Prius's spontaneously catching on fire?

I have a 2007 Toyota Prius. this morning I walked on my front porch looked at my car and noticed a fire in the back seat. I immediately ran to get a pitcher and water, to put the flame out. Then notified the fire department. They suggested the fire started between the front two seats and traveled to the back seat. The car was parked in the driveway. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Not me. Not that i recall has anyone on prius chat in the 5 years i have been here.

 

this happened while car was parked???

 

Ok, something is not sounding quite right here. A fire that started on the center console, then traveled all the way to the backseat. Sounds like more fire than a pitcher of water can put out.

Was this car driven anytime that morning? Are you a smoker that may have used the cup holder as an ashtray?

There is a power supply in the center console but if the car is not on, there shouldn't be any power going to it.

 

Very sorry to hear about this problem. Please post photos of the damaged area.

As previously mentioned, there isn't much in the console between the front seats other than an auxiliary power outlet, and that outlet should be powered down when the car is IG-OFF.

 

the only thing I have seen in the console between the seats near the back is a white box of some kind, not sure what it does but its behind the fold down cup holder and the wires run under the carpet towards the back seat..

 

The little white box is part of the Smart Entry/Smart Start system and is a receiver that can determine whether a fob is located within the passenger cabin.

 

good too know what all the parts are and where they are located...

 

Hybrid battery's right behind the back seat.

 

My 2007 Prius was parked in the driveway at 4:30 pm. At 5:30 am I observed flames in the back seat. I ran to get water to put the fire out. Notified Fire department, they said the cause was undetermined. Toyota sent an investigator to look at the damages, finding, undetermined. Car's don't just catch fire sitting in a driveway.


The combination cluster went out, I couldn't see the fuel nor miles. Luckily it was under warranty, otherwise I would have been out of 1200.

 

Seriously, Gen II Prii spontaneously combusting? This sounds as astounding as it is unbelievable . Forgive my apparent skepticism just in case by some strange quirk of fate this did REALLY happen. There's literally nothing about the design of this car, that could force the rear seat in a Prius Gen II to suddenly burst into flames in the early hours.....unless it was an act of vandalism and the doors were not locked.
In the UK, Prii spontaneously going up in flames are virtually unheard of. Believe me, the media would have a field day if any Prii over here were prone to going up in smoke without warning . It doesn't happen. I have a 2008 top of the range model with all the bells and whistles....and it gets a work out everyday. But nothing's gone wrong....and it certainly hasn't tried to burst into flames.

p.s. Can you post some pictures of the damage please?

 

Since the OP has returned to answer questions, we must take it on face value that this might be a real case of a fire. I hope no one was hurt, and we appreciate the report.

But such cases are very rare, and we would have no idea if this orig batt pack or if vehicle has had some inadvertent user damage over the years etc. (water etc). Since the OP posted we have one other fire case posted, where it maybe something under the hood...may be Gen3. The OP case may be the only case of a Gen2 "unexplained" fire we've heard here. So this is nothing of any common nature. Sad to hear, but not a trend. Bottom line all cars have some susceptibilty to elec fires, even regular gaso cars (assuming elec in nature).

 

The cars fire started in the console area determined by the fire department, and traveled to the back seat. Whether you believe it or not, it happened. I had just put new cooper tires on the care had an oil change and alignment. I was preparing the car for a trip to Kansas. I was crushed when the fire occurred. I only had liability on the car for it was paid for. Dropped the full coverage 3 weeks earlier. Had no idea the car would sustain fire damage. Believe it or not, the car was sitting in the driveway, it was last parked around 4:30 pm, around 5:30 am I walked onto the porch looked at the side of my house and observed flames in the back seat. And yes this did happen. Toyota's investigator said the cause of fire was undeterminable. I still plan to investigate this. Car's should not catch fire while sitting in a driveway, mine did.

I can only attest to my incident. My car was parked in my driveway at 4:30 pm, around 0530 I observed flames in the back seat. Fire department reported cause undetermined. Toyota's investigator, fire undetermined. Something happened. Cars don't just catch fire. I had just put new cooper tires on the car, alignment, and oil change. I was planning a trip to Kansas for a wedding. This incident happened 10 days before the wedding. I had liability which didn't cover damages. I still want to know what happened. This did occur. I enjoyed the car's ability to get good gas mileage, but something is terribly wrong. Eventually the truth will come to light about those cars. I will be waiting to see the results, cant wait to be able to say, I told you so. This did happen, the car just caught fire, sitting in the driveway.

 

Did you have any electric or electronic devices (phone, tablet, music player, GPS, flashlight, etc.) stashed in that area? Any other other possible ignition sources (matches, lighters, smoldering cigarette or ashtray, loose batteries) sitting there? Any aftermarket accessories wired into the car (alarm, radar detector, other GPS, aftermarket radio-music-amplifier system, etc.)? Or was that area clean of any such potential suspects?

For most electronics not turned on or plugged/wired in, lithium-type rechargeable batteries would be the primary suspect. For loose batteries, any battery type could be suspect.

 

Still no photos?

 

..also give us miles on car? were you orig owner? orig hybrid battery?
But we don't have any similar cases to say this is a certain cause.
Of course Toyota might have some internal data we are not privy to.

 

The center console is one area that DOES remain powered with the car off because the MFD gets constant 12v. However it would be very unlikely for that to catch fire with anything. Now an aftermarket radio installation or accessories as mentioned, sure.

 

Ford recommended owners park their vehicles away from the house so if the cruise control or ignition switch shorts out the house won't burn down.

Ford Cruise Control Deactivation Switch Recalls and History | The Center for Auto Safety

GM recommended owners park their vehicles away from the house so if the window switch shorts the house won't burn down.
GM recalls 189,000 SUVs over fire risk - CBS News

From Reuters:
"In late 2012, Toyota issued two multi-million-vehicle recalls, including one of more than 7.4 million vehicles to fix power window switches that were a potential fire hazard. That was the industry's biggest single recall since Ford Motor Co took 8 million vehicles off the road in 1996."

Toyota to recall 1.9 mln Prius cars for software defect in hybrid system| Reuters

Here's another article with more detail & a list of affected vehicles:

Toyota Recalls 7.5 Million Cars For Door Fires

Toyota has also had a problem with the materials in some of its heated seats:
Heated seat fire risk causes Toyota to issue stop-sale order - NY Daily News

So, yes, stock vehicles can & do catch fire on their own. The Prius isn't included in the recalls. I am willing to believe our two posters.

 

Isn't the center console the storage bin with a hinged cover between the driver's and passenger's front seats. It does contain a 12v outlet, but what does that have to do with the MFD being powered?

 

I was trying to refer to the MFD and center area, not the actual console. That was unclear, I apologize.

The outlet in the console between the seats is switched. But the MFD itself and connections behind it are powered all the time whether the car is on or off.