Prius's spontaneously catching on fire?

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GIVE HIM YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!!
You will start receiving chain emails about Bill Gates sending you money, Sector 0 of your hard drive being destroyed, kids in the hospital getting money each time you send an email, and finding Ashley Flores!! Seriously, time to get a friend who's not clueless.

 

Known causes of Prius Spontaneous Combustion:

1. Eating a chili and cheese quesadilla while shifting into the "B" mode on steep downhills.

2. Entering Brittney Spears' address into the NAV's Destination screen with your girlfriend/wife sitting beside you.

3. Gliding on the interstate while listening to AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill."

 

OK, some Googling found one, only one...
Carspace.com - suzikn: Prius Fire
Is this the one that was determined to be arson? I don't think it's an epidemic though.

 

You are so right, these cars just go up in smoke, this is from the famous Toyota of Hindenberg Prius disaster, they were doing a live radio commerical when this happened:

“It’s on fire and its spontaneously doing it! . . . This is the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world! Oh, it’s burning . . . oh, four or five hundred Prius on the lot, and it’s a horrific sight, ladies and gentlemen. There’s smoke, and there’s flames, now, and the frame is all over the ground, not quite to the dealer showroom. Oh, the humanity, and all the test drivers screaming around here!
. . . I can’t talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it’s just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage, and everybody can hardly breathe and talk . . . Honest, I can hardly breathe. I’m going to step inside where I cannot see it. . . .â€

:target:

 

*sigh*
Okay. I'm going to step into this.

Hello, Jon, and welcome to PriusChat.
Normally, we are a helpful, friendly bunch of people.
There are a few that have "issues" with a few of the urban legends that some disreputable "news" sources have "reported" about the Prius, which is why this free-for-all is occurring.

I appreciate the fact that, you were told something about the Prius that you thought sounded weird, and that you decided to check with Prius-driving people as to the validity of it.

The answer is No, the Prius is not prone to spontaneously combusting.
There are a few other "legends" going around, but most of them have been dealt with (and generally made fun of) on this forum. If you do a search on "myths about the prius" you might find a few of them.

Hope you aren't scared off by the ruckus in here.

 

Hey, we were just having some fun.

And my Dad really *did* warn me about driving in the rain.

 

Did you know that people sometimes spontaneously catch on fire?

Also Ford Trucks.

 

Oh don't be so fuddy! Most of us have heard so many myths now that we can't help but be amused when we hear a new one! :whoo::gossip:

 

In the tool bar when you are replying to a post, theres a small paperclip with an arrow beside it. You can upload a picture to your post there.
Be careful of the size though or it won't accept it.:ranger:

 

The friend must be a Ford salesman since he is such an authority on vehicles that spontaneously combust.

Some Prius do have a Corbomite Device installed and it is activated with a button mounted in the far left blank located on the lower left dashboard. It is most useful when one is surrounded by hostile Romulans.

 

I've found after you choose the file and upload it, then you need to close that window, go back to the message editing window, click on the paper clip again and you get a pull-down menu where you can choose to insert the picture you just uploaded. Not exactly intuitive, but it works.

As for spontaneous fires, I do remember a story of a Prius catching fire shortly after being driven, I think in Washington state. However the owner had driven it into the side of a gas station (claims the gas pedal stuck, not to start another myth), maybe that had something to do with it?

My cousin's Ford Escort spontaneously caught fire in their garage, but rolled out (brake lines melted?). Escorts from a certain time period (mid-80's?) were known to do that. Haven't heard of it on other vehicles.

 

But is it really spontaneous if you push a button?

 

In the lower right of both pictures I note a charred orange extension cord. This suggest some kind of heater not approved for warming under a car engine.

No car built can stand up to improper "maintenance".

 

What were the origin and cause determined to be? The responding fire department should have a report with that information, to the extent they investigated and could make any conclusions.

 

of course cars can burn. the prius, by design, is no more or less susceptible than any other car out there. and it does not have a "self-igniting" ignition switch like some cars...

 

Good eye Sugar Land!

If an uninteded electrical system connected to AC mains was introduced in the engine compartment, and it it was compromised in some way and began arcing, it would have probably caught any car on fire.

I finally bit and read through this tread today. Ran out to the driveway and relief, Lightning is still there smiling at me as usual. If I push the unlock button on the key fob, he winks at me. I just gave him new tint on his windows and he is looking great.

 

You are right. Maybe you could wire the button to a random number generator and your car ignites when the number 42 comes up (because that is the answer to everything in life).

On the other hand, I don't think I want the button after looking at the poor Prius in jrmason's pictures...