Prius Caught on Fire

I am cognisant of that, dang it.

I'm just thinking, if the cord is snaked out through the corner of the grill, missing the shutters, maybe it could have shifted, got back into the path of the shutters.

One scenario that might shift the cord position: if you forget to unplug, as you back the car away from the extension something eventually gives, but the zip tie (or similar) connection of the block heater cord might get shifted an inch or two in the process, into harms way with the shutters.

 

I believe (I don't have one so I could be wrong) that the 2016 uses a bolt on block heater. It heats the engine block through direct contact and indirectly that heats the coolant. I say "bolt on" because that's the most traditional type of heater this emulates. There's a hole you stick the heater in until it clicks. No freeze plug to knock out. What I found online says it's 400 watts, 3.3 amps. What gauge and length of extension cord were you using? I'm not a fire investigator and I think it's some kind of mystical black art, but from that one photo it looks to me like the extension cord caught fire. If the heater is really 400 watts and 3.3 amps then you should have been fine with an 18 gauge extension cord.

 

16 gauge or 14 gauge would be better.

 

Agreed, but I wouldn't expect a quality 18 gauge to catch fire at that load. Would the timer cause an increase in heat that far down the line? If the timer wasn't up to the task I would've thought the fire would start at the timer which is probably right at the outlet.... wait.... Do we know the timer was at the outlet and not on the end of the extension cord between the heater and extension cord?

 

Apparently, the timer was not (totally) damaged since they were able to determine it was turned off.

 

No, you are not wrong at all, you are being responsible.
Unfortunately some people jump the gun and make reports before they know the cause.

I'd say a report should be made once the investigation has made it's findings.

 

What kind of terrible advice are you giving? This is Kremtok's chance at the American dream! Not that old crummy dream of a hard work and equal opportunity will get you the house with the white picket fence. NO! I'm talking that new American dream! The one where something happens to you and you get to sue everyone involved! Lawyer up! Sue Toyota! Sue the dealer! Sue black and decker for making the cord! Sue the builder of your garage! Sue the fire department! Sue the city for having a fire department! Sue Alaska for being so damn cold you need a block heater in the first place! Someone won't want to waste the time or energy fighting you and just pay out to get you to go away! That is when you get to reap all the profits of making your lawyer rich! It's the American way! This "wait for the investigation and make a report" is commie speak for "Mother Russia can do no wrong!"

 

You are totally correct on this.

 

Would it be worth informing atPriusteam?????
He might want to give T a heads up and perhaps assist in some way.

 

Paging @Prius Team Fire in hole!

 

Hope you guys are fine. This can happen to any car. Hope the insurance does the right thing. My 06 Ford Focus one time we open the hood. We saw mark from burned from the fire. My mechanic told me you got lucky that it turn off by it self. This is scary for anyone.

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I had a fire a few years ago. I was jumping my tractor's battery -- next thing I see is the tractor going up in flames. As luck would have it (bad) it was next to one of my cars. When it was all over -- three cars gone and the house ... 2 million dollar claim.

My insurance company sent two investigators as did the local fire marshal. They all want to rule out arson .. and the insurance company wants to see if they can pinpoint a fault that could be used to re-coup some of the loss. In my case nothing was wrong with the tractor .... My best guess is the jumper cable came off and created a spark ... don't think the battery exploded.

Good luck!

 

Glad you survived!

 

I survived .... but the claim was a nightmare. I'm still not back in the house 4+ years.

 

Yes, possibly - if there was a fault in the unit, it could end up in an overheat (or dead short) which could start a fire. That would overload the extension cord which would melt/burn even if it was in perfect condition.

My question though - did it trip the circuit breaker/fuse of the house.

 

unfortunately, they'll probably tell you what the cause was, but you'll never know if they were right.

 

That is awful, glad no one was hurt.
It sounds like the heater is inserted into a blind hole, the same setup as my 2006 had.
The Toyota investigation guy determined it was corrosion on the block heater plug that caused my fire.
I took extreme care with the stock cord, using a heavy duty pigtail which was six months old to eliminate any flex on the block heater cord.
As bisco says, I had and still have doubts that it was corroded, nothing was left to look at. I also have one on a 2012v but I no longer use it.


Best of luck on the recovery process.

 

What's with those firemen? The donuts just arrived?