I live in the Tampa area, and with this year's hurricanes (2024), we all got to experience electric vehicles catching fire as water rose into people's garages. Picture an electric car, parked safely at home in your garage, when suddenly your fire alarms go off. Oh, and by the way, the fire department can't come help you because the neighborhood is flooded, and a hurricane is raging. Your vehicle and your home go to zero. I highly recommend you stop touting the ability to drive the upcoming electric vehicles in up to 3 feet of water. That is only going to get you into a courtroom once people start frying as they try to navigate a flooded intersection. Don't try to take the off-road market. Focus instead on the 'civilians who prefer to drive around town in a tank' market, and 'contractors who are sick of buying gas' market. Forget off-road. Remove any hint of water from your marketing materials. An alternative approach is to start shouting it from the rooftops, and crash your competitors right now, before you've invested in it, and set your engineers on finding a solution to the water + batteries = bad day issue while your competitors watch sales fall off a cliff.
Water and Batteries don't mix
- Thread starter RLBytes
- Start date
-
From all of us at Scout Motors, welcome to the Scout Community! We created this community to provide Scout vehicle owners, enthusiasts, and curiosity seekers with a place to engage in discussion, suggestions, stories, and connections. Supportive communities are sometimes hard to find, but we're determined to turn this into one.
Additionally, Scout Motors wants to hear your feedback and speak directly to the rabid community of owners as unique as America. We'll use the Scout Community to deliver news and information on events and launch updates directly to the group. Although the start of production is anticipated in 2026, many new developments and milestones will occur in the interim. We plan to share them with you on this site and look for your feedback and suggestions.
How will the Scout Community be run? Think of it this way: this place is your favorite local hangout. We want you to enjoy the atmosphere, talk to people who share similar interests, request and receive advice, and generally have an enjoyable time. The Scout Community should be a highlight of your day. We want you to tell stories, share photos, spread your knowledge, and tell us how Scout can deliver great products and experiences. Along the way, Scout Motors will share our journey to production with you.
Scout is all about respect. We respect our heritage. We respect the land and outdoors. We respect each other. Every person should feel safe, included, and welcomed in the Scout Community. Being kind and courteous to the other forum members is non-negotiable. Friendly debates are welcomed and often produce great outcomes, but we don't want things to get too rowdy. Please take a moment to consider what you post, especially if you think it may insult others. We'll do our best to encourage friendly discourse and to keep the discussions flowing.
So, welcome to the Scout Community! We encourage you to check back regularly as we plan to engage our members, share teasers, and participate in discussions. The world needs Scouts™. Let's get going.
We are Scout Motors.
Perhaps EV’s aren’t the right choice for people living in coastal flood zones.
That said there is also the story of the Rivian that survived the flooding, was push like 30’ or so and covered in mud and it started right up. I’m sure there is also a disclaimer that states fresh water and currents that are minimal. Sadly not everyone has common sense.
My parents retired to Myrtle beach and first thing my dad did was searched homes that were out of the primary tidal flood zone. When you live on the east coast in those tidal flood zones you unfortunately need to be prepared for flooding no matter what vehicle.
That said there is also the story of the Rivian that survived the flooding, was push like 30’ or so and covered in mud and it started right up. I’m sure there is also a disclaimer that states fresh water and currents that are minimal. Sadly not everyone has common sense.
My parents retired to Myrtle beach and first thing my dad did was searched homes that were out of the primary tidal flood zone. When you live on the east coast in those tidal flood zones you unfortunately need to be prepared for flooding no matter what vehicle.
Being flooded in salt water is typically a writeoff for ICE cars as well. Salt water is conductive and corrosive.
Why Flooded-Out Cars Are Likely Total Losses
Something like a few dozen EV fires were reported after Hurricane Ian.
But this one salvage company has pulled about sixty thousand regular cars into scrap yards after Ian:
www.thedrive.com
Flooding from Hurricanes is seldom a surprise. If you are in a flood zone don't park your EV inside your garage when you have a hurricane warning...
Also note that with tens of thousands of ICE cars regularly destroyed in flood events, no one suggests ICE cars can't do some water fording.
Crossing a fresh water stream, is not the same as being submerged in salt water during a hurricane.
Why Flooded-Out Cars Are Likely Total Losses
Something like a few dozen EV fires were reported after Hurricane Ian.
But this one salvage company has pulled about sixty thousand regular cars into scrap yards after Ian:
Before-and-After Photos Show Mountain of Cars Trashed by Hurricane Ian
According to a Copart spokesperson, over 60,000 damaged vehicles have been recovered in Florida following the landfall of Hurricane Ian.
www.thedrive.com
Flooding from Hurricanes is seldom a surprise. If you are in a flood zone don't park your EV inside your garage when you have a hurricane warning...
Also note that with tens of thousands of ICE cars regularly destroyed in flood events, no one suggests ICE cars can't do some water fording.
Crossing a fresh water stream, is not the same as being submerged in salt water during a hurricane.
Last edited:
EV battery packs are water tight. There's more to a hurricane than just water. To suggest that an EV can't handle 3 ft of water is ridiculous and obviously wrong. Scout can and absolutely should go after the off-road market. Combustion cars' days are numbered and it's a wide open market for EVs to take over.
EVs drive through flooded streets that smother combustion vehicles all the time. Engineers aren't dumb, they know how to make a battery pack water tight. The problem is that hurricanes famously have wind and debris that damages stuff including cars which is probably why some EVs (and combustion cars) caught fire during or after the storm.
There were plenty of other EV owners whose vehicles survived the storm and flooding just fine and used them as silent generators to run critical appliances while their neighbours were all left in the dark.
There are also differences in engineering and quality in various manufacturers including the way battery packs are assembled.
Car batteries exploding and catching fire isn’t the norm, though, it’s the exception. Cars have to be safe and they have to be capable of doing the things that they’re said to be officially capable of doing. If they can’t do things like ford three feet of water, nobody on the company dime is going to claim that they can, or a retraction would be made pretty quickly because nobody wants to get sued. No, companies are very careful about what they put out there about their products. I’d take their word for it that the vehicles can do that because that’s how they’re supposed to work.
Just for reference, back in 2022, over 7,000 boats were lost or damaged in Lee County during Hurricane Ian... That is in 1 county.
You can loose a lot of stuff - even stuff that floats on top of water - in a natural disaster.
Good news is that most cars have wheels. If you want to avoid a total disaster (or a total loss of any vehicle - ICE or EV) you can drive it away from the storm, or move it to higher ground before a hurricane arrives.
Similar threads
- Sticky
