PSA: Voluntary Recall Advisement for Gotway/Begode MSPro & Nikola+ & RS with LG M50T 900WH Battery Packs

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INTRO

This notification serves as a (late) advisement and formal recognition by the electricunicycle.org community to any owner of the following wheels:

• Gotway/Begode MSPro
• Gotway/Begode Nikola+
• Gotway/Begode RS

Owners of these wheels with LG M50T (not LT) 900watt-hour packs are strongly advised to remove, discharge, and safely dispose of their unsafe battery packs.

BACKGROUND

Since early 2021, there has been growing trend of EUC fires documented in the forum’s Fire History thread. While all PEV owners nominally accept that there is always a non-zero risk of a vehicle fire for a multitude of reasons, there is a clear case to be made that the aforementioned wheels containing LG M50T cells in the 4P-configuration exceed a statistically acceptable or reasonable risk threshold for unpredictable spontaneous combustion.

The most compelling evidence in support for taking this position is the self-initiated recall performed by the US distributor eWheels beginning around November 2021 for these wheels with these specific battery packs. Recalls are extremely expensive endevors that are never taken lightly and can even bankrupt a company (no relation). Unfortunately there are still many MSPros, Nikola+, and RS EUCs in existence around the world whose unsafe battery packs haven’t been replaced as there has never been an official recall campaign by the manufacturer Begode, formerly Gotway.

REASONING

The community overall benefits from reducing publicity regarding property destruction and loss of life related to EUC fires. More importantly, you will benefit by not placing yourself, your family members, and your/their property at outsized risk for catastrophic harm.

SPECULATION

There are a variety of reasons that could contribute to why these battery packs in particular are disproportionally at risk for catastrophic failure (thermal runaway); however, an official acknowledgment or determination has never been made for why wheels with these packs specifically are atypically dangerous. A search for “LG M50T” will bring up numerous discussions and speculations if you’re interested in related info. For the purposes of this thread it is sufficient to raise awareness in the community to this elevated risk without establishing cause.

DISCHARGE METHOD

Once your battery packs are removed, one simple way you can ensure your disconnected battery packs are brought to a safe, depleted energy state is by connecting each to a common resistor, like a light bulb until it dims. Also, you might call your local fire department for information on how or where to dispose of your fully discharged packs in your locale.

Supplemental Information:
-LG M50T Specification Discussion

[meepmeepmayer]

Nice! I was halfway through writing a warning topic (at your request) and then saw this. Well, now we have two warning topics

[PurpleRiderUSA]

As far as I know, Alien Rides has claimed that none of the Nikola AR+ have gone up in flames due to the addition of the third battery and a slightly improved BMS from prior models. It still does give me some concern, so I don't push the wheel too hard in the hot or cold, or mistreat it or get it really wet. 

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9 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Nice! I was halfway through writing a warning topic (at your request) and then saw this. Well, now we have two warning topics

Thanks - it's definitely to the good that we'll now have a permanent visible warning and formal recognition of this elevated risk. I'll suggest a few of the more important edits here since the new topic is closed.

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before they switched to LG M50LT or Samsung battery cells (these are all safe).

It'd be better to say something like "(wheels with these cells haven't demonstrated the same elevated risk for thermal runaway)". I don't think we want to unintentionally give the impression that any EUC with lithium ion battery cells is safe which implies perfecty safety or zero risk (manufacturers tend to avoid claims of perfect safety as well for liability reasons). I know most people know better, but it's best not to give this impression.

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If the battery type is any other, like LG M50LT or Samsung 50E, then you are good and have nothing to worry about.

Same reasoning as above - "then your battery packs don't have the same elevated risk of thermal runaway/fire" or something to that effect.

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the best idea is to simply throw away the affected battery packs

"remove them, fully discharge each pack, and safely dispose of them" - I'd say we definitely don't want to give people the impression that it's OK to simply throw away or bin your old packs in the garbage as they definitely classify as hazardous waste. Especially if the battery packs are still holding charge. Most people probably don't want to be the cause of setting their neighborhood waste disposal truck on fire.

Anyway, thanks for linking to this post too in the sticky so the effort didn't go to waste.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Vanturion

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31 minutes ago, PurpleRiderUSA said:

Alien Rides has claimed that none of the Nikola AR+ have gone up in flames due to the addition of the third battery and a slightly improved BMS from prior models.

