In June, an electric Jaguar I-Pace caught fire and burnt to the ground.
The Florida-based vehicle owner informed Elecktrek that he had left his automobile connected into the charger before going to bed on June 16th.
The next day, Gonzalo Salazar went to run a few errands in the vehicle, covering around 12 miles before returning home and putting it back in the garage.
Salazar went inside after hearing pops from the garage. He walked to the garage, curious by the peculiar noise, only to see dense smoke coming from within.
“My thought immediately was, ‘When there is smoke, there is fire,’ and I need to get the car out of the house garage,” Salazar said in his email to Elecktrek.
He then went back inside to get his phone and call Jaguar roadside help to get the car to safety.
“When I ended the conversation with them there were more pops, but this time it was followed by fire from under the car. I then called 911 to come help with the situation,” Salazar wrote.
“But this was not a slow burn, once the fire started there were multiple pops, and the car was just engulfed in flames rapidly.”
Firefighters on the site used flame retardant to extinguish the flames.
“There was debris flying everywhere so I kept my distance,” Salazar said.
“After the fire department poured a special foam fire suppressant for what seemed a long time, the car was still making a humming sound coming from the front of the car.”
The car had been reduced to ash by the time the fire was extinguished, with just some bits around the hood remaining partially charred, according to photos posted by Elecktrek.
According to the publication, Salazar stated, “My insurance company sent a forensic specialist, did their investigation and declared the car a total loss.”
“Jaguar, on the other hand, is not being helpful at all, stating that they need to complete their own investigation, but due to the risk of re-igniting the fire, they are unable to find a place where they can lift the car up, so their ‘investigation’ is on hold, and they are not accepting any responsibility for what happened,” he said.
According to Elecktrek, Salazar’s car’s battery is the fourth I-Pace battery to spontaneously catch fire.
Although electric car fires aren’t as common as gasoline-powered vehicle fires, electric vehicle battery fires are significantly more difficult to extinguish, according to the outlet.
LG pouch battery cells are used in I-Pace automobiles. LG Chem battery cells have previously caused fires in Chevrolet Bolt vehicles owing to a fault in them, causing Chevrolet and Hyundai to issue product recalls to repair the batteries.
When Electrek questioned if there was any connection between the four I-Pace fires and the LG batteries, Jaguar answered with a broad statement that did not address the subject.
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