[JRRF]

Do I need to install a smoke detector in my garage now?

Pure progressive performance | Polestar

Passion and emotion drive us, electricity and innovation drive our cars. We are all in, guiding our industry forward through pure, progressive, performance.

www.polestar.com

 

[GDank]

Sounds like the 12v was sparking due to a lose connection. If this causes another recall I think that's for Polestar for many people.

BTW You should have a smoke detector in your garage regardless of what car you own.

 

[ProfessorCook]

I agree, GDank, that it sounds like a loose connection or something was seriously overheating. It is possible for some oils to smoke at relatively modest high temperatures. Perhaps everything worked as expected, but there was some contamination on a surface that is expected to get hot while charging.

 

[PolestarMG]

Official statement

 

[jonspolestar]

Oh dear, oh dear....

 

[polerad]

Do I need to install a smoke detector in my garage now?

Pure progressive performance | Polestar

Passion and emotion drive us, electricity and innovation drive our cars. We are all in, guiding our industry forward through pure, progressive, performance.

www.polestar.com

Hmm.... given that the charge port is at the back, this seems unlikely to be related to the charger, cable, or connection to the car. And as the good Professor says, some excess oil or residue that got deposited onto/into the car could do this. Given the lack of fire and just 'smoke', I wonder if it could even just be steam coming off.
Really hope they both come to a conclusion fast and let us know the details once they have a conclusion.

Not gonna lie, this got me freaked out a bit. But the decided lack of fire is actually less concerning than the issues other EVs have had with actual fires. This seems to be an EV thing

There's Tesla (all models):

Parked Teslas Keep Catching on Fire Randomly, And There's No Recall In Sight

A roundup of every spontaneous Tesla fire shows the company's response is stuck on Autopilot.

www.thedrive.com

Jaguar I-Pace:

Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV caught on fire, automaker is investigating the cause - Electrek

A Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV caught on fire in the Netherlands last week while parked in a driveway. The cause of the fire is unknown and the automaker is investigating the event. The incident happened in Rumpt, a town near Geldermalsen in the Netherlands, in the middle of the night last Friday...

electrek.co

Audi E-tron (mitigated: recall without actual fires):

Audi E-Tron EV recalled for battery seal fix

It's a small recall, and no incidents have been reported.

www.autoblog.com

Porsche Taycan:

Porsche Taycan caught on fire — burning down a garage in Florida - Electrek

A Porsche Taycan electric car caught on fire at a residence in Florida yesterday, leading to significant damage to the house and a complete loss of the car. After launching the Taycan late last year, the German premium automaker started deliveries in December, with the first 130 cars in the US...

electrek.co

Chevy Bolt:

Chevy Bolt Goes Up In Smoke: GM To Investigate After Owner Contacts News

GM refused to investigate the Chevy Bolt fire. However, after Rojas got the local news involved, the company reconsidered.

insideevs.com

Hyundai Kona (no mention re Niro yet...):

Hyundai Kona EV recall forthcoming as a result of battery fires

Following a recall in Korea, the carmaker said it's filing a voluntary recall with NHTSA in the US.

www.cnet.com

So.... yeah. Seems just about any EV has some risk of smoke/fire. Not sure how much that helps my sanity or not.

 

[GDank]

All EV's can catch fire.

The chances are hell of a lot less than an ICE car. The media loves to show EV's on fire... But totally ignores ICE cars on fire.

I remember a trip to Southend one nice hot sunny day... Took us 4 hours as we kept passing cars that had/were on fire! 4 in total, with another 4-6 broken down cars.

 

[toscal353]

Gulp!! (wish mine would!!)

Could it be binding front brake?

 

[sor]

All EV's can catch fire.

The chances are hell of a lot less than an ICE car. The media loves to show EV's on fire... But totally ignores ICE cars on fire.

I remember a trip to Southend one nice hot sunny day... Took us 4 hours as we kept passing cars that had/were on fire! 4 in total, with another 4-6 broken down cars.

I agree that the general EV risk is low. The only thing that gives me pause is the relatively low number of Polestar 2s out there now, and we see this. It would be different if it were just one or a few reports in tens or hundreds of thousands.

 

[GDank]

I agree that the general EV risk is low. The only thing that gives me pause is the relatively low number of Polestar 2s out there now, and we see this. It would be different if it were just one or a few reports in tens or hundreds of thousands.

I agree, and if this turns out to be another Recall I may cancel my order. However if this turns out to be a lose bolt or some extra lube applied somewhere that got to near some electrics then I'm ok with that. Lucky for me I guess I still have 3-4 weeks before delivery.

 

[sor]

Update is that it was a coolant leak and the coolant was evaporating off.

Not clear if this was battery coolant or what.

 

[GDank]

Update is that it was a coolant leak and the coolant was evaporating off.

Not clear if this was battery coolant or what.

Probably a cap left of or slightly unscrewed.

Also probably part of the battery conditioning system. As they work both as a heater and an coolant and I can't think of another coolant you would need, as there is no heat pump for the Cabin.

 

[JRRF]

Update is that it was a coolant leak and the coolant was evaporating off.

Not clear if this was battery coolant or what.

Which fortunately makes this a nothing burger.

 

[polerad]

Slightly more detail here:

Google Translate

Says the car was 4 days from delivery - presumably this was one of the first charges, unless the new owners were really putting it through its paces.
And, the car was luckily 5 meters from the house, so no smoke indoors.

I'm guessing the leaking coolant means inadequate cooling of a charging battery and that the coolant circulates to a radiator on the front of the car, where all/most of the non-drive-train components are. Guessing liquid coolant + overheated battery during charging = vaporization, and not necessarily combustion given the description that there was no odor and that coolants are chosen for low risk of combustion generally.

Seems if one gets a lemon, it will show pretty quickly, like this one. Also makes me glad that I use my garage for storage and not parking!

Also glad that Polestar seems to be communicating forthrightly and openly here!

 

[Tanuki]

I work at a chemical production plant. And I can testify that "everything" can catch fire, but electrical fires are rare.
But for some reason, an EV catching fire attracts some serious attention, whereas ICE's catching fire is not interesting at all.
Probably because it is not news anymore.
Also: local newspapers talk about blazing flames, but the owner only saw some smoke.

 

[SKuggemannen]

Also: local newspapers talk about blazing flames, but the owner only saw some smoke.

Indeed. It felt like the local papers kept upping their game to biblical levels there for a while, but that seems to be adjusted now mostly. I will keep that in mind as a note to self when reading similar news. Teslas on autopilot being up to no good, transformer style, and the like.

 

[JRRF]

Tesla released full autopilot for some drivers today. Pretty scary.

 

[I_Kent_Spelgud]

Even better: it's a beta release! Yee-hah, I'm on my way to a Covid rally in my Self-driving M3... What are the odds?

 

[toscal353]

Depend whether you, and the Tesla, are wearing a face covering!

 

[lawe]

Update: Polestar 2 - Polestar nekter for brann - politiet beklager

It was leaking coolant that got in contact with the battery heater.