In June, a Jaguar I-Pace electric car exploded into flames and burned to ashes in the middle of the street in a suburban Florida neighborhood.
The owner told Elecktrek that he had left his vehicle plugged into the charge on June 16 before he went to bed.
The next day, Gonzalo Salazar drove the vehicle to run a few errands for about 12 miles before he returned home and parked it in his garage.
However, once Salazar was inside, he began hearing popping noises from the garage. The curious owner went to investigate only to find the garage filled with thick smoke.
“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.
Listening to his instinct, the owner guided the smoking vehicle out of his garage into the middle of the street just in front of his home.
He then headed back inside to phone Jaguar roadside assistance so they could tow the vehicle to safety.
“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.
“But this was not a slow burn, once the fire started there were multiple pops, and the car was just engulfed in flames rapidly.”
When firefighters arrived, they used flame retardant foam to put out the fire.
“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.”
By the time the fire was extinguished, the car had been reduced to a pile of ash and metal, with only a few parts near the hood remaining only partly burned. Pictures shared by Electrk showed the extent of the damage.
“My insurance company sent a forensic specialist, did their investigation and declared the car a total loss,” Salazar said, according to the outlet.
Another EV fire… this one from Florida earlier this summer. A Jaguar i-pace was parked in an attached garage when the owner heard "popping" sounds and saw smoke puffing from the car. The car was moved outside before it burst into flames. I guess you can call them "lucky". pic.twitter.com/JUOwthCSb4
— Old Brass (@StoichioGuy) August 2, 2022
According to Elecktrek, the car’s battery was the fourth in the same vehicle model to catch fire. The outlet reports that electric vehicle fires are less common than gasoline-based ones. However, electric vehicle battery fires are a lot more difficult to extinguish.
I-Pace cars use LG pouch battery cells. LG Chem battery cells have previously been known to catch fire in Chevrolet Bolt vehicles due to a defect that forced Chevrolet and Hyundai to issue product recalls to replace the batteries.
When questioned by Electrk about links between the four I-Pace fires and the LG batteries, Jaguar responded with a generalized statement that didn’t specifically address the question. Basically, they went into CYA mode.
“Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is committed to our customers’ safety, and we are aware of this I-PACE incident in Boynton Beach, Florida.”
“We have been in contact with and are cooperating with the customer’s insurance company expert regarding a vehicle inspection. JLRNA is unable to comment further on your questions until the investigation is completed.”
You can watch a video of the fire below.
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Sources:
- “Electric Jaguar I-Pace Catches Fire While Charging, Reduced to Ashes in Middle of Road” Independent Journal Review.