[Berwin]

I used to live in Norfolk, VA 700 feet from the ocean. A low lying street near us flooded during one hurricane and a picture of a car near an apartment building burning merrily away made the news. Not an electric vehicle, just a plain old lead-acid battery gas burner. So, if you don't think flooding salt water bridging the terminals of your regular battery can't start a fire, guess again.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by asianthree

So would your auto insurance cover replacing house damage cause that deductible would be far less than hurricane

Note that, even if you accidentally damage your garage door with your vehicle, your auto insurance will only cover the damage to your vehicle, not the garage door. Your homeowner's insurance may cover the garage door damage. So, in my opinion, auto insurance will not cover any damage to your house, but it will cover the vehicle.

[sowilts]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

That's a tough one to know what to do. I don't have an EV nor do I have an oceanfront house. But, do you park in the driveway where you might not burn the house down, but you might increase the chances of salt water getting to the battery? Or do you park in the garage in the hopes that the car will be protected from salt water intrusion?

Maybe I could invent a bag, that you spread out on the garage floor. Drive the EV over the bag then pull up all of the sides & fasten at the top of the car. The bag might get wet, but properly designed will be impervious to salt water intrusion. I could make millions selling to waterfront or water adjacent property owners with EVs.

Excellent reply. Not a correct solution available.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by sowilts

Excellent reply. Not a correct solution available.

The solution is to don't buy an EV.

[Cuervo]

Let's be honest here this has less to do with fires in or out of the house and more to do with people who are ICE lovers.
The handwriting is on the wall EVs, or some other technology will eventually replace ICE mode of transportation.
At the moment it is EVs not because their cleaner for the environment which they are, but because it's a new market and there is money to be had.
All the major car companies are investing in charging stations and research into EVs.
You can't believe they do not see a big payday at the end of the tunnel.
I own an EV and find the joy of not having to go to gas station was worth the investment.

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by Byte1

Point taken, regarding salt water in the Villages. However, if I am not wrong, water of any kind will adversely effect lithium and make it volatile. I would hazard a guess that quality lithium batteries are sealed against moister. I have no idea what kind of EVs were related to the 30+ fires caused by the hurricane in Florida. The few golf carts I have seen that had lithium batteries, all seemed to have pretty good cases on them. They appeared to be water tight, but that was just a guess with my limited view. Not sure I would drive through a tunnel during a storm flood, though.

When lithium batteries were first introduced for laptop computers there was a rash of fires at conferences and other venues wher laptops left on tables were subjected to water spills. There were no hue and cry to ban laptops or their batteries. Replacement batteries were made waterproof.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Byte1

I wonder how many Floridians thought to park their EVs outside of their garages when threatened by the hurricane. I understand that there were quite a few EV fires caused by the salt water from the coast floods. It would be bad enough to suffer flooding in the home, without the addition of a house fire due to volatile EV fire starting in the garage.

That would be quite a sight...a flooded house on fire!

[Heytubes]

I can drive on one tank of gas in my ice to Knoxville in a little over 8 hours nonstop. How long will it take your ev?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Steve

That would be quite a sight...a flooded house on fire!

You might still be able to find pictures from last year of the house in Shore Acres (St Petersburg) burning and the fire dept. unable to reach it due to the flooding.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Heytubes

I can drive on one tank of gas in my ice to Knoxville in a little over 8 hours nonstop. How long will it take your ev?

A little over eight hours, non stop on one 'tank'.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Byte1

I wonder how many Floridians thought to park their EVs outside of their garages when threatened by the hurricane. I understand that there were quite a few EV fires caused by the salt water from the coast floods. It would be bad enough to suffer flooding in the home, without the addition of a house fire due to volatile EV fire starting in the garage.

Thanks never heard of salt water could cause a their EV to catch fire. I was more concerned about someone living from Miami to the Keys getting out of the hurricane zone & all the sitting in a line of cars. 300 miles on a charge wouldn’t get you out of Florida & no where to get a charge. Maybe I’m wrong about an EV but I’ll take my gasoline car anyway to get out of Florida, I get 500 miles to a tank of gas!

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Heytubes

I can drive on one tank of gas in my ice to Knoxville in a little over 8 hours nonstop. How long will it take your ev?

Who in the world would want to drive to Knoxville in a little over 8 hours nonstop? Seems like Depends would be a necessity!

Build in one quick stop to answer the call of nature and both ICE and EV would get there in the same amount of time.

[pcntech]

There are a variety of car bags on the market. There is one out there that you have two people hold open and then you drive into it. Get out, of course, and seal it up. There were numerous fires caused by EV batteries. Google this and you will see lots of articles about it...."ev fires caused by hurricanes florida 2024". An EV golf cart in St. Catherine caught fire while charging earlier this year. Fire dept busted open garage door and dragged it out into driveway so it would not burn up house. Unfortunately the owner cars was in driveway and sustained damage.

[biker1]

I have never driven nonstop for 8 hours or even entertained the idea of driving nonstop for 8 hours. Yes, it takes longer to drive in an EV. Typical numbers seem to be on the order of 20 mins to recharge every 200 miles or about 3 hours. That would be a typical frequency of stopping regardless of what we were driving.

Originally Posted by Heytubes

I can drive on one tank of gas in my ice to Knoxville in a little over 8 hours nonstop. How long will it take your ev?

[bopat]

I've driven my Tesla through lots of bad FL and AZ rain storms, NY and PA snow storms and salted roads. Still hasn't exploded. I'm also proud it's the most American car designed in America built by Tesla stockholders in CA, NV and TX.

I'd be scared running out of gas in storms like we had, where you run out of options because the gas stations are out of gas or just closed. In the time it takes to wait in line at Walmart Gas, I can charge my car at least 10% at home. Before the storm hit, I was at 100%, ready to travel hundreds of miles.

Also, last I checked, when any car gets flooded, the water can damage its electrical systems, causing potential issues like engine failure, malfunctioning electronics, rust development, mold growth inside the interior. In severe cases, the car may even become a total loss due to the extent of the damage, particularly if submerged in deep water for a prolonged period.