2010 Prius Caught Fire

Unfortunate and glad everyone is OK. But car fires do just happen some times. That's what insurance is for.

 

^^^I had a buddy burn down his house decades ago but he had the car (non hybrid) running to warm up. So there I can see the pumping of fuel in.

 

I was a fire Captain and I can tell you, the fire dept. will not fill a report with anybody like you think. They do a fire report and most of the information inputted will be used in a national data base to count different types of things like CAR fires, outdoor fires, house fires. It is very hard to determine what started a car fire. One not so common cause in the cabin is having a cell phone charging with a non standard cord or battery. But you said the engine compartment was burning when you came out. I hope you had good insurance on it.

Sorry for your loss.

 

You'd think Toyota would want to send someone over to have a look.

 

Not the best picture .. this is mine. It happened over two years ago and I just settled the house claim. Cars were only a couple of weeks.

 

prius? cause?

 

Yeah, right! Don't expect they'll just call you and say sorry. They'll lawyer up.

Here is where you go: File a Vehicle Safety Complaint Form | Safercar.gov | NHTSA

You can also ask NHTSA to look specifically into prius fires.

However, judging from the pictures/video the engine and not the hybrid part was the fire source. I guess AC is a possibility too.

 

Have you made any enemies lately?

Seriously, glad no one was hurt and that your house is still relatively intact.

SCH-I535

 

It was probably a coolant fire. It's on that side, coolant pumps etc. Just takes one plastic spigot to fail and coolant is dumped on the exhaust, where it will ignite. There isn't enough fuel under the hood to support a fire though there is enough to be an ignition source, but the lines etc. are carefully engineered to prevent that.
I had a 3rd gen RX-7 that had been rebuilt after a coolant fire ignited by the turbos. It was recall based, but the owner hadn't taken it in yet.

How long did it sit after shutdown before you noticed the fire?

 

The coolant fire angle is interesting. I found this:

AUTOMOBILE ENGINE COOLANT RELATED FIRES

OP, was any work done on the cooling system at the 90k service? In the article, the radiator cap wasn't properly placed on the radiator, which allowed the water to possibly boil off, leaving a much more concentrated glycol mixture, which is much more flammable when expelled onto a hot ignition source.

 

Hmmmm...
Service (90K) done in May.
Fire in late November.

Technically the dealer might be the cause, but you'd have a hard time selling ME on that idea and I have a pretty anti-stealer bias.
Besides....if the dealer did do something like leave a coolant cap off or knock a fuel line lose then I would expect that it would generate a code or the customer would---SHOULD peek under the hood every now and then to see if the hamsters under the hood are still running on the wheel.

Speaking of which - there might have been some critters in the air-box fluffing up their nests for Winter.
It could be vandalism....
Arson.....
A manufacturer defect......
Aliens....
Elvis...
OR......

OR.....
A fifteen year old kid that doesn't want to be bullied for driving a Prius!
Even in Seattle.....

If it was a manufacturer defect then it's a pretty isolated incident.
This is one of the very few Prius fires that I've seen that wasn't caused by an obvious external source.

Get a check from the Insurance Companies.
Give the kid some rudder input on your/his next car.
Give thanks that it's just stuff and nobody got hurt.

Good Luck!

 

Yeah, the AC compressor is on that side and is run of the HV battery. But as long as the car was powered off (ie not left in "ready' mode") there is no high voltage present anywhere but inside the battery box in the back. I believe the 12V is still energized up as far as the fuse box, but that's on the driver side top.

Given the time of year and location of damage, I'd certainly lean toward flammable fluid leak on hot exhaust manifold and/or rodents nesting and nibbling?

Rob

 

Mice can be a big problem? Chewing and nests!
Wishing you the best! Good luck!!!!

 

Hmm...

That's obviously too bad, but on the positive side, you only lost a vehicle, not a house or a life.

The way I look at it, The Prius is also obviously not designed to spontaneously combust. And I don't read a lot of threads where this is happening. Once...for any owner is once too many...but I don't think it is a common occurrence.

I'd be curious as to the ultimate conclusion, if any specific cause can be determined.

I think many of the theories proposed are possible and viable. Which one might be right? I have no idea.

I think Hybrids are great. But the truth is they do have a high voltage battery and wiring. Does this increase the chance that numerous potential scenarios could develop or happen that "might" lead to combustion?

Well, I am curious as to what is found out. Any melted rodents included in the aftermath?

 

There nothing in engine compartment that can burn so long and hot, no power steering oil’s/ fluids, no rubber belts or batteries. Well, maybe few oz of gas in gas lines. Are you sure you have no enemies or "friendly" neighbors?

 

probably a hummer driver?

 

Homeowners wants to preserve any evidence in case they can make a third party claim .. Unlikely. Did you get much smoke damage?

I had agreed value on my cars .. so very good outcome with that part of the loss.