
2019 Hyundai Kona EV Explodes When Parked - tomohawk
https://www.thedrive.com/news/29219/2019-hyundai-kona-ev-explodes-when-parked-sends-garage-door-flying-across-street
======
jdietrich
Between 2006 and 1010, an average of 152,280 passenger cars caught fire per
year, causing an average of 209 deaths and $538m in damages.

[https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-
st...](https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-
and-reports/US-Fire-Problem/ostypeofvehicle.ashx)

~~~
bgentry
I do believe the media tends to make too big a deal of EV fires and issues
(given how they compare to gas cars' frequent issues). That being said, I
don't think the stats you shared are at all relevant here: those stats are
probably almost all from accidents and maintenance issues on the road
involving moving/operational vehicles. The explosion in this story was from a
stationary vehicle parked in a garage, allegedly not even charging.

There are probably some rare cases of this happening on gas vehicles over the
years, but I expect any such case would also be concerning and deserving of a
deep investigation.

~~~
userbinator
_There are probably some rare cases of this happening on gas vehicles over the
years_

Unfortunately, the majority of cases I remember were due to flaws in the
_electrical_ system:

[https://www.autosafety.org/ford-ignition-switch-
fires/](https://www.autosafety.org/ford-ignition-switch-fires/)

[https://www.autosafety.org/category/vehicle_fires/ford_cruis...](https://www.autosafety.org/category/vehicle_fires/ford_cruise_control_deactivation_switch_fires/)

[https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/ford-
recalls-f-15...](https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/ford-
recalls-f-150-super-duty-trucks-second-time-fire-risk)

[https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/08/07/gm-
reca...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/08/07/gm-recall-
suvs/13747461/)

In other words, the (relatively small) battery in ICE vehicles provided the
initial energy to start those fires, and not the fuel itself. I suppose one
could say that a safety advantage of ICE vehicles when parked and off is that
even a fuel leak requires a source of ignition to cause a fire (also, diesel
is very difficult to actually ignite), whereas with an EV there is always a
huge source of electrical energy available and a lot more components which are
always supplied with power.

My guess is that once they become as common as ICE, EVs will continue to catch
fire at roughly the same rate if not more.

~~~
tlb
The propulsion battery in most electric cars (certainly Teslas) is
disconnected by a relay when the car is off. So the amount of powered stuff
isn't any higher than gas cars. Teslas also have a 12V battery to bootstrap
the system and run accessories when the main power is off, though it's smaller
than a typical ICE battery because it doesn't have to crank an engine.

I don't think you can predict from theory which will have higher fire rates.
All the fires are due to small flaws in the details, so it's a question of
design and manufacturing carefulness.

~~~
alasdair_
>when the car is off

Does it count as "off" when the car periodically wakes up when parked to do
everything from check for updates to warming/cooling the batteries or cabin?

(Not trolling, I can't find the actual answer.)

~~~
13of40
Also, if the little 12-volt runs down, will it recharge itself from the main
one?

~~~
goodcanadian
I can only speak for the Leaf, but much like a petrol/gasoline car, the 12V
battery is only charged when the car is on (and when the car is actively being
charged). It is entirely possible to run down the 12V battery if you leave the
car parked long enough without it being turned on. Once the 12V runs down far
enough, you are no longer able to turn the car on (or charge it) as the 12V
powers the contactors for the main battery. I have had to jump start my Leaf
due to a bad 12V battery.

------
pi-rat
Hope they figure this one out, got a 2019 kona EV parked in the garage :)

We've passed 250k electric vehicles now in Norway[1] (and 3.2k Konas), I can't
think of a single similar case as this in the media.

[1]: [https://elbilstatistikk.no](https://elbilstatistikk.no)

------
lnsru
Hopefully it will not repeat Samsung battery disaster. Few more cars and it
would bring bad publicity for all electric cars. VW killed whole natural gas
powered car industry in similar way:
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2016/09/16/europe...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2016/09/16/europe-
volkswagen-cars-explode-in-gas-stations/) I see even now sometimes signs
prohibiting entering underground parking with natural gas vehicle...

~~~
SmellyGeekBoy
> Hopefully it will not repeat Samsung battery disaster. Few more cars and it
> would bring bad publicity for all electric cars.

Strange how that works. A few Samsung phones explode and Samsung phones are
declared dangerous. One Hyundai explodes and obviously all electric cars are
somehow inherently dangerous.

