Tesla Model S design flaw?

[Snatch Napkin]

my mom's suburban had a design flaw... if you towed in overdrive, it would spew boiling transmission fluid onto the exhaust manifold and catch fire

My Dad's older suburban did that on a Boy Scout trip to Philmont. We almost failed at the motto of being prepared and lost the suburban.


I wouldn't exactly call this a design flaw on the Tesla, though. Tow hitches can destroy things and highway speeds. Sounds rather unfortunate, though.

[Ruffdaddy]

They'll strengthen the armor and structure and be ok

[Mach1]

My truck has a design flaw too, run over something sharp and the fucking tire blows!

[Scott Mc]

Sounds like the third owner got paaaaaid!

[Scott Mc]

I just saw one on 183. I like them but would be scared of electronic failure.

[Cooter]

my mom's suburban had a design flaw... if you towed in overdrive, it would spew boiling transmission fluid onto the exhaust manifold and catch fire

[Forever_frost]

Seems if you hit road debris, it catches fire.

http://consumerist.com/2013/11/07/another-tesla-model-s-catches-fire-after-hitting-road-debris/

In the third fiery incident since October, another Tesla Model S electric car caught fire after hitting road debris. This time the blaze erupted in Tennessee after the car ran over a tow hitch on the interstate, possibly damaging the undercarriage and sparking an electrical fire.

Valuewalk posted the news after a commenter shared a photo of the fire on a Tesla forum, and a spokeswoman for the company has confirmed the fire, noting that it wasn’t spontaneous.

“We have been in contact with the driver, who was not injured and believes the car saved his life. Our team is on its way to Tennessee to learn more about what happened,” she says. “We will provide more information when we’re able to do so.”
It sounds a lot like the first fiery incident in October, when the driver also hit road debris that punctured a shield and pierced the battery pack. Another blaze flamed up in Mexico when the driver ran over a roundabout and crashed into a concrete wall at high speed.

After the initial Tesla inferno, the company’s CEO Elon Musk responded with a blog post noting that the fire was contained to the front of the vehicle, which also appears to be the case this time. Maybe Musk will weigh in again, but in the meantime it sounds like Tesla owners should try to avoid driving over stuff.