My VW ID 4 caught fire at Electrify America charging station in Ojai last weekend (November 5, 2023) Immediately after charging began there was a large ball of flame and then tail of flame and smoke. The charger stopped the charge and I waited a while before trying to disconnect. EA charger was welded to my charger port and would not release. We called EA and opened a case and asked for help. We walked home and spent the next few hours requesting technical response. It took five hours for EA technician to arrive and disconnect vehicle. We had car towed to dealer. Charger port is visibly fried and we are not sure what the extent of internal damage to vehicle is. VW is going back and forth with EA and we do not have any updates. Dealer says they have no previous experience with this type of accident and are not sure what extent of damage could be. Has anyone had similar experience? There is not a lot of info out there on this.

  • Legitimate_Draw_2444@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I bought 2023 toyota and it caught fire. I switched to 2023 Honda and it caught fire again. Third try was 2023 BMW and caught fire again. I’m done. Gonna walk for now

  • thnwgrl@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Where is the fire department in this case? There is no way a dealership will take a fried electric car. It’s a total loss on the spot…

  • Suntzu_AU@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Op uses phone to post on Reddit but does not use phone to take a single picture.

    Utter bullshit.

  • Thocinc@alien.topOPBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Wow some of you guys are intense! There was a fire ball at charger. Since my wife, dog and I were right next to it I’m calling it an explosion. BTW I am a big fan of electric vehicles and will now look carefully for a replacement EV. Two friends have Ford lightning 1st generation and there are some bugs. Rivian is looking good.

    Update from today:

    This is going to be fun! Almost two weeks no answers. We informed VW that we will under no circumstances take possession of the car and demand to be bought out of lease immediately. VW and EA both called yesterday offering free rental vehicles. We picked up rental from dealer yesterday. VW is flying diagnostic specialist in on Tuesday to take car apart. Have fun guys and good luck! I am coming to get my belongings from the car today.

    • NS8VN@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Since my wife, dog and I were right next to it I’m calling it an explosion.

      So if someone lights a match in the vicinity of your wife and dog you’ll call it an explosion, huh? 🙄

      Even assuming your post is based upon a true story, your use of massively overblown hyperbole ruins your credibility. Took you two weeks to even go and get your stuff from the car? Doubtful. Neither you nor EA called the fire department after the “eXpLoSiOn!!!1!!!”? Not a chance. Initially posted it took EA 4 hours to get a tech, now it’s 5 hours? Ah yes, and how big was that fish you caught? Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that you literally created an account just to share this highly suspect and at best hugely exaggerated story.

      Oh, and no pictures. Dog eat your smartphone?

  • Distinct_Spite8089@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    The tendency of EVs seemingly burning alive by the most “reputable” charging station network outside of superchargers is concerning. I know gas cars can blow up too but I’m not gonna go to put gas in my Audi and have it burst into flames at no fault of my own. I feel bad for affected owners, that just sucks and they need to fix it like asap.

    • ToddA1966@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I’m not sure I’d call 6 or 7 documented incidents a “tendency”. EA delivered nearly 7 million charging sessions in the last two years, making something like this literally a “one in a million” chance. I’m pretty comfortable with those odds.

      If it happens to you or me, sure, it sucks to be us, but between the car warranty, comprehensive insurance, and (if necessary!) VW and EA’s “deep pockets” (in the “ambulance chasing attorney” sense) we’ll all be fine.

      As to EV’s “burning alive”, all of these stories have been melted charge ports/wiring and a blown HV fuse link in the car to prevent the car from operating in a potentially dangerous state. No cars have really “burned” in any of these incidents.

      But this particular story is a wee bit fishy given the specifics, (date and location) and nothing mentioned on PlugShare and the station is currently in full operation (all chargers online) today. Any investigation and/or repair on EA’s part would take longer to happen before the station reopened.

      And let’s not forget to mention the OP is a Redditor of nearly two weeks, with two posts to their name. This one, and an 11 day old “me too” reply to an 8 month old “EA blew up my car” post.

      It’s be pissed if my car was damaged by an EA station, but I’m not sure if my first response would be to create a Reddit account and broadcast my cautionary tale to the world exactly twice, with no follow ups. 🤷‍♂️

  • DjKennedy92@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    No pictures

    OP doesn’t call fire department immediately

    Electrify America didn’t immediately call a fire department

    Look at the Ojai location on PlugShare and EA app, both show no issues.

    This is a bullshit claim