Accidents : Vehicles catching Fire in India

[Reality]

Originally Posted by yogeshnagpal

Hi Guys,

My Baby (Zen) caught fire in the parking today. Luckily not major.

As usual I left from home for my office at around 12 and at 12.30 or so, I parked my car at Reuben's pay and park near Shah Industrial Estate, off Veera Desai Road.

After around 45 mins, the parking attendant comes to my office stating "Sir aapke gaadi mein aag lag gaya tha. Humne kaanch toda aur paani daalke bujhaya. Aap please chaliye". I was shocked to hear this.

When I went down to see what happened, I saw that the steering + the controls behind the steering had all burnt.

Luckily these guys spotted what happened and were prompt to break the windows and douse the fire.

I've done around 60k kms and have never faced any issue in the last 10 years of usage, then why today ?

I have given the car to Vitesse Ltd, Andheri (W) and logged a claim with ICICI Lombard. I'm awaiting an estimate and survey report. I should be getting it by tomorrow.

Any tips for dealing with insurance on Fire issues ?

Should I continue with the works at Vitesse or go to my trusted neighbourhood mechanic ?

I have attached a few pics for your reference.

It seems your combination switch had a glitch and hence the fire. I had the same problem in our 1998 zen(sold in 2010) but diagnosed it in the sparking stage at night. I had noticed sparks and burning smell while using the indicator stalk. Did any of these happen?

[CARDEEP]

Another member of TBHP - @dZired, had the same fire incident with his Zen. I too believe it is because of the combination switch, but as @Reality has posted & @dZired can point the causes of fire in the steering assembly. Anyway, it is good & lucky that you were away from the car.

[yogeshnagpal]

Originally Posted by Reality

It seems your combination switch had a glitch and hence the fire. I had the same problem in our 1998 zen(sold in 2010) but diagnosed it in the sparking stage at night. I had noticed sparks and burning smell while using the indicator stalk. Did any of these happen?

Around 1 week back, while passing through a by-lane in my area, I could smell some electrical short circuit like smell, which didn't last for more than 5 seconds or so. I doubted something burning in my car.

After around 2-3 days, I passed through that lane walking, I still got that smell.

So I concluded that it was nothing to do with the car.

But this incident is making me re-think what was wrong


@Parthasarathig - Regarding CNG kit, Yes, I have installed CNG kit from an authorized center 'Greenglobe' with RTO endorsement. I called up Greenglobe immediately as soon as I learnt that there was fire. GreenGlobe immediately ruled out CNG as the cause of fire. If CNG is the cause of fire, the engine bay area should get damaged as the fire starts from there. The very fact that it started from the steering area indicates that this originated from the switch panel behind the steering. Plus the car is absolutely stock. No mods whatsoever.

[vikramvicky1984]

MUMBAI: A Mercedes-Benz car parked outside the bungalow of a Virar-based businessman caught fire recently. The cause of the fire, however, was yet to be ascertained.

Around 1 am on Sunday, the owner of the luxury car, William Tuscano, was woken up by the sound of an explosion, said Virar police. Tuscano rushed out of his bungalow, located at Ghosali, Nandakhan, Virar (W), to see his car burning.

Fire brigade officials reached the spot and managed to douse the fire. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained, said the fire brigade officials. However, preliminary investigations revealed that the car's AC compressor is likely to have exploded.

On Saturday night, Tuscano was celebrating his father's 75th birthday and to facilitate smooth movement of guests and other vehicles, he had parked the Mercedes-Benz C Class at a distance from his house. Tuscano owns two other vehicles and they were parked close to the charred car.

According to fire brigade officials, if the three vehicles would have been parked together, the fire could have engulfed the other two vehicles and spread to the bungalow. Such was the impact of the explosion that locals came out to see what had happened. Several curious visitors flocked Tuscano's bungalow on Sunday to see the charred luxury car.

The car company's officials arrived at the spot to check the vehicle, which was bought in 2009. The report is awaited.
Businessman's luxury car catches fire - The Times of India

[djoel99]

Originally Posted by vikramvicky1984

MUMBAI: A Mercedes-Benz car parked outside the bungalow of a Virar-based businessman caught fire recently. The cause of the fire, however, was yet to be ascertained.

Around 1 am on Sunday, the owner of the luxury car, William Tuscano, was woken up by the sound of an explosion, said Virar police. Tuscano rushed out of his bungalow, located at Ghosali, Nandakhan, Virar (W), to see his car burning.

Fire brigade officials reached the spot and managed to douse the fire. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained, said the fire brigade officials. However, preliminary investigations revealed that the car's AC compressor is likely to have exploded.

On Saturday night, Tuscano was celebrating his father's 75th birthday and to facilitate smooth movement of guests and other vehicles, he had parked the Mercedes-Benz C Class at a distance from his house. Tuscano owns two other vehicles and they were parked close to the charred car.

