My Toyota Prius 2010 caught fire

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Firnaz, Dec 12, 2015.

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  1. Firnaz

    Firnaz New Member

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    Can someone assist me with what to do regarding my Toyota prius car caught fire and it burned completely.
    while I was driving I smelled something burning and I thought it was because of the car heater and I turned it off. Then within two mints I seen few unusual lights appeared on my dashboard and started to smoke,I quickly stopped the car to have look but it quickly cought fire. Within 15 mints that London fire brigade come to put the fire away, it burned pretty badly.

    All the service and other jobs done by Toyota, until this happen the car was running perfectly and I did not come across any problem. I am Having third party only Insurence.

    I have forwarded the case to Toyota GB, but unfortunately just by looking at the pics and videos which I submitted to them, they come to a conclusion that it's not a "Manufacturing Default " and they said they can't do anything about it. Even they opened up a case regarding this, they only given information regarding this , only when ever I called them. Toyota GB was not helpful not any mean.
     

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    #1 Firnaz, Dec 12, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2015
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    If the fire started in the right front fender area, there's another thread here.

    Hopefully, data and the errors can be pulled from the vehicle.

    Fire in a prius | PriusChat
     
    #2 xliderider, Dec 12, 2015
  3. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    Such a pity ! I'm glad you got out safely.
    I don't know what is covered on warranty in the UK but out of curiosity, how many miles were on the car ? Certainly, this is something that should at least be reported to Toyota Corporate. Cars that are that age just don't burst into flames out of the clear blue. Besides, if you have good maintenance records, this could be a big plus in your favor.
     
    #3 BZzap!, Dec 12, 2015
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  4. Firnaz

    Firnaz New Member

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    Thanks for that, its done 130000 miles
     
    #4 Firnaz, Dec 13, 2015
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Glad you are OK. We seem to have about 3-4 reports on PriusChat of 2010's with electric problems starting fires.

    There is not much we can do to help from USA. Normally in the USA the insurance covers the damages, and Toyota (and other manufacturers) do not respond helpfully. The accidents are reported to NTSB and if there is a pattern there could be a US gov't recall. Any recall would assume some known defect is the cause, versus maintenance errors, user mods, etc.

    You should still report it to Toyota and competent authorities, but we are not aware of a known defect that could be fixed. Some say may be issue with certain head lamps.
     
    #5 wjtracy, Dec 13, 2015
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    perhaps grumpy or britprius can be of service. maybe change the title to uk insurance question.
     
    #6 bisco, Dec 13, 2015
  7. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The one in the thread from Dec. 5th is a 2011.
     
    #7 El Dobro, Dec 13, 2015
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  8. Coach

    Coach New Member

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    OMGoodness, that's terrible and freighting. So glad to hear you're safe. Keep us posted if you find out what happened and why.
     
    #8 Coach, Dec 13, 2015
  9. Firnaz

    Firnaz New Member

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    Thank you ! I have spoke with Toyota GB about this and they have opened up a case. Waiting for them to call me on Monday.
    Hope for the best.
     
    #9 Firnaz, Dec 13, 2015
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  10. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Does GB have their own equivalent of NTSB for cars?
     
    #10 frodoz737, Dec 13, 2015
  11. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    I'm really glad that Toyota has opened a case on your situation. It's in their best interest step up to the plate and nip this in the bud. There are other cases just like yours that have happened to indicate Toyota might have an inherent problem on their hands. This would be especially true if the defect was inadvertently engineered into the car.
     
    #11 BZzap!, Dec 13, 2015
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    these cars maybe ticking time bombs.:eek: i just bought a fire extinguisher.
     
    #12 bisco, Dec 13, 2015
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  13. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    Exactly !
     
    #13 BZzap!, Dec 13, 2015
  14. kbb

    kbb New Member

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    Hello,
    So sorry to hear about your fire. Glad you escaped ok. Our house burned down because of our prius at 2;30 a.m. We were fortunate that we all escaped with our lives. YES, we can say definitely, 100% that the fire started in the vicinity of the right front headlight. This appears to be a common problem with the 2010 models. There may have been an electrical arc with the battery (one theory). I got attacked by some idiot online who was trying to blame me for not having smoke detectors (actually, we did, but it's pointless to argue with morons). The dog just happened to wake us up first. Anyway, Toyota will not help you ONE BIT. In fact, they will try to discredit you (at least that is what happened to us). They sent their "head honcho" sleazeball, Robert Landis, who testified on behalf of Toyota in the acceleration case a few years back to come to OUR house and he lamely insisted after looking at it for 5 minutes that it "couldn't possibly" have been the Prius. We had 5 different inspectors who could see that the point of origin was near the right front headlight. Get an attorney, ASAP, and make documentation of everything they have taken from you. Please reply if you would like to speak privately. We have already found 5-6 others with extremely similar circumstances. Go to youtube and search for "prius fire" and you will see one of them in Washington State.
     
    #14 kbb, Dec 15, 2015
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  15. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Sadly nothing.

    There's a hard lesson learnt here. If you can't afford to be comprehensively insured, you can't afford not to be.

    Were you running the car as a mini cab? Was there additional wiring?
     
    #15 GrumpyCabbie, Dec 15, 2015
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  16. Firnaz

    Firnaz New Member

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    Very kind of you , Im sorry to hear your story, I have seen it on YouTube, pretty horrendous. Did you manage to get anything from Toyota?
     
    #16 Firnaz, Dec 15, 2015
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I've never thought of a great place in my cabin to stow a fire extinguisher ... pretty tight in a Gen 1.

    On the other hand, if I owned a 2010, I might consider buying a FLIR One and popping the hood to get some images, as detailed as I could, under the hood in the right headlight area, after the car's been operating for a while and with the lights on. Maybe right away as a set of baseline images, and once or twice a year thereafter. Also of the left headlight area, for comparison....

    -Chap
     
    #17 ChapmanF, Dec 15, 2015
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    otoh, there are probably less prius fires than any other vehicle.
     
    #18 bisco, Dec 15, 2015
  19. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    #19 GrumpyCabbie, Dec 15, 2015
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes, strange.(n)
     
    #20 bisco, Dec 15, 2015
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