Nikola is currently preparing to make a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and instructing dealers to stop selling the affected trucks until a solution is found. The issue only applies to the 209 battery-powered models produced by Nikola since launching production in March 2023, and the brand's hydrogen-electric truck line is not included in the recall.
Few details are currently available. Nikola stated that the fire which damaged multiple trucks near its headquarters was caused by a coolant leak within a single battery pack. It was reported that a second battery caught on fire in August 2023. However, the part was installed in an engineering test mule. The brand indicated that the probable source of the coolant leak is a single supplier component within the battery pack, without disclosing the supplier's name.
Nikola recommends that operators and dealers always set the main battery disconnect switch to the "on" position and consider parking the trucks outside to get a faster internet connection. However, the delivered trucks do not need to be parked. Nikola's Fleet Command, an in-house monitoring system, tracks the drivetrain in real-time and assesses the risk of a fire continuously.
Regarding the allegations of foul play, Nikola explained that video footage, showing a vehicle parked next to the burned trucks shortly before the fire started, suggested that the blaze was not an accident. According to a statement issued by Nikola, the unidentified vehicle rapidly drove away after a bright flash of light. In June 2023, it was clarified that extensive internal and third-party-led hypothesis testing, employee and contractor interviews, and hours of video footage review had suggested that foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident.
Nikola plans to release additional details about the cause of the fire and how it plans to address the issue in the upcoming weeks.
Source: Autoblog
