Risk of poisoning with 12V Battery not vented properly

[Carlitos_92]

While true, the odor at some point is detectable, and that was seemingly ignored.
There are also symptoms that occur prior to death, such as eye irritation, sore throat, cough, nausea and shortness of breath, which would be immediately eliminated if he had bothered to just open a window.

I'm wondering if there were other problems in the vehicle, as hydrogen sulfide typically is released in quantity when a battery is being overcharged, or the battery itself is damaged.

I think the court case defense will be looking at what steps were taken by the deceased that could have led to his own demise. Were any warning messages ignored? Were modifications made to the vehicle charging system? Is Ford responsible if he replaced his own battery inappropriately?

I would say no on a jury, if that was the evidence.

You are making a lot of assumptions about what the victim could've been or should've been aware of. Someone completely new to H2S might mistake the odor - IF they detected it - for any number of things. IMHO, it'd also be fairly random to recognize your symptoms were caused by your own vehicle with an organic odor like that.

In any case, as someone who has worked in the safety department at an oil refinery and whose father worked in the oil/gas industry his whole life, I am not new to H2S. But armchair quarterbacking is fun, I guess.

Cheers.

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[Cherokee]

Because all of the auxiliary gizmos (radio, lights, gauges, etc) operate on 12v.
The 12v battery basically acts as a voltage regulator.
Besides, who wants high voltage wires running behind his dashboard?

Basic wiring 101 applies here.
High voltage system stays like it is, simple and to the drive motors only.
All 12 volt needs stay 12 volt in the rest of the vehicle. It’s called a voltage regulator I think,
That will meet the needed current levels of the entire Maverick.
That regulator should cost no more than $15
bucks.

The high amp, CCA that the ICE starter needs should be a cake walk for the drive battery.
No more low battery conserve bullshit.

Drive battery gets below a 50% state of charge. Ice starts, charges.
I will admit it might freak out a Maverick owner to hear his truck start up at 3 AM. PMSL

 

[First Sergeant]

Motorists in general should be much more aware and concerned about CO inhalation inside their vehicles as symptoms are much more subtle and there is no odor to detect it. And it's just as deadly of course.

Yep. Killed two of my best friends. We were just out of high school, they went deer hunting, got there a bit early and decided on a short nap. Ended up a permanent nap. Investigation revealed leaky exhaust. RIP Richard and Mark!

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Motorists in general should be much more aware and concerned about CO inhalation inside their vehicles as symptoms are much more subtle and there is no odor to detect it. And it's just as deadly of course.

Yep. Killed two of my best friends. We were just out of high school, they went deer hunting, got there a bit early and decided on a short nap. Ended up a permanent nap. Investigation revealed leaky exhaust. RIP Richard and Mark!

I've also heard of Aviation and Automotive Carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a leaking exhaust on an air-cooled engine, that uses a heat exchanger on the exhaust for cabin Heat.
In the early seventies when I was getting my pilot's license. We had carbon monoxide discs in the school planes. I have no idea if they were replaced every year.

 

[Probity]

The interweb’s a wonderful thing but rarely 100% conclusive. What little I’ve learned about 12v batteries and venting in current (not 60s/70s/80s etc) late model vehicles we drive:

If you have a 12v AGM/SLA/FLA under the hood – it is “vented” as such (has either pressure relief valves or a cap/vent outlet arrangement) but probably does not have a vent tube (any off-gassing dispersed by air movement/ventilation so no need for a vent tube). If you have a 12v AGM/SLA/FLA in the cabin area (typical hybrid) – 99.9% sure the OEM installation does have a vent tube for safety reasons.

Nomenclature - there’s FLA (flooded lead acid – understood to be non-sealed), SLA (sealed lead acid), VRLA (valve regulated lead acid), AGM (absorbed glass mat), gel cell, lithium (lithium ion, lithium iron phosphate, etc), nickel cadmium/nickel metal hydroxide (I know of zero mass produced US vehicles that use 12v Ni-Cd or NiMH batteries – aviation, military, power tools etc a different story).

It’s confusing. The terms SLA and VRLA are used interchangeably (key similarity is sealed). An AGM or gel cell is a VRLA, but not all VRLA’s are AGM or gel. An AGM is an SLA, but not all SLA’s are AGM or gel. A FLA battery is understood to mean not sealed (but it can be – and sometimes is – called ‘maintenance-free”). That 12v under the hood in your 1965 Fairlane or Impala was a non-sealed FLA – it required maintenance (remember topping off periodically with distilled water?). That 12v battery under your hood (or somewhere inside the cabin) is likely an AGM (sealed) or SLA (sealed) or FLA (not sealed – usually requires maintenance).

Safety standards – IDK what specific OSHA, SAE, ISO, NHTSA etc ‘regulations’ govern auto 12v batteries. Although there are these (mind-numbing) Appendices: Safety Management of Automotive Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems: The Application of Functional Safety Principles to Generic Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems , and Safety Management of Automotive Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems . Doc searched using ‘vented’ or ‘venting’. Saw this for passenger compartment applications – basically says, it should be vented:

Per NEC Article 480 (an industrial standard, not directly applicable to auto safety standards), says a lot of the same thing – a VRLA battery has to have a pressure relief valve (but not necessarily a vent tube):

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I didn't know there was a risk. I'm sharing just in case.

https://www.12onyourside.com/2025/1.../?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=organicclicks

Story sounds fishy.

The "vent" line is like a drinking straw.

Gasses produced per minute are miniscule.

All vehicles normally have continuous minimum ventilation.

There is more to the story than disconnected drinking straw.

