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Fiery Swede: Apple iPod suspected of torching defenseless Saab 9-3 Combi
Any infotainment system worth its own salt has iPod integration, but we're pretty sure there aren't many vehicles with sprinkler systems in the event said iPod catches fire. One undoubtedly unhappy owner of a 2007 Saab 9-3 Combi in Sweden apparently found out first hand that leaving your iPod on your front seat is a bad idea, as investigators believe the musical bauble is the reason the wagon caught fire, turning its interior into a prop for Backdraft II.
There has been no definitive word that the iPod was the cause for the fire, and we don't know at this point whether the popular music player was charging at the time of the incident. We do know, though that there were apparently no underlying problems with the vehicle, and the fire started on the seats, where the iPod was resting.
Since iPods are still a very hot item (no pun intended), we're guessing that you shouldn't leave them sitting inside the car. Now that there is a chance the little battery-powered devices can spontaneously combust, we're not so sure they should be in your pocket, either. Hat tip to 13enS!
[Source: Hallandsposten via Engadget | Image: Christer Pioge]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
prodrive1mike 5:34PM (7/09/2009)
hmm...seen new boxster S "spontaneously" combust....
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Vizel 3:25AM (7/10/2009)
*cries* poor saab... =(
DAMN YOU APPLE!!!
Mr.Oak 7:45AM (7/10/2009)
Hey, look at SAAB's ignition system. I tried having a remote starter added to a SAAB before, and no reputable aftermarket installer would do it, citing FIRES. There is nothing wrong with Saab's ignition by itself. However it is not easily integrated with aftermarket add-ons. In some instances installers said they would do the installation if I wanted it, but they wanted me to sign a waiver.
Bigbuck17 5:49PM (7/09/2009)
That's why I have a zune.
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Noidor 6:04PM (7/09/2009)
Or a SanDisk Fuze or Cowon S9...both are better alternatives to iPod.
Greg 5:48PM (7/09/2009)
That is one hot play-list!
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Kitko 5:48PM (7/09/2009)
Yeah, blame it on iPod because it generates headlines. Any battery powered device is hazard when left in a hot car. As of now, there are no proven cases of iPods exploding spontaneusly.
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BoxerFanatic 6:29PM (7/09/2009)
Exactly.
Any lithium based battery, if depleted less than 3.7 volts per cell, or so, gets damaged, but they are also susceptible to heat.
Lithium is in the first column of the periodic table. it reacts VERY energetically with oxygen.
If the iPod, or any other lithium battery device, regardless of brand... a cell phone, a camera, whatever... is left in the sun, the surface temperatures can easily rise above 120 degrees, or hotter.
That sort of heat through aluminum or glass a common material in most newer iPods and other devices, conducts to the internal components.
That heat can melt the battery covering, and swell the lithium-base material, and expose the battery's core to the atmosphere, and you get almost instant combustion.
Lithium RC car/plane/heli/boat batteries have burned down houses, reportedly. In controlled experiments, they have generated flames and heat at almost an explosive rate, and burn in excess of 12-1500 degrees F.
A cell phone or other mobile device has fewer cells, but the same materials inside, that burns just as hot. That will start to ignite the interior materials of the car.
Now can people see why I am not so keen to drive a hybrid with several hundred pounds of lithium-based batteries on board? Even nickel and cadmium based batteries can be carcinogenic if exposed, IIRC.
Imagine a car wreck that punctures the lithium battery stack of a hybrid or electric car... Instant inferno that even petrochemicals would be hard pressed to match, and gasoline and oils don't auto-ignite in the presence of oxygen, where Lithium does.
Kitko 7:07PM (7/09/2009)
BoxerFanatic
exactly
There's reason why one's not supposed to throw batteries into a fire :-)
But if the iPod was left on a front seat, exposed to direct sunlight, it could have acted as a lens/mirror, both rear cover and transparent plastics are reflective. Get the angle and distance right and in the sauna-like car you have a perfect environment to create fire from scratch when the reflected light is directed onto the surface of fabric.
As kids we used to use magnifying glass to burn in words into wooden benches :-)
MM 5:50PM (7/09/2009)
This happened when my brother was using a cheap-o charger (not factory approved) for his cell phone. The wiring on the charger at cigarette lighter got so hot that it caught fire and within a couple of seconds the interior was ablaze.
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the4thheat 2:57AM (7/12/2009)
Sad thing is that an approved car charger once shorted out my iPod enough that I smelled burning plastic-my iPod still works though and it's 5 years old and still has the burn mark on the dock connector.
And the built-in iPod charger in my friend's Mini killed his iPhone the first time he plugged it in...straight up fried it.
So I gotta agree with you, it's very likely a problem with the charging side of the equation more than the iPod itself...gonna blame whatever iPod integration the Saab had.
VW GTi 5:51PM (7/09/2009)
There was a similar story on Engadget where an iPod caught fire in someones pants pocket.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/13/exploding-ipod-touch-sets-kids-pants-on-fire-melts-his-underwe/
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Joel Lafargue 12:43AM (7/11/2009)
Talk about the "hot seat"! LMAO
Aloysius Vampa 5:54PM (7/09/2009)
That really sucks.
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Tyler 6:01PM (7/09/2009)
If a hot playlist can ignite a car, an electrifying mix should be able to power a volt, no?
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Hamud 6:20PM (7/09/2009)
Nice seat frames...
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13enS 6:46PM (7/09/2009)
I admit, I'm an anti-iPod fan boy. And as much as this sucks, but thankfully no one got hurt, this still made me chuckle after reading reports that the new iPhone is having heat issues of its own.
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Aloysius Vampa 8:11PM (7/09/2009)
And it does. My brother's 3GS does get rather warm...
Tony 8:21PM (7/09/2009)
I love Saab seats which makes this even harder to bare. I still plan on one day turning Saab seats into desk chairs. they are so utterly comfortable :(
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Matt 9:35PM (7/09/2009)
And here I thought Microsoft's SYNC would have torched cars first.
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