Electric Car Totalled After Mobile Phone Explodes In It
Over the years, we have come across multiple instances of electric cars catching fire. This one here, however, stands different. A Tesla recently caught fire in Japan after a mobile phone battery reportedly caught fire inside. Onoda, a Youtuber and the owner of the EV, soon took to X (previously Twitter) explaining what happened in detail. He has shared videos and photos of the damaged car.
Onoda says that his car, a Tesla, was parked in a mechanical parking when the mishap occurred. He had kept his mobile phone inside the cup holder. For some reason, the phone battery exploded, and created a fire inside. It burnt down parts of the centre console and one of the front seats. These can be seen in the shared images.
Luckily, the fire did not escalate beyond a point and did not char the whole car. The driver’s side can be seen relatively less affected. Even the touchscreen can be seen as functional. A crack can also be seen on the front windscreen.
The owner also mentions that he had purchased the EV for 7.5million yen, and that the insurance won’t cover the damage. The value of this particular Tesla, with the FSD (Full Self Driving) suite opted for, in the pre-owned market would be around 2.3 million yen. In that case, the repair costs would easily cross the vehicle value. This is probably why this Tesla was written off.
The owner here, seems to have learnt a costly lesson- to not keep or leave mobile phone batteries or power banks unattended in cars. The exact cause of this accident remains unclear. Comments say that it wasn’t the outside temperature. In that case, it may have been an issue with his phone’s Lithium ion battery pack.
Lithium ion battery packs used in mobile phones and other electronic gadgets can catch fire or explode under certain conditions. Excessive heat is one important factor. If we leave the device, particularly smartphones, unattended in a parked car, under the sun, it would heat up excessively. This can possibly damage the battery’s chemistry and cause it to explode.
Additionally, physical damage caused by instances like drops or bents can also puncture the battery, eventually leading to a mishap. Manufacturing flaws are another major cause. Battery health can also deteriorate with time and with the use of unsafe, sub-standard chargers.
A power bank is something that most of us use during commutes, if not on a daily basis. These devices get relatively larger battery packs compared to regular smartphones and thus pose a bigger fire risk. These aren’t allowed in airplane cargo for the same reason- they can create fires that the aircraft’s automatic cargo fire suppression systems cannot easily extinguish.
It is always recommended to keep them away from cars as well. Rely on the vehicle’s in-built charging points and wireless charging bays during commutes. Most cars and SUVs now come with in-built USB charging points (both type C and type A) and wireless charging bays. These are much safer charging solutions than a conventional power bank.
We know how dangerous EV fires are when the electric powertrain’s battery explodes. These are also Lithium-ion battery packs. Gadgets like mobile phones also come with the same, but in significantly smaller sizes.
When a Lithium battery catches fire, it burns at a very high temperature and triggers an accelerated, uncontrollable chemical chain reaction. The battery then generates heat faster than it can dissipate. This causes internal temperatures to spike rapidly and the fire, in most cases, won’t stop until the entire unit explodes and burns down.