Another Tesla fire in a garage, this time in Toronto

[Brass Guy]

Sorry to go back so far in this thread, but those photos bother me. Ya, it looks a lot like a Model S. But I've tried to wash mine, and can barely reach halfway across the roof. Granted I'm only about 5 1/2 feet tall, but is everybody in that garage well over 6 feet tall? They all seem to tower over that car. And then there are the suspect wheels. I'm inclined to consider the entire article a hoax.

Anybody please tell me they do or don't see relative heights in that photo the way I do?

 

[stevezzzz]

Sorry to go back so far in this thread, but those photos bother me. Ya, it looks a lot like a Model S. But I've tried to wash mine, and can barely reach halfway across the roof. Granted I'm only about 5 1/2 feet tall, but is everybody in that garage well over 6 feet tall? They all seem to tower over that car. And then there are the suspect wheels. I'm inclined to consider the entire article a hoax.

Anybody please tell me they do or don't see relative heights in that photo the way I do?

I see a Model S with 19" wheels, as shown in some pretty bad photographs.

 

[ElSupreme]

Sorry to go back so far in this thread, but those photos bother me. Ya, it looks a lot like a Model S. But I've tried to wash mine, and can barely reach halfway across the roof. Granted I'm only about 5 1/2 feet tall, but is everybody in that garage well over 6 feet tall? They all seem to tower over that car. And then there are the suspect wheels. I'm inclined to consider the entire article a hoax.

Anybody please tell me they do or don't see relative heights in that photo the way I do?

It is a Model S. The charge port, and the chrome trim bits are dead giveaways.

If you look at the rear wheel wells that car is either slammed, or the suspension is damaged and the car is on the floor. So it does look ~5" short.

 

[JST]

Another speculation, but we may find that some will have substandard wiring, loose connections, etc. that will get hot when stressed to their maximum rating. I talked with an owner last summer that had a 14-50 plug installed by a licensed electrician. In a junction box, they insufficiently tightened several wire nuts and they got hot, and failed, potentially starting a fire in his attic.

This is all plausible, though I think the reporting so far is that the car was not plugged in, meaning it wouldn't have been drawing any current from the house.

 

[DenT]

Really strange, firefighter seems to look at the front of the car and the hood is not open yet? I think the source of the fire is outside the car.

 

[austinEV]

active air suspension sags upon damage? I don't have the feature so I am not familiar with it.

 

[NigelM]

If you look at the rear wheel wells that car is either slammed, or the suspension is damaged and the car is on the floor. So it does look ~5" short.

Doubt it's the suspension unless the guy drove into the wall. It's most likely that the front tires deflated in the heat from whatever was burning.

 

[jeff_adams]

All news stories on this incident use info gleaned directly from the Business Insider article. I haven't seen a single independently researched article on this story.

 

[Smitty769]

I agree with waiting for details, but given the location the firefighters are looking, and that its been stated where the fire likely DIDN'T originate, the 12v system could be it. I agree with someone who posted early speculating on a sound system modification gone wrong. Aftermarket companies usually need to tap into 12v vehicle systems, so its not out of the realm of possibility that it would get re-wired in a way that might cause a short.

Just speculation of course.

 

[BobHodgen]

To me it looks like they could be looking at the area in front of the car. There is what looks like drywall or insulation on the floor next to the car.

Could have have been an electrical problem inside the wall or a space heater which got too hot or was knocked over and had nothing to do with the car.

 

[stoebs]

It appears from the (bad) photos, that the rims aren't stock, and that the chrome trim around the windows has been blacked out. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find that other aftermarket modifications had been made as well; potentially compromising the 12V system.

Thoughts?

 

[Nubo]

Yeah, it's hard to tell what's going on there. I don't think the chrome is covered by soot since other bright areas are showing. The entire scene is hard to parse; was this a super-smoky fire or are the black walls just tar-paper? It's a very dark scene but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a large fire.

 

[glhs272]

It appears from the (bad) photos, that the rims aren't stock, and that the chrome trim around the windows has been blacked out. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find that other aftermarket modifications had been made as well; potentially compromising the 12V system.

Thoughts?

I think it is hard to extrapolate aftermarket mods based on the fact that it has non-oem rims. I am currently running non-oem rims (rials) for my snow tires. Seeings how this was Canada I wouldn't be surprised if these were just the owner's snow tires.

 

[tom66]

You don't even need a short to cause a fire. If you have some high power audio amplifier drawing a lot of current, or some lighting rig, or something like that, any resistive connection (be it wiring, connection points, fuses) will get hot. Faults or design flaws in these - wrong wire size, poorly seated connection, over-rated fuse - can lead to failure and fire. The DC-DC on the Model S can supply power for a very long time with an 85kWh backup battery -- so a high standby load with a fault (dissipating excessive power which might drain a typical ICE starter battery) isn't likely to be noticed until much too late.

So my guess, if it is not external to the car: some fault in the low voltage system (12V system) leading to overheating, smoke, and fire.

 

[napabill]

Why don't one of you Canucks contact the Toronto Star to let them know the weirdness of this story. Sounding like a dog bites man thing.:wink:

 

[bonnie]

You don't even need a short to cause a fire.

Perhaps it was a different kind of short.

 

[AlMc]

Perhaps it was a different kind of short.

Touche!

 

[Zaxxon]

Perhaps it was a different kind of short.

Boom!

 

[scaesare]

yeah it is kind of where the wiper fluid cap is, but on the other side.

I believe that new location was a running engineering change, however. The original location for the 12V battery was indeed behind the front nose cone area IIRC.

 

[NigelM]

I believe that new location was a running engineering change, however. The original location for the 12V battery was indeed behind the front nose cone area IIRC.

No it was always back there, rear left of the frunk as you face the car. I describe it as being just forward of the glove compartment.
(I have an early Sig.)