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Dacia Spring EV Catches Fire – Owner Claims Battery Pack at Fault

The Dacia Spring has received a lot of praise since its presentation. Green NCAP considers it the most efficient vehicle for sale it has tested so far. Its owners love how quick and practical it is. Things were running pretty well for it until May 11, when a unit caught fire in Romania at around 5 PM local time.
This is what was left from a Dacia Spring that caught fire in Romania 60 photos
Photo: IC
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The vehicle owner shared the images in a Facebook group dedicated to the car and answered all questions the other members had about the whole thing. Thanks to them, we learned that IC (the owner's initials) bought the car in October 2021. It was one of the very first to be sold in Romania. Although it has a Dacia badge, the vehicle is made in China, and it is based on the Renault City K-ZE. The BEV had only around 36,000 kilometers (22,369 miles) on the odometer when the blaze destroyed it. It was always charged at home and never presented any major issues.

According to the Spring owner, his wife was driving home with their kids when she saw a battery sensor warning light on the dashboard. It was followed by "an infernal noise from under the car," "a loud hiss coupled with a squeak from hell" that resembled "a combination of whistling and loud screaming" that could be heard 300 meters (328 yards) from where she eventually managed to park (in front of the owner's house). It lasted a few minutes before smoke started pouring out of the battery pack. IC said he has videos that show precisely where the smoke was intermittently coming from.

This is what was left from a Dacia Spring that caught fire in Romania
Photo: IC
The Dacia Spring caught fire 15 minutes later smoke started flowing from the battery pack. According to IC, it only took ten minutes for the vehicle to be completely destroyed. More than the vehicle loss, the Dacia owner is worried about what his family went through. His wife and kids got terrified by the whole thing. His oldest one was in shock, and he said they were "all going through some tough times emotionally. I don't wish it on anyone."

IC said he would share the videos presenting evidence that the battery pack caught fire soon after he showed them to Dacia. Stirile Pro TV obtained footage of the fire and published it while talking about an apartment fire in Hunedoara as well, but it made a serious mistake. The journalist said the automaker contacted IC and that he got a new car from the company, but he denied that on Facebook. While that may still happen, it hasn't so far. You can watch the video below – only in Romanian, but the images are the most crucial part. I have tried to contact IC and the automaker, and I am still waiting for their replies to understand what will be the next steps.

This is what was left from a Dacia Spring that caught fire in Romania
Photo: IC
Luckily for the Dacia owner, his vehicle still had 18 months of warranty left and also a comprehensive insurance policy that would reimburse him for €15,841 ($17,260 at the current exchange rate) should his vehicle be a total loss. Commenters in his post said that the insurance company would probably refuse to pay him any compensation if the fire was caused by a manufacturing defect. IC answered that he does not care that much about the car but that he would rather have "the quiet and the peace" his family had before this whole episode. He also thinks only technicians from the Chinese factory may be able to determine what happened with his Spring.

I have asked Dacia about other fires involving the BEV, but I should probably have asked about all the other seven derivatives based on the same electric car project. With most of them in China, we do not hear about them as much as we should. This may be the first fire case in Western markets where Renault sells the Dacia Spring, the Renault City K-ZE, and the Renault Kwid E-Tech Electric. If you have heard about any other, please share with everyone in the comments.

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There are several possible causes for the blaze. Manufacturing defects are among them, but impacts on battery packs have also caused fires in the past. IC's wife did not report that when she told him about the noises and later about how the situation developed. Only careful investigation will be able to reveal what happened, especially considering how little of the car was left for any inspection.

Even if it is something restricted to IC's car, the fire shows how difficult it is to extinguish thermal runaway events even in a vehicle with a relatively small battery pack (27.4 kWh) such as the Dacia Spring. The tiny Honda e has a much larger unit (35.5 kWh), and the smallest battery pack on a Tesla had 60 kWh. I'll keep an eye on this case to tell you any news that Dacia or IC may have to share with us.

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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