Interesting - anecdotal safety track record from the Fire History thread has many Nikola+ (100V) fires, but only shows one Nikola AR+ fire so far and that was after a battery pack rebuild so that incidence doesn't say anything about the safety of the original packs. Does or did the AR+ even use LG M50T cells at any point though? According to the Alien Rides thread, they may be Samsung 48X cells and therefore aren't at the same elevated fire risk going by the logic of what we know (also the AR+ is not in the 24S4P or less battery configuration).

40 minutes ago, PurpleRiderUSA said:

It still does give me some concern, so I don't push the wheel too hard in the hot or cold, or mistreat it or get it really wet.

For sure, I think it's always good to be cautious with these devices. To add to your concerns about riding conditions - unfortunately there is a smaller long term or cumulative thermal runaway risk associated with all PEVs and EUCs that don't use potted batteries, one that is exacerbated by environments and temperature cycles that result in condensate forming on and around the metal battery cells. The phenomenon responsible for this cumulative longer term risk is electrolyte leakage which explained in this interview if you want to know more.

While the interview doesn't provide a method for how to quantify this risk for a given PEV service life, it's another reason besides oxidization/rust to not storing your PEVs outdoors, especially in winter conditions. That said, unlike with the conventionally non-potted battery-powered PEVs in use today, the electrolyte leakage-->conductive bridging-->electrolysis-->thermal runaway is something many EV car manufacturers don't have to worry about since more often than not their cells are submerged in coolant.

[meepmeepmayer]

1 hour ago, Vanturion said:

Anyway, thanks for linking to this post too in the sticky so the effort didn't go to waste.

I almost just stickied your post when I saw it, but wanted something as concise as possible that has all the information (and the word "fire" in the title") so I just finished what I had already written. Hope you don't mind

Thanks for the suggestions! I kept the first quotes as they are, in order to stay as simple as possible and not worry people unnecessarily. I changed the "throw out" part though because it was indeed badly worded.

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Sure thing NP - fair enough.

[Frolic0415]

Fun I have my friend's MSP sitting in my room which I'm currently borrowing until my V12 is up and running again. I'm honestly so scared of it catching fire, but at the same time I need it for transportation.

[meepmeepmayer]

27 minutes ago, Frolic0415 said:

Fun I have my friend's MSP sitting in my room which I'm currently borrowing until my V12 is up and running again. I'm honestly so scared of it catching fire, but at the same time I need it for transportation.

You only need a screwdriver to check the batteries. Open a side panel and read the sticker on the battery pack. Then you can sleep sound or be scared for a good reason, depending on the result

[Frolic0415]

13 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

You only need a screwdriver to check the batteries. Open a side panel and read the sticker on the battery pack. Then you can sleep sound or be scared for a good reason, depending on the result

Sad times

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Frolic0415

[meepmeepmayer]

Well... 

I don't think it is going to suddenly explode just because you checked the battery type. But maybe storing it in a safe place can't hurt. "In your room" might not be the best idea. Maybe just put it in the bathtub/shower, especially overnight and while charging (remove before showering though). Any place outside that could work?

My approach to this is: a fire that only smokes but can't burn anything is better than a fire that can burn something. And if possible smoke does no damage, that's better than smoke damage. Choose your storing and charging place accordingly, if you can.

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@Frolic0415 it's better to know than unknowingly keep using a wheel in a situation that puts people and property at risk, so at least you're now informed of the elevated risks these battery packs represent. Considering the quantity of fires resulting from exactly these battery packs in the Fire History thread, I dont' think it would be responsible to recommend anything other than completely discharging the packs and taking them out of service, but individuals can still choose differently.

Let us know if your friend decides to try and replace them. It'd be good to know if there's (still) an off-the-shelf replacement available anywhere.

[Frolic0415]

@meepmeepmayer @Vanturion

Thanks for the advice fellas, I'm returning the MSP to him this week due to being too afraid of the fires. I've removed the battery packs (don't worry, I opened up the MSP with his permission first ) so they're not connected for the time being. He rides an RS19 with the same packs, but he doesn't care about the fires unfortunately. It's going to be a while until my V12 boards come from China so I'm going to have to borrow my brother's Xiaomi escooter for transportation in the meantime. Again thank you for all the advice!

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Frolic0415