PHEV/HEV Bus Fires?

[GBgraham]

I see a third London EV bus has gone up in flames in about as many weeks. We hear plenty about Tesla's catching fire but it did get me wondering on how Toyota's fair in the big scheme of malfunction fires. Is there anyway of knowing or finding out?

[Bper]

Hi Graham, I think it would be difficult to get the data on Toyota EV fires but these statistics are interesting.

Electric car fire statistics UK

Electric car fires often make the headlines, but they are not a common occurrence. According to Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, 239 fires recorded in the UK from July 2022 to June 2023 were linked to EVs.

While this is an 83% increase year on year, it’s important to note the number has increased along with the increasing presence of EVs on our roads. 

Meanwhile, according to Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, some 1898 fires in 2019 were from petrol and diesel vehicles, 54 from EVs.

I think a real concern is putting a EV fire out as they are notoriously difficult to extinguish. The fire brigade have come up with a few different methods but the worrying thing is when they are in difficult to reach areas like car parks and in close proximity to other vehicles.

In many case the fire brigade leave them to burn out if it is safe to do so.

[philip42h]

There are, precisely, zero reports of RAV4 HEV or PHEV fires on this forum.

The hybrid system has been around for a fair few years now so if it were prone to "catch fire" one would have thought a few forum members might have experienced and reported the issue. So, I'd conclude that there is no issue. 😉

[GBgraham]

1 hour ago, Bper said:

Hi Graham, I think it would be difficult to get the data on Toyota EV fires but these statistics are interesting.

Electric car fire statistics UK

Electric car fires often make the headlines, but they are not a common occurrence. According to Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, 239 fires recorded in the UK from July 2022 to June 2023 were linked to EVs.

While this is an 83% increase year on year, it’s important to note the number has increased along with the increasing presence of EVs on our roads. 

Meanwhile, according to Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, some 1898 fires in 2019 were from petrol and diesel vehicles, 54 from EVs.

I think a real concern is putting a EV fire out as they are notoriously difficult to extinguish. The fire brigade have come up with a few different methods but the worrying thing is when they are in difficult to reach areas like car parks and in close proximity to other vehicles.

In many case the fire brigade leave them to burn out if it is safe to do so.

Hi Bob, thank you for posting some informative information. If we take by percentages it looks quite compelling.

"In many case the fire brigade leave them to burn out if it is safe to do so."

The big problem here I would say that it's folk with integral garages.

 

[GBgraham]

10 minutes ago, philip42h said:

There are, precisely, zero reports of RAV4 HEV or PHEV fires on this forum.

The hybrid system has been around for a fair few years now so if it were prone to "catch fire" one would have thought a few forum members might have experienced and reported the issue. So, I'd conclude that there is no issue. 😉

I don't have a issue Philip, not even any concerns, only morbid curiosity😁

[Gray86]

We charge my wife’s Seat Mii electric in the garage. I’ve never heard of one (or sister cars - Citigo iv, or E-Up!) catching fire. It’s not an adjoined garage to the house, but still a lot of stuff to lose if there was a fire. I expect it’s very very unlikely. 

[flash22]

A lot of bus services in recent months (tfl and surrounding) have gone from weekly preventive maintenance and inspections to monthly

Also, the amount of breakdowns and recoveries has increased significantly

Correlation doesn't equal causation tho 😉

[Strangely Brown]

1 hour ago, Gray86 said:

We charge my wife’s Seat Mii electric in the garage. I’ve never heard of one (or sister cars - Citigo iv, or E-Up!) catching fire. It’s not an adjoined garage to the house, but still a lot of stuff to lose if there was a fire. I expect it’s very very unlikely. 

The fact that it is a low probability but very high consequence event does not make the risk any more acceptable. You are a braver man than I.

[Gray86]

1 hour ago, Strangely Brown said:

The fact that it is a low probability but very high consequence event does not make the risk any more acceptable. You are a braver man than I.

There is probably a bigger likelihood of me getting run over crossing the road in reality. Will probably charge it on the drive in the warmer months