After tests have proved there are some issues with the Chevy Volt battery pack, U.S. regulators asked General Motors to fix the problem. As a result, the automaker seems to have fixed the issue and now is releasing new fire proof Volt battery pack.
On Thursday, General Motors has announced it has developed a proposed fix to the Chevrolet Volt battery pack which will eliminate the risk of fire occurring after a crash. According to the carmaker, the plan is to strengthen the structural protection of the 400 pound lithium ion battery by adding steel reinforcements and prevent coolant fluid from leaking and triggering a fire.
General Motors referred to its proposed changes to be voluntary enhancements. “We are choosing to go the extra mile to ensure our customers’ peace of mind” said May Barra, General Motors’ senior vice president for global product development.
An important thing to keep in mind if you already own a Chevrolet Volt is that there will be no recalls, but you should consider taking your car to a dealership. The changes General Motors proposed will be implemented starting this month, as soon as the holiday break at the Hamtrack, Michigan factory ends.
As stated by the company, although there will be no recalling of existing vehicles, in February, General Motors is going to initiate a voluntary customer satisfaction program which will instruct current Volt owners how to make sure their car is uptaded with the new safety features at local dealerships.
Mark Reuss, General Motors’ chief of North America, mentioned that the program will take two to three hours to complete.
The automaker’s reaction comes after U.S. regulators, lead by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have conducted tests which showed that a Volt put through a crash testing procedure caught fire three weeks later, while it was sitting in a parking lot outside the testing facility.
Additional tests showed that the fire was caused by the protective casing surrounding the car’s lithium ion battery pack. That protective casing was punctured during the side impact collision, which allowed the coolant fluid to leak onto a circuit board located on top of the unit. It caused a short circuit and soon a fire developed.
