Graham Butcher

Yes, I'm aware that many ICE cars have flush door handles, but the recall report specifically mentions Tesla; hence, it is an EV truth. Also, those recalls have just been published in the last few hours. I'm also NOT a conspiracy theorist, and pulling lines out of a post without the full context has zero meaning. The post by @Evolution13 specifically addresses those cars with electric door handles and says that all new cars in China must by 1st Jan 2027 have mechanical door handles inside and outside to ensure safety during power losses and crashes. No not in the slightest. Would you want a G-Wiz? A G-Wiz is officially a quadricycle, made in India with an 11-year production run of just 4,600 units. I used to see these in London, at a top speed of about 20mph, range of 50 miles and zero crash protection. Citroen never officially made an electric version of the C1, I think you are confusing it with the Citroen Ami, which is also not a car; it's an electric quadricycle with a top speed of just 28 mph and a 46-mile range so its not anything like a Nissan Leaf, or Tesla. Talk about rewriting history; I was surprised that you never went for something like a 1914 Beardsley electric car. 😉

My mistake; they were the first to produce 1 million of them in 2020. GM with their EV1 and Nissan with the Leaf were the first to put them on sale.

@Evolution13 Yes, I'm aware of that, applicable to new models, as it states in the article you posted, and the start date is 1st Jan 2027. However, the links I posted are recalls on already sold cars in use; they also mention software updates to lower the windows in the event of a crash automatically and stickers being applied, presumably to make the body-coloured flush door handles more visible to responders, which suggests that it is being claimed that they are not obvious enough to rescuers trying to open doors from the outside. It is not clear whether this recall is an interim measure while they design a retrofit replacement mechanical door handle. The article you posted also says that "previously approved models have until January 1, 2029, to update the door designs.

China is recalling almost 3,000,000 Teslas over the flush-hidden door handles and concerns about their safety in an emergency, such as after a crash. I wonder how many other manufacturers will be doing the same. This type of handle seems to be everywhere these days. Nearly three million Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles - BBC News Tesla recalls nearly 3m vehicles in China over door handle safety risks | Tesla | The Guardian Tesla Recalls 3 Million EVs in China Over Door Handle Safety Tesla’s Door Handles Lead to Its Biggest Recall Yet | WIRED Tesla and others begin record vehicle recall in China | Reuters Drive magazine indicates that they are not alone, other Chinese cars also recalled for the same issue. Tesla leads 4.3 million cars recalled for door handle safety fears

Well, if it's anything like the Cybertruck, that will be a no, then. First, it is 8 years since it was first introduced and supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. In that time, mainstream European truck manufacturers have theirs out, and many are being used in Europe. Secondly, unlike Tesla cars, which were the first to do BEVs, and hence have a strong following in most places of the world, they are very late to the HGV market and hence have very stiff competition on their hands if, and currently it is a big if, they will be able to meet the regulatory demands of the home market.

Coming back to that EV fire blanket for moment, I just discovered this footage from StatcheD Training of a demo / test of a EV fire blanket done in the US which does indeed show the hazard I mentioned about removing them once used. An interesting point he makes in the video is that the use of a fire blanket is actually meant for and is best used on adjacent vehicles, especially when at a charging hub, as the fire blanket would then greatly reduce the collateral damage to other vehicles from sideways jets of fire from a battery in thermal runaway. That makes me wonder just how they do that, when by the time the FF arrive on scene, the adjacent cars will have already been subjected to those flames and also involved. Unless, of course, those standalone fire barriers shown in the video towards the end are already in place? Has anyone ever seen any of these in use at hubs?

@Evolution13 I get it that it should be on a recall, but I was trying to point out that if people were to submit their cars earlier for servicing rather than, in some cases, penny-pinching, then maybe faults like that Mercedes with the £6,000 cost for a replacement electric motor might be avoided. I say 'penny-pinching' because it seems that some regard EVs as offering much cheapness and then go about squeezing as much more cheapness of ownership as is humanly possible. On the other hand, you have the more mechanically sympathetic owners of cars who never attempt to be first away from the traffic lights or use excessive acceleration and put their cars (as is the case with lots of ICE owners) in for oil changes, etc., well before the makers' recommended schedules. They also tend to catch the early warning signs of other problems before they become a major source of aggravation.

