LEAF Fire in North Texas

[board350]

Yes, I was quite pleased as well that they were that interested. Made me feel a little better about them still being interested in the cars and further development and safety.

[TomT]

They are likely also trying to stay ahead of the NHTSA...

Well even if that is a little CYA, I think its good that they are trying to follow-up. I believe some manufactures would just bury their heads in the sand than try to find out anything.

[Nubo]

I've yet to encounter a story of a LEAF fire that could be attributed to it being an electric car. Given the number of LEAFs manufactured and miles driven since 2010, it may be the LEAST fire-prone vehicle out there. So why does this incident garner so much media attention? For the same reason your "non-LEAF-driving friends" instantly gave you flak.

[dgpcolorado]

... Given the number of LEAFs manufactured and miles driven since 2010, it may be the LEAST fire-prone vehicle out there...

This. Let's give credit where it is due: the Li-ion chemistry chosen by Nissan is very safe from fires.

[dhanson865]

... Given the number of LEAFs manufactured and miles driven since 2010, it may be the LEAST fire-prone vehicle out there...

This. Let's give credit where it is due: the Li-ion chemistry chosen by Nissan is very safe from fires.

Very Very safe, that one guy burned through the wall of his garage with improper wiring overheating and the Leaf wasn't affected.

All the leafs in AX, TX, etc sitting around over desired temps and no matter how they are treated we end up talking about range not fires.

[Shawn75067]

I just found out about this posting. This was my 2013 Nissan Leaf and I have no idea what happened. I was driving to work in the morning and had just turned left onto Cross Timbers from Garden Ridge Boulevard. As I turned onto Cross Timbers I noticed a funny burning smell so I started to make my way from the far left lane to the right lane to find a place to pull over. Before I made it to the next light my car began gushing smoke from the front console just blow the dash. I then started to see actual fire coming through the plastic as I was trying to go to the curb for my safety and others on the road. I couldn't even get the car to go into park and had to jump out as it was still rolling due to the flames flying out toward my legs. I jumped out and ran to the passenger side to grab some of my belongings (bag, wallet, etc) from the passenger seat, only had enough time to grab those things and then run from the car to call 911. I thankfully made it out without being hurt and thankfully no one else was injured. I am not a smoker, was not transporting gasoline, or anything else that could have caused the fire. I'm a nurse who was just trying to get to work and had no idea what a terrible morning was awaiting me. I'm still so freaked out by the occurrence and Nissan seemed to offer little help or concern. I thankfully got a replacement vehicle a couple of weeks ago, went with a diesel as this experience has completely destroyed my faith in the EV!!! You would think Nissan would at least reach out in apology; yet all they did is have a person call for more details and he only seemed to want the information for research. Wish they would let me know what caused this as it really worries me since there are so many of this exact car on the road here. I would like to get any copies of videos or pictures anyone took; I was in shock during the whole event and only have the pictures my friend took when he met me to give me a ride while the tow truck loaded it up to haul the car away. -Shawn

[ElectricEddy]

I just found out about this posting. This was my 2013 Nissan Leaf and I have no idea what happened. I was driving to work in the morning and had just turned left onto Cross Timbers from Garden Ridge Boulevard. As I turned onto Cross Timbers I noticed a funny burning smell so I started to make my way from the far left lane to the right lane to find a place to pull over. Before I made it to the next light my car began gushing smoke from the front console just blow the dash. I then started to see actual fire coming through the plastic as I was trying to go to the curb for my safety and others on the road. I couldn't even get the car to go into park and had to jump out as it was still rolling due to the flames flying out toward my legs. I jumped out and ran to the passenger side to grab some of my belongings (bag, wallet, etc) from the passenger seat, only had enough time to grab those things and then run from the car to call 911. I thankfully made it out without being hurt and thankfully no one else was injured. I am not a smoker, was not transporting gasoline, or anything else that could have caused the fire. I'm a nurse who was just trying to get to work and had no idea what a terrible morning was awaiting me. I'm still so freaked out by the occurrence and Nissan seemed to offer little help or concern. I thankfully got a replacement vehicle a couple of weeks ago, went with a diesel as this experience has completely destroyed my faith in the EV!!! You would think Nissan would at least reach out in apology; yet all they did is have a person call for more details and he only seemed to want the information for research. Wish they would let me know what caused this as it really worries me since there are so many of this exact car on the road here. I would like to get any copies of videos or pictures anyone took; I was in shock during the whole event and only have the pictures my friend took when he met me to give me a ride while the tow truck loaded it up to haul the car away. -Shawn

That was a close one! Thank God you escaped uninjured. Imagine if children buckled in were involved. As to the cause, some support from Nissan national or international is in order. If it was an electrical short I would suspect by the location a high voltage short circuit possibly feeding the climate control heat or a/c fed by the drive battery. The 12 volt system seems well fused but the high voltage system seems quite capable supplying enough power to ignite materials quickly under conditions such as a short. I will be checking the service manual as to what protection is in that system. I assume dry conditions at that time?

[Shawn75067]

So true, thankfully there were no children in car seats or elderly or disable occupants as I fear there would have been a great chance of injury or death. I do hope no one else goes through the nightmare I experienced with this car; and Nissan does all in its power to ensure the safety of any other drivers and passengers. The conditions were dry as you mentioned also.

[EVforRobert]

It is great that you made it out in time! If you don't mind me asking a question, which model did you have, the S or SV/SL and did you have it since it was new?

[cwerdna]

Shawn75067: Wow. Sorry to hear your ordeal.

Would be curious to hear answers to some of the questions posed. Do you know the build month? Would've been on a sticker on the driver' side.

Assuming there was no user error (doesn't sound like there was), I would definitely file a safety complaint w/NHTSA at http://www.safercar.gov/, if you haven't already. Would be interesting to know if the cause is ever discovered and whether yours was a one-off or if there's a recall class issue affecting some other Leafs.