The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a formal safety investigation that will look at whether or not the Chevy Volt is prone to post-crash fires.

The NHTSA became concerned after a crash test with the Volt led to a damaged battery, which in turn led to a battery-related fire three weeks later in the same vehicle.

"Since that fire incident, NHTSA has taken a number of steps to gather additional information about the potential for fire in electric vehicles involved in a crash," the organization said in a statement, "including working with the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense — in close coordination with experts from General Motors — to complete rigorous tests of the Volt's lithium-ion batteries."

The NHTSA has since conducted several additional tests, some of which resulted in fire after a crash. However, the organization was also very clear that no real-world battery-related fires involving the Volt are known to have happened.

"While it is too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts," the company said, "if NHTSA identifies an unreasonable risk to safety, the agency will take immediate action to notify consumers and ensure that GM communicates with current vehicle owners."

GM will be following up the release of the Volt with the electric Chevy Spark in 2013, which will also utilize a lithium ion battery.

By: DocMemory
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