After the serious crash that happened last November, investigations suspected that Chevy Volt was one of the factors that caused the fire.
Currently, the General Motors (GM) is preparing to modify their Chevrolet Volts to protect the batteries from catching fire long after an automobile accident. Such act is a prompt response to the government’s call for car crash testing and recall.
In a conference call, the General Motors product Chief Mary Barra said that they are planning to modify their Chevy Volts and changes will concern the following:
• Safety structure surrounding the battery pack will be strengthened to avoid the vehicle from damaging the case during automobile accidents.
• A sensor will be added to the monitor battery coolant levels and a bracket to the coolant reservoir to avoid leakage.
Said changes will be applied to the already built automobiles and will also include the future vehicles.
Barra furthered that even without a government’s order, the company will automatically fix their customers’ cars. Allegedly, volt repairs will include nearly 12,000 automobiles but its cost was not disclosed by the corporation.
As the major government agency assigned in reducing fatalities and injuries on the roadways, the NHTSA conducted a series of tests. Under the monitoring of GM’s representatives and with careful consultation and cooperation of the professionals from the Department of Energy and Department of Defense – apparently, both the battery intrusion and coolant leakage must be present to enable after-crash fire in the Volt.
Last December 22, the NHTSA conducted an impact test and crashed a Chevy Volt in a side pole. The result of the test exhibits no intrusion into the vehicle’s battery compartment and no coolant leakage was seen. The result indicates that the remedy proposed by GM should address the issue.
As a form of precaution, after the test, the NHTSA has monitored crashed vehicles and will continue to do so for another week.
The fire risk issue about the Chevy Volt has lowered GM’s sales to about half among general consumers, according to the market survey conducted by CNW Research. Obviously, GM needs an immediate action regarding this matter not only to avoid the risk of fire after an automobile accident, but might as well to achieve their target sales for the year.
