Car fire ... will ruin your day

[SwampSurvivor]

Usually it's an oil leak that pools up on the exhaust manifold.

That's what finally convinced me to pull the head off my truck and get the corrosion taken care of. It was leaking all the time onto the crossover pipe and I had a cloud of smoke behind me at all times. I figured eventually it was just going to catch on fire.
It still leaks some but I'm not as worried about a fire now .

 

[wag123]

Guessing Kia SUV

Yep, an older Kia Sorento (2008 or older). Depending on the year model, there were a couple of recalls on these that mentioned a potential fire hazard.

 

[Sumboodie]

A neighbor's Audi Q3 caught fire back in November. It was less than a year old with less than 5k miles on it. A short in the fuse panel sparked a fire while he was driving. He was only a mile or so from the fire station but the bridge between him and that station was destroyed by Helene the month prior so the fire truck had to go way around out to get to him. It was fully engulfed by the time they got there.

The worst part is Allstate gave him the run around for months afterward. They first tried to accuse him of intentionally setting it on fire (in not so direct words), wanting to conduct their own investigation into the cause. After several weeks of that, they "determined" that the fire, which sparked from the fuse panel, by the firewall under the hood, was a result of aesthetic damage suffered in the hurricane, which he failed to report and thus not covered. The vehicle wasn't damaged in Helene as it was secured in his garage which also suffered no damage. The car was charred to a crisp so I don't know how they even determined something like that anyway. It took several months of jumping through hoops to get them to cover it. Even then, they tried to lowball him. Then they promptly dropped his coverage.

I'd promptly fire them anyhow after that.

We're dropping you. Not, that's not possible. I already fired you 2 weeks ago.

 

[Sumboodie]

Had a fuel pump fail on my C30 and was spraying gas out. I made a ~100 mile trip the day before and caught a whiff but didn't see anything leaking when I popped the hood.

Next day I checked with it running. Fan was blowing misted gas all over the engine bay . To include on the exhaust manifolds, especially the passenger side.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The majority of ones I put out were electrical in origin. It doesnt take much of a fire to total a vehicle.

That is very interesting and contrary to what I would expect. Good to know.

Any further insight? Like a short, or overcharged battery fire, or a under-hood fuse panel gets oil from a leak, or?

I work on industrial electrical - and electrical fires are quite rare, although fires are not. Its usually negligence, someone leaves a rag where it shouldn't be, or covers a motor and it overheats, or a hydraulic leak onto something hot.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Or a leak from the transmission cooler spraying onto something hot.

We had a Jeep go up on a trail ride from that once. The pressure line on a Cherokee had a bunch of pinholes in it. It was a 2001 so it had the two manifolds with cats on them right there. We probably could have saved it but the owner didn't listen when we were yelling at him to not open the hood and get the fire from below. As soon as he opened the hood it was game over.

 

[Jetronic]

I saw this in a supermarket parking lot. I assume fire dept had left but no tow truck had arrived. Driver was walking around talking on his cell.

I always wonder what caused it?

I assume totaled.

View attachment 282685

most often it's oil leaks onto exhaust, I've seen a hot catalyst igniting dry grass which then melted insulation on the alternator lead so short circuit fire after that.

 

[64bawagon]

That is very interesting and contrary to what I would expect. Good to know.

Any further insight? Like a short, or overcharged battery fire, or a under-hood fuse panel gets oil from a leak, or?

I work on industrial electrical - and electrical fires are quite rare, although fires are not. Its usually negligence, someone leaves a rag where it shouldn't be, or covers a motor and it overheats, or a hydraulic leak onto something hot.

Although its purely speculative I would say many were from defective connectors or abraded wires that short and heat to the point of combustion. Consider the sheer number of connectors and junctions in a modern car. Along with the fact that every supplier that worked on that wiring was the "low bidder" on the job. (aside from the installers) We had a Freightliner ambulance that caught on fire in the station during the morning cleaning. A wire abraded against an AC line on the cowl. The hard line for the AC started spitting refrigerant onto an arching 12v wire and cause quite a flare up. We put it out in seconds with the garden hose we were using to wash it. Any other place and it could have been a HUGE issue not to mention the loss of a truck with a today cost of well over 200k plus at least 100k in equipment.

 

[Kira]

I was 8 years into ownership of my 2002 Volvo V70 and had begun looking for a replacement.
This is no idle endeavor as the V70 is a keeper for most owners. Just look at the members here with them.
In West Chester, PA I test drove a 2007 with attractive mileage (~70k) and it drove like a dream.
Alas, the vehicle stunk strongly of electrical fire.
The only thing I could see was BRAND NEW LOOKING WIRING. There was no scorching, evidence of repainting...nothing.
Still, I had to pass.

It took another year for me to find one, my current 2007...at a dealership.
It was quite ignominious having to do that; akin to the first time I was towed....emasculating, end of the world kinda thing......I'm over it now.....not really.

 

[Donald]

The ones that have electrical systems.

Seriously, vehicle fires are very often classified as "undetermined" due to the huge costs associated with proving the cause. Theres what you know vs what you can prove in court. Insurance companies take the path of least resistance.

But unless you did something purposely whether it's electrical or gas or oil the insurance company still has to pay.

 

[eljefino]

But unless you did something purposely whether it's electrical or gas or oil the insurance company still has to pay.

They have to unless they don't. If they put up a fight and only pay 90% of the time they've come out ahead.

 

[64bawagon]

The insurance companies have way better lawyers than the general public do. I have seen a lot of people get jammed up by the insurance company, me included (not for a fire claim though) They do what they please and they play dirty.

 

[gfh77665]

Did the 'authorities'rule out a terrorist attack yet?

I hope so. It does not appear to be a firebombed Tesla.

 

[dishdude]

There's a lot of insurance fraud around car fires, so any claim is treated suspiciously. We all pay for fraudulent claims in our premiums. Newer vehicles with comprehensive coverage are not very likely to catch fire, it's older cars with oil leaks, hacked together stereo systems, transmission and PS hoses that can blow that generally catch fire. Gasoline fires are really rare.

 

[Donald]

Que the "Which oil is best for an incinerated car?" thread drift/argument.

I suppose I could have asked the guy walking around his burned up heap trying to figure out what to do next what oil he used in the engine. Maybe suggest he do a UOA to see if the fire did anything negative to the oil.

 

[Cmobile]

I think the culprits can be through the front window.

Beanie babies, the Gremlins of the automotive world.