Our 2008 Prius Dies in a Fire

We ran over a child's mattress yesterday, July 2, 2010, which had been dropped on the road. We were in heavy 65mph traffic and could not swerve. The springs snagged the undercarriage of our Prius. We immediately pulled over, but the fire was leaping up around us as we exited. I assume the catalytic converter or sparks from the springs started the fire. People stopped to help, some even had fire extinguishers, but things happened too fast. Traffic backed up for miles.

When the fire department got there it was too late. The front engine compartment seemed to be unscathed but everything else was a wreck. My wife and I were safe. I took the pictures. What surprised me when I Googled "car mattress fire" was how common this type of accident seems to be. I'm glad we're safe, but I'm very, very down. I looked at a 2010 Prius today and don't like it as well.

[Edit, July 5, 2010: While I mentioned I was surprised to find other similar accidents with Google, I did not anticipate how quickly, if at all, this thread might be indexed. Way to go, Bing. You had it in little more than a day. I do not wish to add to Toyota's problems and I'm afraid some might see these somewhat dramatic pictures and find they reflect negatively on the Prius. Let me state without equivocation: The Prius I lost was the finest car I ever owned. I had hoped to keep it for many years. I have no reason to believe the fire was the result of anything other than human carelessness. Once the tires start burning, any car is likely to be lost. So farewell, my friend. You were the best.]

 

Hi Patrick,

The fuel tank was FULL at the time but it did not explode. My rear NEW Michelin tires did explode, though, with an alarming pop, almost simultaneously. The first photo is just a few seconds before the fire personnel started to spray the car. They really approached it carefully and it seemed hard to extinguish. Just when I thought they had it out (white smoke) it would re-kindle and there would be more black smoke.

 

Hi Tony,

That was what I thought, that people driving by would say, "Yeah, I'll bet that guy's batteries exploded. That's why I'll never buy one."

And then they'll go out and tell ten other people. That's a pity. I have no reason to believe that either the gas tank (full) or the battery compartment caught fire. The only reason the Prius might have been more vulnerable, perhaps, than an SUV would be the low clearance. In fact the first time we saw the mattress was when it emerged from beneath an SUV in front of us. With traffic on our left, I couldn't swerve, but that's not something I'm inclined to do at 60+ mph.

As for the child, I would like him to direct me to his father so we could have a pleasant chat about what can happen when you fail to secure your load.

 

Some of those burned cars look worse than mine, if that's possible. I frequently see people transporting mattresses that look barely secured. This particular mattress was a child's twin size, tan in color with cowboy/cartoon characters on it. I saw it clearly as I and some good Samaritans tried to pull out a corner which had not yet caught fire. It was totally stuck -- I'm guessing the springs wrapped around something.

What I'm not clear on is how a fire under the car gets INTO the car within a few minutes. I had kind of assumed the bottom is somewhat sealed and would resist fire -- after all there is a blazing hot catalytic converter under there. So what was the pathway? Hmmm . . .

 

I think the oldtimers used to call it smoked glass.