What to do when a car battery starts smoking or boiling
A smoking or boiling battery releases toxic and explosive gases that create an immediate hazard. Dealing with it requires stepping away and alerting someone immediately to avoid entering the dangerous gas cloud to shut things down.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1notify nearest employee
- 2ask electricians to install an off switch for the wall outlets in a safe distance
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Yeah it was giving me bad vibes I kinda stepped out and let one of the dudes know a battery was smoking he kinda did a small little “oh shit” and speed shuffled to it”source ↗
longpenisofthelaw · r/MechanicAdvice · 2,445 upvotes
“I hate having to enter the possibly explosive gas cloud to turn this shit off.”source ↗
botymcbotfac3 · r/MechanicAdvice · 157 upvotes
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2New battery still showing low voltage
- 10Car battery keeps dying even after replacing battery and alternator
- 7Car won't start or shift gears after dead battery
- 2How to stop lithium-ion scooters and bikes from being a fire hazard
- 2Why is my check engine light on after changing the car battery?
- 2What to do if you cross threaded a spark plug