Chevy Under Federal Safety Investigation
By: Stephanie Castillo
Updated: November 14, 2011
Federal regulators are investigating the safety of Lithium-ion batteries
after a Chevrolet Volt caught fire. The vehicle burst into flames
in a parking lot three weeks after it went through a crash test.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation concluded the crash test damaged the battery, which led to the fire.
But a spokesman for General Motors believes safety procedures for handling a Volt after a crash were not followed.
Engineers put the Volt's battery pack through more than 300,000 safety tests, but could not duplicate the incident.
Based on testing so far, regulators believe the batteries are safe and don't pose a greater fire risk than other vehicles.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation concluded the crash test damaged the battery, which led to the fire.
But a spokesman for General Motors believes safety procedures for handling a Volt after a crash were not followed.
Engineers put the Volt's battery pack through more than 300,000 safety tests, but could not duplicate the incident.
Based on testing so far, regulators believe the batteries are safe and don't pose a greater fire risk than other vehicles.