@Evolution13 the thought behind the post is that just maybe, some of these problems would be prevented if the cars were sent for servicing at regular intervals. Surely cooling of the battery and motor is one of the critical aspects on a EV. There must be some evidence in the cooling system etc of issues like that in the video.

Maybe, but still true nonetheless: all demos are always done in as near-perfect conditions as possible, never reflecting real-life situations and therefore spreading misinformation and false hopes.

And I suspect the vehicles "involved" in the simulated RTA were pretty much normal, complete cars, and also handily spaced apart to give the FF's plenty of space to work in. Whereas in a real RTA, the cars are more likely to embed into each other, be badly twisted out of shape, etc. They may even be in a ditch or somewhere cars aren't normally found.

Hmm, so BEV's it seems, should have some regular servicing even though the manufacturers don't seem to think so.

@lol-lol I fear people will be lulled into a false sense of security as the battery fire problem suddenly seems not to be such a problem. This system of a special EV fire blanket is only applicable in ideal conditions. This is not me fearmongering; I'm simply explaining real-life facts. You need to engage the old grey matter and understand that the manufacturers doing that demo had full control over the parameters; in real life, that is never going to happen like that. Observations: 1. The whole thing was staged: location open air meaning toxic fumes are easier to disperse, flat terrain, concrete pad (non-combustible), no obstructions, cars, buildings etc, no access problem. 2. Nissan Leaf has one of the smallest batteries fitted to EVs; the battery was also highly likely to be in a very low SOC, meaning less energy to burn off. 3. Firefighters already there and fully kitted out in their BAs. In a real situation, they might have to drive miles from the fire station to the car, which could be at an event in the countryside alongside other parked cars or in an RTA on a motorway, etc. Firefighters may therefore take a considerable time to arrive at the scene. Then when they get there, they will have to assess what type of incident they are faced with, get their BAs on, get an EV fire blanket from the appliance (assuming they have one), unpack it and position it ready for deployment. Run the hoses out and if possible, locate a hydrant to ensure they have plenty of water. 4. The fire blanket was already there, just waiting to be deployed, which is never going to be true in a real situation. 5. Because of the size of the battery and because it may have been in low SOC, it had probably already burnt off the oxidising agents by the time the blanket was deployed, with no more jets of flames being emitted sideways, flames going straight up (as a normal car fire). At that point, it was likely a normal car fire with all the plastics, carpets, seats, wiring, etc. then burning, the same as any ICE car. 6. The only time an EV presents a different hazard is with the battery; if it is actually off-gassing, it is both extremely dangerous if inhaled and can kill in seconds. If it settles on skin, then it is deadly and requires urgent hospitalisation and special treatment. It is highly explosive; the battery produces its own oxygen, so putting a fire blanket over the car does not stop it burning until the battery electrolyte has been burnt out, at which point the oxygen has been consumed, and the fire stops. Removing the blanket allows oxygen in, and the fire starts again as a normal car fire. Water will then finish the job, as shown in the demo. Had they left the blanket on long enough, the overall temperature would have dropped to almost the same as the ambient temperature, and water might not have been required. The EV fire blanket cannot be used in a car park because by the time the firefighters arrive, the car would be fully engulfed, as would the other cars in the surrounding parking bays, so there is no way a fire blanket could be used as it would not be possible to approach the fire as it would be too large for a blanket anyway. EV cars being transported by road on a car carrier – again, a blanket is useless; even if able to get one over the car, the bottom would be open and oxygen has free access. EV cars on a car ship are again packed in tightly with other cars even closer than they would be in a car park. They are also strapped down to prevent movement in rough seas, so a blanket (assuming one could be dropped down from the ceiling onto the car) would NOT be able to form a sealed "chamber" to contain the fire and stop it spreading to the surrounding cars because of the straps and the shackles holding it down will create pathways for air to enter and flames/gas to escape. As the scientists have already explained many times, if you can use a fire blanket, there is a high risk that removing it will cause a deflagration and engulf the firefighters in flames. So to make it clear, an EV car fire of any type (hybrid or BEV) is the same as any ICE car until the traction battery decides to combust, and that is when things turn really nasty and quickly. This means that firefighters will now have to identify the type of car they are dealing with and then take the appropriate steps to tackle it.

Probably have special inbuilt trackers fitted as well.

Yes, I watch them occasionally.

Totally agree, certainly at least until they can get massively improved camera coverage and prove beyond doubt that the system is fully reliable.