 

[JMJB]

Yeah , I agree , must be more to the story .
I'm no lawyer or SAE mechanic , but in my 55 years of driving I've never heard of anyone overcome by battery fumes in a car .
As a teenager I drove VW's with the battery under the rear seat , that was the norm .....
But the gas fumes from the gas tank practically in your lap was VERY noticable , and the wonderful smell of exhaust , with a touch of burning oil when the heater was " on" ...

Quick story ....I took my driver's test in a Beetle when I turned 16 .
mid-January , in Nebraska .
The tester was not happy in the cold , and I was scraping the frost off the inside of the windshield .
We drove around the block , that was all , the tester had enough ....I passed ....

 

[Fcnrwy]

Dam IT!!
Another POSTER... That's a....
Post-N-GO..

Jerry

 

[BoboysTruck]

Hopefully @Administrator at least edits the title so this isn’t erroneously kicking dirt on hybrids.

Title corrected.

This was not meant to kick dirt on the hybrids. I love my Mav. I just wanted to make others aware of the risk.

 

[Probity]

Story sounds fishy.

The "vent" line is like a drinking straw.

Gasses produced per minute are miniscule.

All vehicles normally have continuous minimum ventilation.

There is more to the story than disconnected drinking straw.

H2S inhalation from a car battery is certainly a 'thing', albeit super rare.
Hydrogen sulfide inhalation from car battery killed mother, daughter, medical examiner says - WFTV
A Rare Case of Hydrogen Sulfide Toxicity From a Malfunctioning Car Battery

Is there more to that Alabama story? Oh yeah. Some of the so-called news stories I've read on that Alabama one make it sound like there was no vent tube present (doubtful), others note it wasn't connected to the battery (more likely). Assuming the vent tube wasn't connected, is that a FoMoCo issues (i.e. came from the factory that way) or dealership issue (wasn't "checked" during whatever servicing was done)? Only the lawyers/juries will sort that out, may have nothing to do with what I consider common sense.

Lemme ask you hybrid owners - any mention in your OM about periodically checking the in-cabin 12v to see if the vent tube's connected? Anything in FoMoCo's recommended maintenance on that? If not, one possibility I see from this lawsuit is - you might see that in print in the future.

Do I want additional sensors/safety measures as OEM equipment for this (i.e. H2S detectors integrated into the OBD system)? No way.

I do own a hybrid ('26 Prius) with a dinky (45 Amp hr) 12v Yuasa 345LN1-MF battery (non-sealed FLA) in the rear hatch area inside the cabin. It has a vent tube (they call it an 'exhaust hose'). It's mentioned in the OM - but I've found nothing in Toyota's recommended maintenance literature about periodically checking it.

 

[MaverickDragon]

You are making a lot of assumptions about what the victim could've been or should've been aware of.
Cheers.

I agree. Based on the story, one can only make assumptions.
However, that exposure doesn't cause instant death. There are clear signs that something isn't right regardless of your familiarity with it.
If you have trouble breathing and your eyes are burning most non-idiots will open a window.
It's not like CO which debilitates you before you know you are in trouble.

My theory for the defense was just that. No one can say the particulars, but as one who is exposed to that "killer" gas on a daily basis, as I support lead acid battery solar power systems, I am very well aware of its properties and how to be safe around out gassing batteries.

There is a lot more to the story than "evil Ford Corp" causing someone's death.
While dangerous in relatively high concentrations, these are not typically produced in any substantial amounts by a normally operating vehicle's 12 volt battery.

Free hydrogen is another risk as overvoltage outgassing also liberates it, and that gas can spontaneously explode.

 

[KeithNC]

Bacon cheeseburgers and stray asteroids seem like a much larger risk.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

As this video shows, a 2015 C-Max Hybrid uses a battery with a vent tube. Based on the age of the vehicle, anybody want to wager that the owner replaced the OEM battery with a non-vented replacement?
https://www.google.com/search?q=201...e=ive&vld=cid:07c58536,vid:_PpRIz-01to,st:121

HRG

 

[Darryl]

Battery in the cab,
Bad crash,
And another reason I didn’t get the Hybrid.
I figure gas prices will be in the five dollar range in six years when I replace my Ecoboost.
I bet I’ll want a Mavbrid then. I’ll remember this issue. Had a friend die along time ago, from this. He had three batteries in the back floor board, all old and nasty. Idiot.

Anyone else consider it lame that a hybrid needs a start battery at all ?

Truth be told, all the 12v battery NEEDS to do is wake up the system so the high voltage battery can take over as well as be a sort of surge protector when 12v accessories come on and off. If the system is working properly, a simple 12v electric drill battery could do that. Having said that, I'm not afraid of the battery being in the passenger compartment under the rear seat. I remember old Volkswagen batteries being under the rear seat. And they had the separate screw caps on each cell. So ther was obviously no common vent to the outside. Also some trucks and vans had the battery under the floor with an ill fitting lid. The full sized GM cars had the battery under the rear seat in I think the late 90s or early 2,000s. I don't remember hearing any accidents where the battery flew out and injured anyone. Don't remember anyone being poisoned from the fumes. However, those were the days when as a 9 year old I sat on the back of a pickup truck and rode 30 miles and passed licks with my brother or cousins. And pre 1967
brake master cylinders held less than a pint of fluid while having only ONE brake line coming out. So if one wheel had a fluid leak you lost ALL brakes. Those were the days.

 

[HeyBales]

The hybrid has a 126 horse power starter motor.
It uses the traction motor through the wonders of the eCVT design.
One of the big plusses that its stop/start isn't dependent on running down the 12 volt battery.

Generator Motor actually.

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