Hyundai i10 catches fire during ignition!

[Nan]

Originally Posted by decode

I am sure that it is sure smelling a rat in this incident. By the way, has your friend fitted any extra electrical accessories or a gas kit ? Where there any modifications done? If at all they were fitted un-proffesionaly,we should not be blaming Hyundai.

No, this was his first car and it was in absolute stock condition. No aftermarket fittings.
Here is an update. The southern regional manager of hyundai had called him up yesterday and said that he cannot give him a written statement about the rat bite. He said that he will talk to the company and minimize the costs that he (the owner) has to pay from his wallet after insurance is claimed. I think the company is trying to fool my friend since he is a newbie and has no experience in car related matters.
Here are a few pictures of the car:

[tanwaramit]

dont give in to the pressure from these people. Ask them for correcting the car (with no expenses from you) or a replacement (since this is a new car) also ask for a standby car for the time being. Since he is not ready to give in writing, its all clear, something is fishy

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by Nan

The southern regional manager of hyundai had called him up yesterday and said that he cannot give him a written statement about the rat bite. He said that he will talk to the company and minimize the costs that he (the owner) has to pay from his wallet after insurance is claimed.

This sounds like pulling a fast one. Your friend should get to the bottom of it.

[aka_iitd]

If possible ask your friend to raise the complaint to higher authorities. Keep all photographs etc safely. It may be needed later
Better to raise written complaint

[GTO]

The southern regional manager of hyundai had called him up yesterday and said that he cannot give him a written statement about the rat bite.

Warning call!

1. Get a professional evaluation performed. Rope in a lawyer to document, if necessary.

2. The rat menace is abundant in India. Why can't manufacturers make rat-proof rubber fittings?

[esteem_lover]

Where did the spark that ignited the fire come from ?

The Insurance guys should be able to help you getting to the root of the problem. Who is your insurance provider ?

[Latheesh]

If fuel leakage was the problem check the floor where car were parked for fuel presense.

Since I could see more damage @ left side (behind engine) I believe something went wrong there. May be an expert in i10 in this forum can give some clues about the possible causes.

Also make sure that your friend does not pay anything for the repair untill the picture is crear.

[mvns84]

Your friend was very lucky indeed, happy to know that he is safe. But surely a rat bite could not have caused this. If its indeed the case, Hyundai should have built their car a bit more robustly,to withstand these menaces, which are common in India. Since the regional manager has refused to give any such thing in writing, I have my doubts. The best thing would be to get a professional opinion and contact your insurance provider. Might I also suggest that you send these photos along with any written proof/material to Hyundai's corporate office? May be worth a shot.
If there is a safety issue with the i10, they must be examined rather closely, due to sheer number of these cars being sold in India. The cars must be recalled and rectified without delay, if a manufacturing problem is detected.

[anandtheleo]

I see from the bonnet photo that the fire burn marks are more prominent under which the battery is located. Could the battery bee the culprit?

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

This is big disadvantage of Hyundai vehicles.
many of the parts,Front member,even the radiator is also made of fiber,hence the insurance claim would not fetch much.
Guess he need to shell out app. 50k to bring out the vehicle.

Are you sure about the radiator itself being made of fibre? I always thought it had to be metalic to ensure efficent heat transfer. Infact most of them are aluminium.

The I-10 fuel line is not plastic or rubber, so really doubt the theory that a rat could chew through it. Please escalate this issue to Hyundai directly. I'm inclided to think that the dealer is cooking up a story.

[Gany]

Can't believe car catching fire! Good the car was stationary & he was able to get out quick! If the fuel line is braided, i doubt if rats can chew them! Look/obtain a sample of fuel line and check it with experts if rats can chew them! Is the fuel line closer to exhaust in i10? That is the only way fuel can spray onto exhaust to catch fire. If not the fire would have started elsewhere.

[dkamath]

Originally Posted by Nan

Since most of the parts damaged are plastic and rubber, insurance company will pay only 50% of the amount!

Sad to know. Did the dealer ascertain that the engine, it's fuel system, ECU, etc are still fine, despite the fire?

[aaggoswami]

1) If they are not giving rat bite statement in written, they are bluffing about rat bite.

2) Petrol is known to evaporate quite fast, so a rat bite will let the fuel leak, and if its not a huge quantity, the leaked out fuel will get evaporated.

3) What will happen in case of crash ? In a crash the fuel line will break, fuel will leak out and fire. This is likely and dangerous if rat bite can cause so much fuel to leak like the dealer claims in this case. But here what was source of fire ? As mentioned in my point no.2, the fuel will get evaporated if its in a small quantity. And I seriously doubt that a rat bite will cause this damage. The company and dealer know that rat is very famous excuse since ages in India. They are just using this excuse. The problem IMHO is not rat, something else could have gone wrong.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

PM me if you want email addresses of top customer care people of Hyundai. This is a serious issue. Will get my car checked ASAP too.

[Manuuj]

As Parm rightly said the only rats here are the Hyundai engineers trying to pass of a product deficiency as a rat bite!!

Refusing to give written statements is fishy also..please request these fishy rats once more to give you a written report on the cause of the incident..but this time do so in writing..dont tell them orally.

Do also bring up the issue of why they have 'suddenly' started fitting fuel line guards for their customers and that too free of charge (how sweet).

Corporations only take this kind of action when they realize they have goofed up and need to cover their tracks.