[black12rr]

Why isn't there a watch dog or some authority who can step in and say give me report in X days or stopping selling your cars until you find a solution ?

[joslicx]

There is a discussion on gearheads about another Vento that caught fire in Noida (on the DND flyway) on 14th April. So that makes it the third (or is it fouth) Vento getting "fired" in recent times. To all Vento owners, please refrain from any aftermarket mods, especially with electricals till VW ascertains real reasons for these fires.

[Nicky]

Originally Posted by joslicx

There is a discussion on gearheads about another Vento that caught fire in Noida (on the DND flyway) on 14th April. So that makes it the third (or is it fouth) Vento getting "fired" in recent times. To all Vento owners, please refrain from any aftermarket mods, especially with electricals till VW ascertains real reasons for these fires.

can you direct me to this thread?
is it there in Media?

Edit: I got it on google. thanks.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Why isn't there a watch dog or some authority who can step in and say give me report in X days or stopping selling your cars until you find a solution ?

Like the SIAM in my opinion a customer rights forum dedicated only for automobiles must be formed to push legislation and highlight these cases. In the absence of this the automobile companies through SIAM in collusion with the government are taking customers for a ride at the cost of their lives. I am not sure if a consumer forum dedicated solely for automobiles exist, if not it is high time. The generic consumer forum for ALL products is a total dud, highly overworked and under-budgeted initiative . Faulty automobiles can cause permanent injury and/or death to drivers, passengers and other road users. It is high time an initiative is taken to create such a forum to get the government running with its tail on fire before more lives are lost.

Better still, why don't distinguished BHPians take up this initiative ? They would be more than qualified to lead such an initiative.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by joslicx

There is a discussion on gearheads about another Vento that caught fire in Noida (on the DND flyway) on 14th April. So that makes it the third (or is it fouth) Vento getting "fired" in recent times. To all Vento owners, please refrain from any aftermarket mods, especially with electricals till VW ascertains real reasons for these fires.

And I read a Rapid also caught fire.

Till date barring the smaller cars - Alto, Santro, A Star, i10 practically every model has has been reported catching fire. May be in a CNG or LPG vehicle (bad workmanship, gas leak etc), but diesel sedan, it is strange.

[bala80]

As an vento owner, I need to admit, this latest reported incident has got me a little concerned. While I didnt bother about this earlier, its surprising that VW has still not gone public with their findings yet. Skoda has released a statement to the media for the rapid fire incident but silence from VW is baffling for sure. And it seems to be that only the 1.6 TDI variants are the suspect here (If the latest reported incident is also of the diesel version).

There is no reports of any fire incident with other engines the vento/polo comes with, isnt it? It is quite puzzling what is wrong with the 1.6 TDI that causes this...

[joslicx]

Hey Bala first of all congrats on achieving seniority status You deserve it with all your contributions to this forum. Also best wishes with your new assignment in the states. Now you can graduate over to something better like the Passat Alltrack or even BMW/Audis.

The silence on VW's part is really very concerning regarding the fires. People at gearheads also mention a fire incident with a stationary Polo in UK as well (the person had gone to play Tennis. When he came back, saw his car on fire!) There are issues with VW cars it seems, I am getting worried now. If VW doesnt come clean before end of next month I will cancel my booking. Better being safe than sorry later.

[bala80]

Thank you very much for your kind words joslicx. Yes, I'm moving next month and the schedules are getting confirmed. Since you had booked the petrol AT, I don't think you have a reason to worry yet, but there is no reason why VW should be delaying your delivery so much.

Coming back to the topic, I even went to the extent of discussing this with my wife, of ways and means to get out of the car if it does happen to us. Sad, but as you said, better safe than sorry.

[joslicx]

I am maybe just thinking loud here but could the fires be because of coolent? Many people (on this forum and elsewhere) have reported how the car comes with coolent at minimum levels (or coolent is at min levels after some KMs). Maybe the coolent dropped to dangerously low levels, those people did not check it (carelessness or ignorance) and paid the ultimate price!

Is it theoretically possible?

[DevilsCry]

17th April 2012 update

A customer has complained on VW India Facebook about overheating and fumes coming out of his Vento for 4th time.

Source- https://www.facebook.com/Volkswageni...09306755746539

If the customer is being truthful then we have 7th reported problem on Vento platform.

[kadanaJ]

Numerous Skoda horror stories
Harish's thread
Now 7 reported Vento problems and no word from VW.

Did we really need another reason to stay away from VW Group?

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

Numerous Skoda horror stories
Harish's thread
Now 7 reported Vento problems and no word from VW.

Did we really need another reason to stay away from VW Group?

Don't think so, both issues are way different, you cannot categorize them as similar.

I am still waiting to hear VW's side of truth "there are three sides to the truth, your side, my side and the actual truth" would wait jumping on to the conclusion before that

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by joslicx

I am maybe just thinking loud here but could the fires be because of coolent? Many people (on this forum and elsewhere) have reported how the car comes with coolent at minimum levels (or coolent is at min levels after some KMs). Maybe the coolent dropped to dangerously low levels, those people did not check it (carelessness or ignorance) and paid the ultimate price!

Is it theoretically possible?

In such a scenario I guess the likely case is an engine seizure due to overheating. Also engine temp warning will come up (though there is a chance that owner may not notice it)

[srishiva]

Just looking at Fisker Karma's fire incident which is getting lots of coverage, expert opinions etc, Its puzzling that in this country no one seems to be talking and VW itself has not come into the open discussing this.

A statistic I found while reading the Fisker's incident on causes of fire in U.S. Quoting the quote from one guy:

Wheel arch fires, tyres , static build-up, cigarettes left burning, etc, (9%), Arson, or malicious activity, (23%), collisions,( 2%) , electrical/mechanical component failure (61%), Design fault (2%) unresolved (3%). [ FAR division of NFPA]

[vb-saan]

There were a couple of cases reported here in Singapore about Hyundai Sonata taxis catching fire. No one was hurt in both incidents. But in this case, the official distributor of Hyundai is fully involved in the investigation, and they are getting an engineer from Hyundai’s headquarters (Seoul) to assist the investigation team.

The other end of the spectrum is the Vento fire incident. It has been months since a life is lost; it looks to go down as another forgotten case. It’s a shame that VW is not coming up with an explanation, and even more appalling is that the authorities are not bothered to force an explanation out of them.