Even greater protection on the way.
No need to depower the Volt after a crash?
Following a severe crash in a Chevy Volt today, GM sends a team to depower the Volt involved in the crash to prevent the possibility of a fire days or even weeks after the crash, much like a gasoline car is emptied of gasoline after a severe crash. Likewise, GM is able to glean valuable information to be used in future Volt builds.
However, the need to depower severely damaged Volts could soon be minimized as GM has announced a fix for this battery issue.
Or, should depowering always be required after a severe crash in any battery-powered vehicle?
According to reports GM will strengthen the containment structure around the Volt to increase battery protection during severe side impact collisions. Additionally, GM will add a new sensor to the battery coolant system reservoir for better monitoring, while also adding a more secure bracket to the the top of the battery coolant system to prevent overfill.
But, that doesn’t mean that the Volt won’t still be depowered after a serious crash. In fact, GM’s Rob Peterson essentially asked me, ‘why wouldn’t you depower a battery after a severe crash?’
Good question. One that probably needs to be asked of Nissan — and the whole industry – since the company has created the perception that a Leaf involved in a severe crash doesn’t need to be depowered. So, the Leaf battery just sits at a salvage lot with a battery full of energy, or does the Leaf battery have an auto discharge? I’ll have to follow up on that issue.
Ultimately, this Volt battery issue is really evolving into a story about protocols. After a gasoline car is totaled mechanics, tow truck drivers and salvage lots, etc. understand the process for handling such vehicles. But battery powered vehicles require a different set of protocols, and some form of depowering appears to be one of those necessary protocols.
Anyway, in my opinion, the Volt’s battery is not a dangerous safety issue. The Volt is safe and GM is making it even safer by adding some extra safeguards. In fact, I’d argue the Volt is safer than similarly sized gasoline-powered cars. So, if you’re serious about a Volt purchase, you’d be a fool let to this depowered issue stop you.
Source: MSNBC
Thanks for the info Leafer. You make some very noteworthy points.
If you get this, I have a question. Does any crash cause the Leaf to depower, or is it only under certain parameters? Such as the battery pack is very possibly damaged according to internal sensors?
Also, after auto-depowering, is the battery still fully functional, or would it have to be replaced after depowering, even if it wasn’t that damaged, but that’s just the unfortunate result of depowering?
Thanks in advance if you’re able to respond to those questions.
The Nissan LEAF automatically depowers its battery after a collision. It also uses no liquid coolant. It also houses the battery in a steel clam-shell. It also houses the battery between huge frame rails.
This reminds about how Nissan adopted a throttle override for braking long before Toyota did it to combat “sudden acceleration” in their Camry.
It helps to have a culture of safety being top priority in an auto company.
I’m sure you’ll be well taken care of, but let us know if there are any surprises.
I got a certified letter in the mail today with an invitation to a webex for owners, so they can update us on the plan on how they will implement this….
Ouch, but funny.
Still, I’m glad that GM built the Volt, although I’d be elated if GM took on the Prius head on. Of course, I’m waiting for any automaker to truly take on the Prius.
The benefit of selling so poorly is that they can go door-to-door with the recalls