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Tesla Model S: Claim of Unintended Acceleration Causes Accident
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Seems dubious to me. Vast majority of unintended acceleration claims are users hitting the wrong pedal and then casting about for someone else to blame. The Model S has excellent data and event collection, so this should be pretty easy to sort out.
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Problem with data collection is there is no way Tesla can determine if the pedal was hit or if there was a software glitch that somehow caused the throttle to go to full bore. Sure the logs will show acceleration but this could also be due to a software glitch. It is likely to be user error though since these controls are usually isolated from all of the other car systems.
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I love the Fisker Karma but I'm sure if I had a Model S I would love it too. Well, not quite as much. But if this happen to me I would notify Tesla immediately before reporting anything to the NHTSA to give them the chance to make it right.
I would not want anything to happen to Fisker or Tesla that would fuel the political arena that already have a negative altitude toward electric vehicles. I'm sure Tesla will do whatever is necessary to fix this and report this to the NHTSA if it was warranted.
At this stage of the game I would trust that Tesla would do whatever necessary to make me happy.
Samuel
I would not want anything to happen to Fisker or Tesla that would fuel the political arena that already have a negative altitude toward electric vehicles. I'm sure Tesla will do whatever is necessary to fix this and report this to the NHTSA if it was warranted.
At this stage of the game I would trust that Tesla would do whatever necessary to make me happy.
Samuel
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well.. now there is one on fire.. http://jalopnik.com/this-is-what-fiery-tesla-model-s-death-looks-like-1440143525
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Here is a statement from officials at Tesla, who say the fire was caused by a crash that luckily injured no one:
“Yesterday, a Model S collided with a large metallic object in the middle of the road, causing significant damage to the vehicle. The car’s alert system signaled a problem and instructed the driver to pull over safely, which he did. No one was injured, and the sole occupant had sufficient time to exit the vehicle safely and call the authorities. Subsequently, a fire caused by the substantial damage sustained during the collision was contained to the front of the vehicle thanks to the design and construction of the vehicle and battery pack. All indications are that the fire never entered the interior cabin of the car. It was extinguished on-site by the fire department.”
time to add a camera in the footwell to include that in event data. camera's and sensors are cheap.
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The question is, what was burning? In this Leaf Accident, the fire was caused by the interior burning and not the battery pack:
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/nissan-leaf-battery-pack-survives-massive-fire-48268.html
This could be really bad news for Tesla and other EV owners if that intense fire was caused by some of the Lithium-Ion cells burning due to a collision and a battery coolant system leak.
Don't watch the other video in the story if you want to sleep tonight:
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wow, wonder how the telsa folks are going to deal with this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q0kjI08n4fg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q0kjI08n4fg
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Sorry, that's bad Karma. If Tesla is successful, it helps demonstrate the probability of success in the EV space, which is a key element in the effort to revive Fisker.
Let's hope this is an isolated incident, a perfect storm involving a collision, lots of water from heavy rain, and perhaps something flammable in the Frunk. But it does look like the battery is on fire. Check out the 14-second point in the video. You can see a lithium cell exploding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q0kjI08n4fg
The question all of this raises for me is: Is there anything we should do in case of a collision besides getting away from the vehicle (if possible)? I carry Fisker's detailed First Responder document in the trunk, which is clearly stupid for a number of reasons, but I can't figure out what else to do with it. It won't fit in the glove compartment. Leaving it on a seat is impractical and unsightly, plus I don't know where it would wind up during an accident. Even if I had the document, I can't see myself yelling at the firefighters to read it first while the car is smoking or burning.
It seems that the only option we have in an emergency is to deactivate the Karma's low-voltage system by pressing the Start button 3 times. Does anyone know if that would help reduce the possibility of a post-collision fire or would it simply be a waste of valuable time? :huh:
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I completely agree. Hoping that people die or become horribly disfigured just so that a few bucks can be made would be beneath contempt. I am sure that was not the intention of the poster, but the risk is certainly there.
If you watch it all the way through, when the car filming the incident moves away, it appears that only the front of the car is burning and the passenger compartment looks fairly intact and definitely not on fire. ICE-Powered cars catch fire all the time. Even an EV has some flammable liquids on board, such as hydraulic fluid for the power steering and brakes. I am certain this type of fire was considered and planned for during the design. We should not jump to any conclusions until the investigation is over.
In an emergency, I would just get the he11 out of the car and as far away as possible. You can inform the first responders much better from a safe distance than by leaving them notes on a car that is on fire.
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Absolutely. Is this in the purview of the NTSB? If so, the NTSB is AWOL due to the gov't shutdown. I hope they give this some attention when they eventually return, but there's a chance we'll never know what really happened. There was a tragic bus accident in Tennessee today and there'll undoubtedly be other incidents in the days to come that will be more important to the NTSB than a vehicle fire in which no one was injured.
Elon's lucky streak continues.
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I don't think this falls under the jurisdiction of the NTSB, they deal mostly with larger mass casualty incidents. I would think this would be more in NHTSA's wheelhouse. The government shutdown may delay an investigation but, assuming the government reopens at some point, it will most likely be investigated at some point.
While they are at it, they should also take a look at this incident:
In the mean time, Tesla is the best selling car in Norway this month. http://www.greencarreports.com/news...-was-best-selling-car-in-norway-for-september
"Not the best-selling electric car. Not the best-selling car with a plug.
For the month of September, the Tesla Model S was the best-selling car, period."
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This was an accident, I don't see it any more than that. My post is more a follow up to my previous joke about how expensive Tesla stock is.
Unless there is more official information related to this, I am not worry about Tesla one bit.
"Not the best-selling electric car. Not the best-selling car with a plug.
For the month of September, the Tesla Model S was the best-selling car, period."
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This was an accident, I don't see it any more than that. My post is more a follow up to my previous joke about how expensive Tesla stock is.
Unless there is more official information related to this, I am not worry about Tesla one bit.
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It was a battery fire, caused by a metal object in the road puncturing the battery enclosure. The battery enclosure in the Model S vents at the front (just behind the front wheels), which kept the fire out of the passenger compartment.
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021950569_apusteslafire.html
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021950569_apusteslafire.html
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Highly doubtful a "software glitch" would cause it.
Electronic throttle controls are designed to have 2 sensors in the accelerator pedal AND 2 sensors in the throttle body. Therefore there are 4 sensors that would measure throttle request and opening.
Redundancy.
Plus, after the Toyota fiasco of a couple of years ago. Cars are now designed so the throttle wont open (and corresponding fuel injector opening) if the brake is applied.
I suspect Tesla will find that the accelerator was depressed during that "incident"
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There is no throttle body on any Tesla. Think of the accelerator as a VFD. There is not even a separate CAN gateway (would be possible to determine where the throttle input came from) for the accelerator throttle (K-line). It is just a signal being sent to the power electronics which spins the motor and turns the diff/tran. The way the throttle works on an ICE car is not a valid comparison.
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