~~~
lifthrasiir
> A few Samsung phones explode and Samsung phones are declared dangerous.

As far as I recall (I haven't rigorously collected the statistics), about 10--
20 phones exploded in the first month the issue was raised. One explosion at
any time is an accident, multiple explosions in a month are not. The Kona
explosion can be thus regarded as an accident until something more fishy
happens.

------
ummonk
I very much wish they had said "One" instead of "2019". The headline seems to
imply this is some sort of issue with 2019 Hyundai Kona EVs in general, when
it appears to have been a single incident.

------
Waterluvian
Maybe this is obvious but I just re-appreciated the concept that the fire
department doesn't just put out a fire. They stick around and figure out
exactly what happened.

------
RaceWon
As an aside: My 2019 gas Kona is a wickedly precise car to drive... just
amazing really.

~~~
pi-rat
Then add instant torque (from a >200hp electric engine), no engine noise, and
you got the EV version. It's super responsive in sports mode. And easily does
500 km on a charge on Norwegian roads during summer if you need it to.

Build quality and quality control is decent, my impression is that there are
way less factory issues compared to Tesla.

Only downsides for this car in my book is:

\- Lacking a bit of room for the back seats if you're transporting grown ups.

\- Cargo space could be better.

\- There's a bit of road noise (you notice that when you don't have any engine
noise), I've had mine soundproofed to deal with this.

\- The default summer tires are shitty (they're low consumption though, but
noisy.) Replaced mine with Nokian tires.

\- They could easily have added a frunk in the EV version, there's enough room
under the hood. You can DIY this.

\- Front distance sensors doesn't automatically turn on when driving at low
speed. You have to manually activate them or hit reverse first. (US version
doesn't come with front sensors I believe).

\- Lane following assistant will disable itself if you don't touch the wheel
for 2 minutes, ACC however will stay on. The correct safe way to do this would
be to keep LFA on, but set ACC to 0. Stay in the lane, but slow to a stand
still.

~~~
RaceWon
> Then add instant torque...

Sure I can appreciate that, but I like engine noise, and as a racer I'm More
than just used to it--I interpret it into adhesion to name just one aspect of
precision driving.

Yep no real cargo room, I stored a lot of items down by the spare. No heated
side mirrors--I got the base, but still that's really shitty on their part.

Also I would NOT EVER have bought the car if I couldn't disable ALL of the
driver assists: lane keeping, Forward collision and traction control--it takes
a few seconds but I can't say it will ever irritate me. I did drive with
traction control on until the 600 mile break in mark so as not to overrev
while trying to catch the car IF that were to happen, which it never did. Now
though all three are off all time--And always will be ;)

------
JustSomeNobody
If it wasn’t charging at the time, why turn off the breaker?

~~~
codebeaker
I've read cases (in the US) where the electric charger shares a toggle circuit
with the washer/dryer combo or some other high current consuming device. If
your car charger kicks in whilst you have the dryer on it can trip the
breaker.

I could also imagine that having a breaker in the house for a high amperage
circuit which is regularly toggled-off is just a good safety precaution
against the neighbors stealing your power!

------
netsharc
Wow, that first quoted tweet is pretty fucking smug starting with Tesla's
stock ticker name.

~~~
LeoPanthera
The "TSLAQ" tag is (openly!) used by short sellers of TSLA trying to
manipulate the stock price downwards.

It's surprising they do it so openly, but useful, as you can use it as an easy
but reliable "this tweet is unreliable" indicator.

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Scoundreller
I'm impressed to see an "Americain Auto Centre" in Quebec.

Must be insulting to see your vehicle towed away by them.

~~~
systemtest
Quebec is in the American continent.

