-
19
-
Emergency Response (Continued)
Fire (Continued)
When allowed to burn themselves out, the RX 400h NiMH battery
modules burn rapidly and can quickly be reduced to ashes except for
the metal.
Offensive Fire Attack
Normally
flooding the NiMH HV battery pack with copious amounts
of water at a safe distance will effectively control the HV battery pack
fire by cooling the adjacent NiMH battery modules to a point below
their ignition temperature. The remaining modules on fire, if not
extinguished by the water, will burn themselves out.
However, flooding the RX 400h HV battery pack is
not
recommended
due to battery design and forward location preventing the responder
from properly applying water through the available vent openings
safely. It is recommended that the incident commander allow the RX
400h HV battery pack to burn itself out.
Defensive Fire Attack
If the decision has been made to fight the fire using a defensive
attack, the fire attack crew should pull back a safe distance and allow
the NiMH battery modules to burn themselves out. During this
defensive operation, fire crews may utilize a water stream or fog
pattern to protect exposures or to control the path of smoke.
Overhaul
During overhaul, immobilize and disable the vehicle if not already done. See
illustrations on page 16
.
•
Immobilize Vehicle
Chock wheels and set the parking brake.
Move the shift lever to the P (Park) position.
•
Disable Vehicle
Performing either of the following two procedures will shut the
vehicle off and disable the HV battery pack, SRS, and gasoline fuel
pump.
Procedure
#1
Turn the ignition key off.
1.
Remove the key and place on dash.
2.
If the key cannot be removed, disconnect the 12-Volt auxiliary
battery in the engine compartment.
Procedure #2 (Alternate if ignition key is inaccessible).
1. Disconnect the 12-Volt auxiliary battery in the engine
compartment.
2. Remove engine compartment covers.
3.
Remove the fuse box cover.
4.
Remove the IGCT No. 4 fuse (10A Red colored) in the engine
compartment junction block. When in doubt, pull all four fuses
in the fuse block.
WARNING:
•
After disabling the vehicle, power is maintained for 90 seconds in
the SRS system and 5 minutes in the high voltage electrical system.
•
If either of the disabling steps above cannot be performed, proceed
with caution as there is no assurance that the high voltage
electrical system, SRS, or fuel pump are disabled.
•
Never touch, cut, or open any orange high voltage power cable or
high voltage component.
•
Failure to follow these warnings may result in death or serious
injury from the sudden deployment of the SRS or severe burns and
electric shock from the high voltage electrical system.
Recovery/Recycling NiMH HV Battery Pack
Clean up of the HV battery pack can be accomplished by the vehicle recovery
crew without further concern of runoff or spill. For information regarding
recycling of the HV battery pack, contact the nearest Lexus dealer or Lexus
Roadside Assistance at:
United States: (800) 255-3987, Canada: (800) 265-3987
