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Ils meurent dans une auto victime d'un problème connu ! — Transcript

by The Choucroute Garage · 2,135 words · 330 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Hello and welcome to this new current
0:01affairs episode. Clearly, I would have
0:03preferred not to have to make this
0:05video. On September 12th, a woman who
0:08was nine months pregnant and her 4-
0:10year-old son lost their lives in an
0:11electric car fire. Beyond this terrible
0:15human tragedy, there may be something I
0:16have been denouncing for years: the
0:18lack of technical transparency
0:20regarding the risks involved, even when
0:21the vehicle manufacturer knows there is
0:23a problem. Today, I am going to dig
0:27into the data to try and discover what
0:29caused the tragic death of these people
0:31. Before diving into the heart of the
0:47matter, I wanted to share a quick
0:48message with you. I have already
0:52finished editing this video, and after
0:55watching it, I realized that it gave a
0:58false impression of my opinion. So, I
1:02am adding this sequence to clarify
1:04things before you watch the video.
1:06Firstly, I have no intention of
1:07replacing the justice system in any way
1:09. We know very little about this case.
1:14I have addressed the problem from the
1:15manufacturer and communication
1:17perspective, but that is not the only
1:19one. It must be made clear that in this
1:23case, we do not know the status of the
1:25vehicle's maintenance. We do not know
1:29if the manufacturer's recall was
1:31carried out or not, and we do not know
1:34the exact conditions or the
1:36responsibilities in this absolutely
1:38terrible tragedy. In other words, this
1:42case gave me the opportunity to explore
1:45a matter I had already covered. You
1:47will see that a little further on. The
1:49fact remains that we have no
1:50conclusions today regarding the
1:52investigation, we have no information,
1:54and it is clear that what I have given
1:57you is only my opinion. Why is my
1:59opinion so firm? Well, because in 15
2:02years of experience in the automotive
2:04world, I have seen quite a few things.
2:07I had included some examples in the
2:08video, but I was forced to remove them
2:10because, unfortunately, they are
2:11subject to professional confidentiality
2:12. This video might be taken as biased
2:15anti-manufacturer bashing, or bashing
2:17of certain manufacturers, but in my
2:20view, it should not be taken that way.
2:22Such a tragedy should not happen, but
2:24we can no longer change anything about
2:26it today. So we might as well ensure
2:30that such a tragedy can become useful
2:32and force manufacturers and all parties
2:35involved to become more transparent so
2:37that it does not happen again. And that
2:42is ultimately the goal of my video for
2:44today, and I will let you watch it. The
2:47official report from the emergency
2:49services provides the following
2:51information. It is the public
2:53prosecutor's office that gives us this
2:54information. Driving normally on the
2:57A13 motorway, a Seat Cupra
2:59spontaneously caught fire with no
3:01collision or accident. Seat Cupra, that
3:03is what is written in the report. The
3:06fire spread quickly, and several
3:08occupants could not get out of the
3:10flaming vehicle and died. Only the
3:13driver is alive but seriously injured.
3:15Basically, from an official standpoint,
3:17that is all we know. Next come the
3:19witness observations. While the
3:22official reports do not detail the
3:24exact model of the car, several media
3:26outlets are reporting a high
3:27probability that it is the Born model.
3:30It is the Iberian counterpart to the
3:32Volkswagen ID.3. So that is the
3:34starting point for my research, or
3:37rather, I should say the continuation
3:39of my research. Four years ago, in fact
3:43, I had already warned that the
3:45manufacturer was having problems with
3:47its batteries. I had even used the term
3:50"battery gate." If you want to go watch
3:53that video here in the cards, at the
3:56time, I received numerous comments that
3:59largely downplayed my point and
4:01especially the use of the term "battery
4:04gate." But the tragedy on the A13 puts
4:09a coin back into the machine, and
4:11unfortunately, it is not the only coin
4:13in there. Let's look at a bit of
4:15history and go back to the release of
4:17the ID.3. From the start, the car
4:20showed software issues that delayed its
4:22release by several months. As soon as
4:26it was marketed, it accumulated issues,
4:28including the 12V battery, but also
4:30risks of high-voltage battery fires. A
4:33recall was issued and the battery
4:36supplier, LG, was blamed. The company
4:40responded with a statement indicating
4:42that it was a production machine issue
4:45that damaged an electrode in certain
4:47cells. This reportedly caused a short
4:50circuit that could lead to thermal
4:52runaway and a fire. During that
4:54announcement, the Korean company stated
4:56it was working on resolving the issue.
