn't need a bunch of tech gadgets in the car so you wouldn't have to be distracted from driving.
Although it's not like people aren't already still on their phones or poking on the dash screen.

I never said I didn't have knobs or buttons.

I guess some people would rather have this than join the modern world

 

[user556]

Man just wait until you hear about this explosive liquid that people just...carry around in their vehicles! Should have been banned in 1900!

Petrol does not self ignite without something to get it started, like a hot engine. Kerosene is even harder to light. Lithium-Cobalt's need no inputs at all, they will cook internally.

 

[user556]

Gasoline cars are far more likely to catch fire than EV. EV fires are a rareity nowadays.

You might want to try tell the shipping and ferry operators that. They'll maybe not so politely disagree.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of EVs, but the Lithium-Cobalt battery chemistries have never been safe for any use. Period.

 

[JamesBlond]

Come on man every research study clearly lists the age of vehicles in the studies, and I think the furthest they go back is 12 years.
Oh, and the stats are not totals, but number of fires per 100k vehicles.

Not seen the studies, how many cars per 100k catch fire, I remember there was a time when you would see them burning along the side of the road for 24 hours, low polution cars causing 1000000x the polution of a petrol car

 

[yannus]

The numbers dont lie, I am not going to debate the fact that electric cars are catching fire much less than ICE cars. Its not debatable.

But before you had said "if you counter evidence to prove otherwise, Id love to see it"

Numbers don't lie, right. Collection and interpretation of numbers do.

FYI, we're talking big numbers $. There is a HUGE market around electric cars, much more than with ICE (price and life span). Studies are not as independent as you might think, corruption and lobbying exist. It's very awkward to explain that to an adult in 2026.

 

[yannus]

I never said I didn't have knobs or buttons.

I guess some people would rather have this than join the modern world

Man, we're on Techspot, or geekworld if you prefer. People here love high tech, it's not about that and you know it.

 

[MasterFig]

Gas cars still have far more fires, per capital, then electric cars.
Because a cold circuit must be manually reconnected. News flash: 99 percent of people don't want to have to open the hood and crank their car to life like it's 1906.
Man just wait until you hear about this explosive liquid that people just...carry around in their vehicles! Should have been banned in 1900!

Back in reality, alternative chemistries all suffer from one or more of the following:

Pathetically low energy density
Extremely heavy
Difficult to make outside a lab
Terrible recharge count before failure
Extremely expensive
Impossible to scale production
Can't function outside of extreme temperatures

You act like we want lithiums. Battery tech has held us back for decades. As it turns out, making viable alternative chemistries is really really hard!

About your manually reconnecting electrical circuits comment..... You have heard of relays right?? The concept is that when you turn the car off, everything else that is non-essential turns off with it. Start the car, and everything turns back on. No manual action required on your part

 

[Aolish]

Just give us a car that moves, we don't need all this fancy stuff inside of it. The saying "Less is More" is more relevant than ever before.

 

[scavengerspc]

Not seen the studies, how many cars per 100k catch fire, I remember there was a time when you would see them burning along the side of the road for 24 hours, low polution cars causing 1000000x the polution of a petrol car

The studies are there if you are interested, but the funny part is so many on the internets have claimed to see those fires.
I probably average 1500-2000 miles a month and I have never witnessed ANY car burning on the side of the road. Even a smoker which, yeah "the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data shows that in the U.S., gas- and diesel-powered vehicles account for about 98% of all passenger vehicle fires".

Do EVs catch fire more than gas cars? A data-driven safety comparison

EV fire videos go viral, but data from the US, EU, and Australia shows gas cars burn far more often. Find out why.

interestingengineering.com

But the EV fires are near impossible to put out so that's a good point, though pollution from when they catch fire seems miniscule compared to how many more smoke pumps catch fire.

 

[subnex]

Manufacturers need to produce cars again that are cars without all the bells and whistles. No infotainment, mechanical power steering, no lane keep, driver monitoring or anything useless. And no telemetry tracking.

One of the main reasons that is keeping me from buying an EV is the amount of unnecessary electronics and software in the vehicles.

 

[A Tabby Person]

Based on stats that count a 20, 30, 40 or 50 year old car like a 5 year old EV? Or studies that count a fire extinguished in the first seconds with a standard extinguisher as a fire that consumed everything around and a car that had to be thrown into a lake ?

Burned up gas stations, “turn off engine while fueling”, fill gas cans on the ground, no cig smoking, etc. Risks all over, all still safer than getting thrown from horse.

 

[lonetac]

But before you had said "if you counter evidence to prove otherwise, Id love to see it"

Numbers don't lie, right. Collection and interpretation of numbers do.

FYI, we're talking big numbers $. There is a HUGE market around electric cars, much more than with ICE (price and life span). Studies are not as independent as you might think, corruption and lobbying exist. It's very awkward to explain that to an adult in 2026.

You didnt provide any counter evidence. You put an opinion and self created theory out there. Thats not counter evidence.

