[VinodDevil81]

Really a sad sight to see a brand new Thar in such a state.

But why should we jump into conclusions so early and start blaming M&M?
I think as responsible Team-bhpians, we should refrain from blaming any entity without proper evidence.
Many other possible causes are there and nothing can be ruled out.
Just because it was brand new, it does'nt mean that the company alone is responsible for the incident.
And because it is Mahindra, people find it easy to put the blame on the company rather than waiting to get a more clear picture.

On the flip side, the company also can do certain things in this situation.
Atleast the dealer could have assisted him in trying to find out the cause rather than not responding to him. No need of a third party agency and all, but they themselves could atleast try to figure out what exactly went wrong.They also need to help the owner with the insurance proceedings.

[mkpiyengar]

What Happens from Owner's Perspective :
1. Will he get new car from Mahindra ?
2. Will he get full value IDP from the Insurance company?
3. Will insurance pay for 3rd Party Damage to other car in vicinity?
4. Will he be jailed because owner's complained against him ?

I'm raising these questions as it is always good to know. Lots of cars are coming with latest electronic gadgets and if one wire or connection is loose anything can happen.

Right now sympathies to Owner.

MKP

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by Rajith

Replace the ignition key assembly.

Rajith, thanks for the suggestion. But that particular incident happened only once.

If the problem crops up again, then I think we will replace the ignition key assembly.

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by smartcat

What kind of neighbors are they? Filing a case against the Thar owner for what obviously looks like a fire accident? What kind of charges were filed against the owner? Arson?

If anybody intends to buy a Thar, make sure you have friendly neighborly relations with all your neighbors!

Better still, buy a Thar only if you do not HAVE any neighbours

Assuming that the fire mishap was indeed due to a faulty vehicle..was this Mahindra Rise??

[schakravarthy]

Could this be a case of rodent damage? Cars catching fire due to rats nibbling on wires isn't entirely unknown. Maybe the warm engine enticed some rodents, that might have accidentally lead to this car-becue.

[Rathore_13]

Smells like arson. I guess in a Thar, it's not difficult to access the engine(even a soft top cover can be sliced).

Maybe a Thar owner can post whether the fuel filler cap can be popped from inside the car like regular cars or does it require keys?

[silverado]

Below link might give some insight

http://www.interfire.org/res_file/92115-1.asp

[nemesis86]

Any update on this? I am very keen to know what exactly happened.

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by sjcherian

Very strange case of the Thar burning up. Looked at all the photos and even the FB page to determine the color of the Thar. Now it is a nightmare since its the same as mine.


Only thing I could think of is the bad practice of many dealerships that clean vehicles exteriors with Kerosene dipped rags ? Wondering if a stray embers from a cigarette caused the initial fire to start?

No need to worry! Having a car of same color as that of some unlucky car, doesn't mean yours too will also end up the same way.
Kerosene is a volatile hydrocarbon, do you think a vehicle cleaned with kerosene dipped rags, would still have that thing left over it that long, and then burn it too. Please man, bring some common sense into thoughts!

[mac187]

Originally Posted by mkpiyengar

What Happens from Owner's Perspective :
1. Will he get new car from Mahindra ?
2. Will he get full value IDP from the Insurance company?
3. Will insurance pay for 3rd Party Damage to other car in vicinity?
4. Will he be jailed because owner's complained against him ?

MKP

My two cents:

1. Only if the owner can prove product defect leading to fire.
2. If he has taken a policy, he can claim full IDV. Since its less than 6months, he will even get 100% value of the plastic and glass items. It won't be a cake walk, but it is the best scenario the owner can hope for.
3. Yes, the case may go to court but Insurance company can/ will settle on behalf of the owner.
4. Not sure. I wonder on what basis the complaint is registered. If insurance process begins, I think this can be avoided.

[chaudh2s]

Maruti owners manual says that car should not be parked over dry leaves mound or similar flammable items like cardboard box, etc. The exhaust components like cat con gets extremely hot and and can induce fire if they come in contact with flammable items. So, it is possible that owner might have parked his ride over some cardboard box or similar items which got ignited coming in contact with the exhaust components and hence the fire. Just a possibility!

[Wanderers]

The Fire Problem is becoming quite common. One of the reasons for car fire is battery mains line short circuit with body.

Two months back in cold winter evening, a Swift Diesel owner stopped in front of my society gate and asked Guard, if he could help as he found his ca abnormally hot inside.

I was around and tried to look for some smoke. But before we could look for the reason, the flames started coming on the hood on the battery side. Within seconds windshield got cracked and we had to run. A brave guard tried to dodge the flame by fire extinguisher but did not succeed.

Luckily a fire truck was passing by (God Grace) and they immediately opened the water jet and fire was bought down.

On opening the hood, we could see the battery molten and black plastic sticking everywhere.
Likely cause of Fire was Short circuit, as told by Fireman.

[the VTEC guy]

Originally Posted by subscrive

New vehicle with incomplete PDI : So what?
owner new to the operation of various controls in the vehicle : So what?
may be wrong operation of 4WD controls : So what?
These does Not in any way justify the fire!
Only accessories, that too electrical or such can somewhat explain the reason.

Please also reason "Why Not?" will give you an example.
New vehicle with incomplete PDI : So what?
Why not?
>> Some connection left loose while cleaning, before delivery.
E.g. In motorbikes section you will see a example of radiator fan not connected before delivery of a brand new Duke 390. Only engine temprature indicator helped the owner to stop and notice.

[bharani]

In maruti manual they have specified if any under chassis coating is done do not do it on the exhaust pipe and catalytic converter. But the service station guy did it then i went back and got it removed.
We have to be very careful in fitting any accessory.

[kiren]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Few days back my brother's Bolero's engine did not switch off even after he removed the key from Ignition. Somehow he managed to switch it off after some effort. And the problem??? We are still searching...

This is possible when the engine is very hot. I had similar problems when my Ambassador with an Isuzu B1 engine never use to get switched off when it was very hot. But I dont think we can compare an Ambassador with a Thar having latest technologies.

Kiran