4:58ID.3 owners first received an update
5:00preventing them from fully charging
5:03their cars to limit the risks. Then
5:05they saw their cars repaired by
5:07replacing the faulty module. I had
5:09detailed this in my video from four
5:10years ago. From a media standpoint,
5:12that was the end of the story. Behind
5:15the scenes, however, a huge amount has
5:17happened in four years, and many of the
5:20issues are linked to cars equipped with
5:22LG pouch cells, and not just
5:24Volkswagens. In fact, in 2022,
5:26Chevrolet recalled its Bolts for the
5:28same cell production problem. Hyundai
5:31did the same for its Konas at that time
5:33, but furthermore, it did so again this
5:36year in 2026. Indeed, the manufacturer
5:39has announced a software update that is
5:42overly sensitive to detecting
5:44self-discharges that could potentially
5:46lead to thermal runaway. Well, well,
5:50that same wording was also used by
5:52Volkswagen during its first recall of
5:54the ID.3. In 2024, Jaguar I-Pace
5:58vehicles were recalled due to an anode
6:01tab containing folds that could lead to
6:04a short circuit. It is once again the
6:06same problem, and it is once again LG
6:08pouch cells. Let's move on to the
6:10Volkswagen Group. After the first
6:13recall, the ID.3 model and its
6:14derivatives, including the Cupra Born,
6:17were recalled again by the manufacturer
6:19. The German group's latest recall
6:22dates to May 2026, affecting some cars
6:25produced between September 2, 2023, and
6:28March 21, 2024. We are very far from
6:322022, when we were told that the
6:34problem was solved, or at least that
6:35was the implication. One might think it
6:38is something else. Well, the cause is
6:41once again power loss, range loss, and
6:43a risk of thermal runaway and fire
6:45linked to the high-voltage battery.
6:49Once again, the same problem with the
6:51same LG cells. One might think that
6:54only cars equipped with cells from the
6:56Korean manufacturer's Polish plant are
6:58involved. We certainly had quite a few
7:00controversies related to the Porsche
7:02Taycan, for example, and the Polish
7:04plant was blamed. Well, actually, there
7:06is more to it than that. Here is the
7:08list of recalls to date across the
7:09ranges of the German manufacturer's
7:11various brands. The fact remains that
7:14these recalls concern cars produced all
7:16over the world with cells built in
7:18Poland, yes, but also in Korea and in
7:20Michigan in the United States. We could
7:24say it's a miscalibrated machine, as LG
7:26suggested, but perhaps it is also
7:28simply a problem inherent to the
7:30process LG uses to manufacture its
7:33cells. In fact, all these recalls share
7:37a common denominator: LG pouch cells,
7:40but also power loss, range loss, and
7:42abnormal self-discharge leading to
7:45thermal runaway and fire. All of them.
7:49What we can also note is that these
7:51recalls fall into two different
7:53categories. The first category aims to
7:56limit risks by reducing performance. It
7:59is a temporary software action. And in
8:02a second phase, the other recalls
8:04concern the detection of the faulty
8:07modules or cells and their replacement.
8:10Basically, it is exactly the same
8:12procedure we saw as early as 2020 on
8:14the ID.3. In 2026, we are exactly at
8:17the same point. Still, determining the
8:20exact cause or causes of a risk is no
8:22easy task when there are as many
8:24parameters as there are in a battery
8:27cell. A cell can enter thermal runaway
8:30for multiple reasons, including
8:32electrode folds, a torn separator,
8:34metallic contamination, a charge
8:36control defect linked to the BMS, and
8:38so on and so forth. In fact, it’s
8:41just like with a combustion engine car;
8:43there are multiple possible causes, and
8:45you have to determine which one is the
8:47culprit. However, if we look at it that
8:49way, well, we might say to ourselves, "
8:51So, an electric car isn't very safe."
8:53And that would be looking at the big
8:55picture through a keyhole. In the world
8:58of combustion engine cars, this type of
8:59issue has existed for a very long time.
