Lincoln County man’s car bursts into flames, says he’s done with EV models
DENVER, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Denver man says he was growing frustrated two weeks after his electric vehicle suddenly burst into flames.
“I could have lost my house, my car, and possibly my family,” said Steven Isaac. He says he still doesn’t have answers about what happened, and who is responsible.
Isaac says just five months ago, he and his wife purchased a Chevy Bolt.
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“We thought it’d be a good gas saver, and they were offering a tax break on them,” he said, “so we went and bought the Chevy Bolt because it was the most affordable one we could get with the tax break.”
Two weeks ago, it suddenly burst into flames in the middle of the night and the fire started spreading to their home. While the car has been towed away, there are still signs of the fire with a charred driveway and parts of their siding burned and peeled away.
In a video, Isaac is seen spraying the car with a fire extinguisher after he tried unsuccessfully with the garden hose.
“When those ionic batteries catch fire, the fire department can’t even put them out,” Isaac said. “They’re having to go through special training and devise special methods.”
His brand-new car was toast.
General Motors has issued recalls for the 2017-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV cars that may catch fire after a crash. Isaac said it was in a fender-bender about a week before the fire, but it’s unclear if it was related. Investigators say it was likely caused by a mechanical failure.
“My house is damaged, my car is gone,” he told Queen City News.
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The stress has only exacerbated Isaac’s early onset Parkinson’s.
“And there’s a payment due. Do we make the payment?” he asked. “Because we have good credit. Do we make the payment on a car that’s a total loss and burned up or? It’s all confusing.”
In the meantime, he’s purchased a new car, another EV, that his daughter refused to ride in, so he returned it for a gas-powered vehicle.
“No more EV vehicles for me,” he said.
Their car was 100% financed, and Isaac says their payments are about $700 a month. Queen City News reached out to both USAA and General Motors for a comment or any sort of update to Isaac’s claim. USAA tells us they’re in the middle of investigating his claim and should have more information in a week or so.
General Motors said they’re continuing attempts to reach Isaac to schedule a vehicle inspection.
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