Preparing for the announcement of its electric first-born, the Jaguar brand took care of sufficient protection of the traction battery and other elements of the power plant from adverse external influences. The I-Pace crossover received a ground clearance of 204 mm and the ability to overcome a half-meter ford, but this did not save him from more frequent cases of spontaneous combustion.
Image Source: Electrek, Gonzalo Salazar
Resource Electrek acted as a mouthpiece disseminating information regarding this unpleasant trend, at the same time recalling that cars with internal combustion engines are no less likely to get into fires, but public opinion is more vigilantly following electric vehicles from this point of view. As with the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Jaguar I-Pace crossovers are equipped with LG Energy Solution (LG Chem) traction batteries in a package design.
The source talks regarding the fourth known case of spontaneous combustion of the Jaguar I-Pace electric car while in the parking lot. In this case, the owner of a 2019 car from Florida, in June of this year, following charging the traction battery overnight, made a short trip, following which he returned home in a crossover and put it in the garage. Hearing loud bangs from the garage some time later, the car owner discovered thick smoke coming from this room. Having driven the car into the local area, the owner of the crossover first contacted the Jaguar technical assistance service, and following the occurrence of open flames, he called the fire department. The firefighters managed to suppress open combustion by filling the electric car with special foam, but even following that, an alarming rumble was heard from under the hood of the car for a long time.
The insurance company acknowledged the complete destruction of the electric vehicle as a result of the fire, and the Jaguar representative office in the United States, although it stated the need to conduct its own investigation, refused to pick up the “remains” of the vehicle, citing the risk of re-ignition. In the case of GM’s recall of all Chevrolet Bolt EVs sold in the US, there were 17 fire incidents under similar circumstances. Just over 50 thousand pieces of Jaguar I-Pace crossovers were produced, and spontaneous combustion occurred in four cases. Whether this will turn into another recall campaign is difficult to say with certainty, but publicity in the media will certainly contribute to this.
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