The TikTok channel news4jax posted a video saying that a garage caught fire from a Mercedes EQE 350+ that wasn’t even put on charging.
Photo: video capture from news4jax channel on TikTok
The TikTok news4jax channel quotes Jennifer Ruotolo, from Nocatee in Ponte Vedra, Florida, who says the Mercedes EQE 350+ caught fire even though it wasn’t on charge. She says she doesn’t own the car, having received it from Mercedes as a replacement car because her car was in service.
Jennifer was at work when the fire broke out. She says around 8:30 her husband heard a hipp and pop and when he went into the garage it was full of smoke. Subsequently, the garage was engulfed in flames and the car exploded.
The video shown by Tiktok channel news4jax shows the garage and part of the house engulfed in flames and, at the end, the vehicle completely burnt, the garage and part of the house destroyed and full of soot. The damage is extensive, with Jennifer estimating the damage at over $1 million, but she is happy that no one was hurt and that her family was unharmed.
The cause of the fire is unknown. It could be a car malfunction, a malfunction in the house’s electrical wiring or an overheating of some power cables. The local fire department is continuing to investigate the case but warns electric car owners to be aware of potential fire hazards associated with Li-Ion batteries.
The Mercedes EQE 350 underwent a recall in May 2023 for a battery software error. The problem was that the battery software did not alert the driver about possible battery malfunction, which could increase the risk of injury. Mercedes said dealers have operated a free-of-charge battery update.
The Mercedes EQE 350+ is powered by an electric motor with 215 kW (292 ps)/288 hp and 565 Nm (417 lb ft) driving the rear axle. It is powered by a Li-Ion battery with a useful capacity of 90.6 kWh.
Mercedes promises a WLTP range of 613 km (380 miles) and an average fuel consumption of 16.8 kWh/100 km. It is the cheapest Mercedes EQE on the US market, with a starting price of $74,900.
Lately, there has been a growing number of cases of electric cars catching fire while standing still. A few days ago on a cargo ship traveling from Bremen, Germany to Port Said, Egypt, with 2,857 cars on board including 25 electric cars, one of the electric cars caught fire and it spread extremely quickly. As a result, the crew failed to extinguish the fire, and the entire crew was evacuated, resulting in one death
@news4jax Jennifer Ruotolo said the 2023 Mercedes Benz EQE350+ wasn’t even charging when it went up in flames. She says the electric car — a loaner from Mercedes Benz while her personal car was getting serviced — sparked a fire and engulfed the entire garage. Click the 🔗 in our bio to read the full story. #mercedesbenz #eqe350plus #CarFails
