Prius's spontaneously catching on fire?

That breaker is in a fat box on the EVSE cord, close to AC power source and far from the car. The fire may have begun with the charger, but the charger is a 110/220VAC to DC inverter, and it is possible it could overheat and catch fire. Or it could overcharge the traction battery and start a fire.

 

Thanks for the warning, same thing happen to me. Don't take it personal with some of the people in here. They have no empathy or even remotely understand. Then when it happens to them or their loved ones, they cry like a baby. You seem like a great person, I'm sorry for your loss. Just be grateful no one was hurt. Life is short.

 

Come on, I profusely apologized after he published the pics.

 

Ground fault protection is needed there to prevent electrocution of the humans plugging / unplugging it, or touching the car while plugged in. So the circuit breaker is needed as part of the GFIC even if that component has no other active components to protect.

 

hey jeff, how's the investigation coming along?

 

I guess the take away is if you have the same car I would check that whole circuit out by feeling all the components or using a IR Heat thermometer during a charge cycle. Something in that circuit may be running really hot. Very scary. Check it at different times and loads. Write it down and track it.

I have a few IR's the Fluke is the best but you can buy a nice one for $20. Very handy and accurate.

 

i have the same car, as do thousands of others. but it would be nice to hear the results from the investigation, not just the 'my car burned down' 3 months ago bombshell, and, 'i won't be back with details, sorry'.

 

Well, if I owned the same car I would do my own investigation and not wait to hear what may never come. That charger circuit may just run wicked hot.

Test your car lets see how hot it runs.

 

i have felt it in the past, no warmth anywhere. the warmest point was when i was using an extension cord. that connection was slightly warmer than either cable on either side.

 

I've got a redneck plug-in, what with regular hook ups of block heater and 12 volt charger. I've noticed the block heater extension cord slightly warm at the junction. Good to stay cognizant, that things can happen.

 

The message is pretty much all cars have potential to spontaneously ignite if there is an electrical short somewhere. I think someone said one car company says not to park in your garage - forget the details on that. So the ideas of having smoke detectors in garage etc is a key point. For plug-ins of course you'd want to make sure the circuits are healthy in the garage.

 

... or fuel leak, or combustible fluid leak, or ...

That was a recall notice from Nissan. And GM. And Ford. And Kia. And Honda. And maybe more if one scrolls down through the search results.

 

In 2015 Toyota actually DID recall several models for various problems, including spontaneous engine fires. Don't bother sending me hate mail or dissing me on this site, I only logged in to respond this once. You losers who have nothing to do but slam things you know nothing about, need get your facts straight before you start mouthing off about 'Urban Legends'. Which doesn't even apply to the syntax. Urban Legends are for monsters, etc.

I'm researching because my friend's Prius DID catch fire recently when she started the engine, and she was lucky to get out alive. Get a life

 

We love you too.

 

I'm not going to diss you but rather suggest you provide proper facts. Toyota did indeed recall models in 2015 due to a possible fire threat. The Prius was NOT one of the recalled models and that threat was caused by defective power window switches, not engines or batteries.

Toyota Recalls 2 Million Vehicles in U.S. for Fire Risk | Edmunds

Should you return to this site, I would really appreciate it if you could provide the details surrounding the Prius recall you refer to. I didn't find it at the Toyota site, the federal safety sites or at Edmunds' recall list. If I missed it, I'd like details to confirm that my own car is not on that list you referred to.

Without knowing all of the details I suspect your friend's Prius ignited very much the same way that other cars do: the car had a fuel leak, some built up flammable residue or an electrical short not necessarily related to the hybrid nature of the car.

 

Well I'd say we have not heard many new reports of Prius fires.

I recently saw an article about water bottles on the seats. They can act like magnifying glasses and start fires.
Water Bottle Car Fire Warning

So there are various ways to catch a car on fire which can include rare defects or bad repairs or owner practices such as water bottles. Gotta be safe out there, and try to remember a car can be a source of fire. But we are not hearing too many stories above and beyond the rare incident.

As far as PriusChat, if you are going to make a serious report then there will be some give and take and it is helpful if you field some initial questions and substantiate your claims.

 

Is January recent enough? The issue was not the engine, though. The dealer routed the engine block heater cable to interfere with the grill shutters. The owner rerouted the cable, but it must have been damaged internally.

Prius Caught on Fire | PriusChat

 

Here's an angle probably rarely heard about. Rats! I'll elucidate; where I live, we went through a period of huge rats climbing into the engine bays of some cars parked on our street, and bizarrely feasting on the plastic insulation of engine electrical cabling. At least one vehicle did suffer a sparky short circuit when the owner tried to start his car in the morning.

No, the vehicle wasn't a Prius, and I didn't have one at the time - I had a Mazda MX-3. My engine bay was also invaded, but I found scraps of takeaway food boxes torn and half eaten.

What I'm saying is, even a hungry rat could damage an engine bay enough to possibly trigger a fire. Just thought I'd mention it.

Prii spontaneously catching fire in the UK are unheard of. There's certainly no news about that sort of thing happening here - I assure you the press would be all over it like moths to a naked flame


iPhone ?

 

,,,absolutely rodents are a huge source of damage and fires.
Car manufacturers should probably do a better job in that score.