9:02But today, the media talks about it
9:04very little because it harms their
9:05advertisers. Yet, Peugeot encountered a
9:08wave of fires on its HDi engines
9:11between 2004 and 2007. Fires just as
9:14rapid and devastating as the ones in
9:16the CUPRA we are discussing today.
9:18Several successive recalls finally
9:20resolved the problem. Even more
9:23widespread was the problem of turbo or
9:25rod failure in Renaults equipped with
9:27the 1.9 dCi engine, which led to
9:29numerous fires, some dramatic and even
9:32one fatal in 2020 on the A7 motorway
9:34that caused the death of five children.
9:37Now, the problem was known there too,
9:39and that vehicle was 15 years old. This
9:43means two things. Firstly, that zero
9:46risk does not exist. And secondly, that
9:49recalls are just as essential as
9:52regular maintenance and inspections to
9:56ensure your safety. Still, for example
9:59at Renault, all these issues
10:00contributed to an image of an
10:02unreliable car. An image that is quite
10:04cartoonish if you look at the reality
10:06of the facts and the breakdown
10:07statistics. All of this brings me to a
10:10conclusion for this video, even though
10:11there would be much more to say, but
10:13that would take hours. Firstly, the
10:16fire of this CUPRA is tragic, like any
10:18preventable death. However, it is only
10:21media exposure and cherry-picking that
10:23makes the story go viral. If you look
10:26at independent statistics, well, you
10:28realize that the electric car is 25 to
10:3040 times safer. In terms of fire risks,
10:33than combustion engine cars and
10:34especially than hybrids. The case in
10:37point is the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. 12
10:41fires broke out in 19,800 vehicles, and
10:43this model is also equipped with LG NMC
10:46pouch cells. Despite everything, we
10:50cannot necessarily blame the LG battery
10:53because, in effect, we don't know
10:55exactly what happened because the
10:57manufacturer has not communicated about
10:59it. We know that the recall issued by
11:03Stellantis involves the battery or its
11:05management system, but we don't know
11:07anything more. Is it a defect in the
11:11BMS or the electronic management, or is
11:14it an actual cell issue? Well, we won't
11:17know that. This leads me directly to
11:19the second problem: the lack of
11:21transparency from manufacturers
11:22regarding fire incidents or the
11:24operations performed during recalls.
11:26While some have been clear in the past
11:29about their problems and solutions,
11:31like Renault or Ford with their timing
11:33belt issues, where repeated failures
11:35eventually led to a reduced replacement
11:38interval. Others remained evasive, like
11:41Volkswagen, and strangely, the one that
11:44is the most transparent gets the worst
11:46press in terms of reliability. It
11:49really is the height of irony. Look at
11:51Tesla, which publicly discloses all its
11:53recalls, even the most minor ones, and
11:56is criticized for its reliability by
11:58citing the number of Tesla recalls
12:00compared to other manufacturers. And
12:03here, clearly, we realize that the
12:05Volkswagen group has taken note of this
12:08situation and has been muddying the
12:10waters for years because it hurts their
12:12image less. To date, no communication
12:16from the German manufacturer or LG has
12:18clearly explained the recurring issues
12:20with these cars, even at the cost of
12:22casting doubt on all electric vehicles.
12:25Ultimately, it suits them just fine. At
12:27least they sell more combustion engines
12:29, which brings them money. Does this
12:32mean they haven't found any real
12:33solutions to date and are continuing to
12:35look without stopping the sale of these
12:37models? Well, I honestly don't know.
12:43All I know is that no acceptable
12:45solution has been published, and 4
12:47years after my video on the subject,
12:49people have died in a car that seems to
12:51have precisely encountered a previously
12:54known issue that was unresolved and,
12:56above all, not clearly stated by the
12:58manufacturer. Personally, I will follow
13:02this case with attention because it is
13:04important to inform customers
13:05accurately. We must neither minimize
13:08nor exaggerate the facts. We must
13:11present them at their true value to
13:13hold manufacturers accountable, but
13:14also and above all to prevent this from
13:16happening again. So, this is definitely
13:19one to watch. And on that note, I wish
13:22you a safe drive and see you soon for
13:23the next episode of "Le Chourrou de
13:24Garage." Take care. Ciao! Ok.

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