Its oh so convenient to say every study done on the topic is based on corruption or lobbying exist. Oh so convenient. Thats not a counterargument. Thats just denying facts, making up an opinion and calling someone who is saying something based on numbers and facts wrong. Very common for adults to do this as they live with absolute cognitive dissonance and just dig their head into the sand despite overwhelming amounts of evidence saying the contrary. Thats not going to fly here.

If you have a study or data that shows the opposite, put it up.

 

[lonetac]

The studies are there if you are interested, but the funny part is so many on the internets have claimed to see those fires.
I probably average 1500-2000 miles a month and I have never witnessed ANY car burning on the side of the road. Even a smoker which, yeah "the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data shows that in the U.S., gas- and diesel-powered vehicles account for about 98% of all passenger vehicle fires".

Do EVs catch fire more than gas cars? A data-driven safety comparison

EV fire videos go viral, but data from the US, EU, and Australia shows gas cars burn far more often. Find out why.

interestingengineering.com

But the EV fires are near impossible to put out so that's a good point, though pollution from when they catch fire seems miniscule compared to how many more smoke pumps catch fire.

I have seen quite a few car fires on the side of the road here in CT. Every single one was an ICE car.

Ive never seen an EV but during my CERT course, the fire dept was very clear that you just let them burn. Nothing can be done until they go out. They setup a perimeter, monitor it and let it go until its out.

 

[plplplpl]

My first vehicle, was Plymouth Valiant 1963. Push button on the left, pull down lever for park. It had a 225 slant 6, with 130 horses. It got up pretty good for what it was. The radio, (tube) would take a good twenty minutes to warm up before you could hear it.

I had the 1964 Plymouth Valiant, also with the push-button automatic transmission in the dash, and I concur. Not only was it an beautiful car with its vestigial rear wings and taillights, but that slant six engine was unkillable.

I also like that when the air filter occasionally caught fire, a simply wingnut spin was all it took me to pull it out and douse it in the snow, after which a simple screwdriver jammed into the carburetor was all it took to start it up again. Nope, they don't make them that easy to maintain anymore.

 

[bwbeam]

Get rid of about 75% of the electronic do-dads in vehicles these days would help. Buttons, knobs, dials need to be in cars. Not massive stupid touch screens along with cameras & sensors all over the place.
If you can't OPERATE a motor vehicle without all of that nonsense, maybe you shouldn't be driving a vehicle. I just read the other day Chrysler recalled about a million vehicles because the software that runs the stupid backup camera could render it non functional. OH NO!!! You mean you might actually have to turn your head around, look out the back window of your vehicle, or use the rear view/side view mirrors without that stupid beeping sound with the yellow lines on the screen showing you how to BACK UP your vehicle? Oh the humanity!

I could'nt agree more , I'm 74 and I don't know what some of the stuff even does , all I need is AC and music and I'm content I don't want or need all the tech gadgets in cars today, That's probably some of the reason there are so many accidents because they are looking at the touch screen and not where they are going, give me the good old days & I would be happy

 

[wiyosaya]

Man, we're on Techspot, or geekworld if you prefer. People here love high tech, it's not about that and you know it.

Well apparently, if you read the comments, that is not always the case.

People want knobs and buttons even if there's a high-tech Voice Recognition way of operating most, if not all, of the functionality within a vehicle.

Since no one has quite qualified it, that would apparently exclude things that save lives like automatic emergency braking, or make a vehicle easier to drive such as radar assisted cruise control.

IMO, people who don't want tech in their cars are going to be waiting a long, long time for vehicles to be de-teched. Even ICE vehicles have substantial amounts of tech in them from pretty much all the manufacturers out there.

To quote Kosh from Babylon 5, "The Avalanche has started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote."

I was around when seat belts became standard and then when they became mandatory. People pissed and moaned about them, too. Before seatbelts were mandated at a federal level, Lee Iaccoca pissed and moaned about them being too expensive to include in cars, then when they were mandated, he trumpeted the fact that they were in the cars his company made as a selling point.

There are always people who fight against whatever "new fangeled gadget" comes to market, high-tech or not.

Did I really need to add a /s to the end of the post you quoted?

 

[p51d007]

I could'nt agree more , I'm 74 and I don't know what some of the stuff even does , all I need is AC and music and I'm content I don't want or need all the tech gadgets in cars today, That's probably some of the reason there are so many accidents because they are looking at the touch screen and not where they are going, give me the good old days & I would be happy

Remember back in the day when you went to a dealer, and ORDERED the options you wanted on your vehicle? My dad sold cars for over 33 years. 60's to the 90's. Back when vehicles could be ordered the way YOU wanted.

 

[Mark Fuller]

The whole blame is on the manufacturers themselves, who try to get a product out to sell that will make them some money without proper testing to see what will go wrong. Government intervention is always required for this reason in the final analysis to fix the issue, usallly a massive recall after somebody gets iinjured or killed. They need more controls over who makes what before they ever allow anyone to put anything out on the market. This applies to everything you can buy. The newspapers and websites and TV news is full of examples every day. It's to our national shame that someone always gets killed or hurt before they government intervenes. Someone once said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.