If there’s someone who knows and loves fixing cars, it’s Ciro Cornejo, also known as “Junior.”
“I wanted to become a mechanic because of the Fast and the Furious movie,” said Cornejo.
In addition to fixing engines, transmissions, and other key vehicle components, Junior emphasizes that battery repairs are critical, especially for lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in electric vehicles.
Cornejo sees a troubling difference between lithium batteries and standard ones.
“Everybody is used to these…everyone knows what to do when something like this goes wrong, normally it’s just a dead battery…corrosion happens, very minor gas,” said Cornejo.
“Now, when you get to the lithium here, this is a little bit more complicated.”
“They’re a lot more dangerous. When they get overheated from overcharging, a lot of times they can just bust, and they just catch on fire.”
A recent fire was reported at the Audi dealership in Santa Clarita, prompting a response from the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s hazardous materials team after reports that an electric car had caught fire.
“There’s no real way to put them out, because it releases very toxic gas,” said Cornejo.
Cornejo warns that drivers of electric vehicles should take steps to ensure safety and remain cautious.
“The first thing you do, obviously, in any fire, you want to get away as soon as possible. But with this, you need to get out of there quickly, in and out as soon as you can, away from it,” said Cornejo.
According to Gallagher Bassett, there were over 25,000 lithium battery-related fire incidents in the U.S. from 2017 to 2022.
Cornejo believes we’ll see more vehicles on the road carrying lithium-ion batteries, but says they haven’t yet pinpointed exactly how to make it perfect.
