A while back, the Handy Chevrolet staff started to discuss the ridiculousness surrounding the supposed combustion of Chevy Volt batteries.  As mentioned in that blog, firefighters have been trained by General Motors and Chevy personally to handle any and all encounters with a Chevrolet Volt crash:  from general crash response to potential fires and even through to the proper mechanics and use of the "Jaws of Life" when needed, emergency responders are very well trained for electric vehicle or EV crash response.

What's more, the media blew this entire ordeal out of proportion; just like what our sister store Handy Toyota went through when ABC News published the made-up "Death Ride" piece wherein a Toyota underwent sudden acceleration on camera (after having been tampered with to make it act as such, we later found out), we are facing a bout of journalistic muckraking against General Motors, GM, and the Chevy Volt.  I wouldn't have dared said that until I learned the true story regarding these Chevy Volt fires, of which there were incredibly few, but now that I know I felt the need to share it with you all to set the record straight.

For instance, did you know the Volt's that did catch fire were actually already crashed and parked for at least a few weeks before anything happened?  I repeat:  the fear mongers were not talking about crashing a Volt in a normal road accident and having the battery ignite, no, this was all regarding crashed - as in ALREADY CRASHED - Volt EVs that had been sitting in place in a junk yard or service or car repair lot for weeks... with an active battery.

So is this Chevy and GM's fault?  Or is this the fault of whoever towed the vehicle?  The battery remains on and in normal operation is depleted of its charge during normal use, but when it sits for prolonged periods of time with a damaged coolant system things can go awry.  Keep in mind you can leave your undamaged Volt sitting for as long as you please!  The key word here is damaged, and when this is the case you need to be careful.

What do you think about the Volt's battery/fire issue?  Are you upset that you were fooled and outright lied to by misleading stories?  Let me know in your comments below.

Chris Dugan
Handy Chevrolet
St. Albans, VT  05478