According to fire brigade officials, if the three vehicles would have been parked together, the fire could have engulfed the other two vehicles and spread to the bungalow. Such was the impact of the explosion that locals came out to see what had happened. Several curious visitors flocked Tuscano's bungalow on Sunday to see the charred luxury car.

The car company's officials arrived at the spot to check the vehicle, which was bought in 2009. The report is awaited.
Businessman's luxury car catches fire - The Times of India

Normally All Three Cars Were Parked Together But On Sunday They Were Parked At Different Place. Lucky For Him. I Think This Car Was First C Class From My Locality.

[shatrughna]

Originally Posted by djoel99

Normally All Three Cars Were Parked Together But On Sunday They Were Parked At Different Place. Lucky For Him. I Think This Car Was First C Class From My Locality.

One Mr. Tuscano works in the same company as mine and had recorded the complete incident on his cellphone. Merc staff visited next morning and covered the car. Latest news is that they may get a free replacement with some compensation as well .

I am only wondering what would have been their excuse / justification had someone got injured in the incident while insider the car? Its shocking for a brand which takes pride in its tagline 'safety', and use it as their USP in sales pitch. As per the explanation given by merc team to the family is that probably, its some loose connection causing short-circuit or, the battery.

[djoel99]

Originally Posted by shatrughna

One Mr. Tuscano works in the same company as mine and had recorded the complete incident on his cellphone. Merc staff visited next morning and covered the car. Latest news is that they may get a free replacement with some compensation as well .

I am only wondering what would have been their excuse / justification had someone got injured in the incident while insider the car? Its shocking for a brand which takes pride in its tagline 'safety', and use it as their USP in sales pitch. As per the explanation given by merc team to the family is that probably, its some loose connection causing short-circuit or, the battery.

Even I Heard Same But People Were Very Impressed By Quick Reply Of Merc Team. And Even Talk Of Free Replacement Made It Big.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by shatrughna

.

I am only wondering what would have been their excuse / justification had someone got injured in the incident while insider the car? Its shocking for a brand which takes pride in its tagline 'safety', and use it as their USP in sales pitch. As per the explanation given by merc team to the family is that probably, its some loose connection causing short-circuit or, the battery.

Originally Posted by djoel99

Even I Heard Same But People Were Very Impressed By Quick Reply Of Merc Team. And Even Talk Of Free Replacement Made It Big.

Sadly this is how Indian mentality is. Free replacement of a damaged product seems to keep everyone happy. This cycle continues till someone actually loses their life and subsequently many other lives follow.

The apt attitude for safety of a person should be to get down to the root of the problem and rectify it.

If it was a doctor who caused the loss of someone's life, because of negligence, he would be attacked with a mob and then after that made to pay damages in court and receive threats from the neighborhood all his life. But this doesn't happen in case of consumer based companies in India. Food adulteration, lack of quality control, replacement of genuine parts with spurious parts, companies seem to get away with anything and everything in our country.

Quite a lot of cars seem to be catching fire these days. Good that Mercedes was prompt to act and respond. Whereas other companies haven't investigated why their cars also burn.

[VM1]

Originally Posted by yogeshnagpal

Around 1 week back, while passing through a by-lane in my area, I could smell some electrical short circuit like smell, which didn't last for more than 5 seconds or so. I doubted something burning in my car.

I faced the issue with short circuit in the steering horn assembly of a 10 yr old Zen I was driving. While passing another car, I flashed my light 3-4 times and all of a sudden I smelt something burning and smoke coming from the horn area. Luckily there was a local garage within 50 mts - the guy confirmed there was a short circuit in the assembly. I immediately got that replaced.

[sourabhzen]

Saw this M800 with fire in the engine bay. The occupants seem to be out safe and a policeman was stopping traffic behind this car. This happened on Vasant Kunj Road near Spinal Injury Center in New Delhi at around 5:30 in the evening.

[RavenAvi]

This happened on 22nd September, 2012.

The owner, Mr. Rajiv Kumar Mondal, who works in the Indian Oil Corporation, was returning home from a short drive in Barwadda, Jharkhand, when his cousin, the passenger, noticed a sudden fireball under the bonnet. This turned into dense, black fumes instantly and both of them jumped out barely moments before the fire entered the cabin. They tried to open the bonnet but it was too hot. By the time help arrived, the car was totally burnt with damage beyond repair.

Here is his letter to Hyundai India:

To
The Managing Director
Hyundai Motors India Limited

Sub: Incident of Fire in i20(Serious Technical Issues with the model)

I had purchased Hyundai i20 during 2009 just when the product was launched in India with great pride and satisfaction by investing a lot of money into it and we have enjoyed driving the vehicle ever since. I bought the vehicle from Libra Hyundai showroom, Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The Owner details as follows:
Mr. Madan Mohan Mondal
Vill+Ps-Barwadda,Dist-Dhanbad,Jharkhand
Contact details: 09671003547
mondalrk@iocl.co.in
hellorajivnit007@gmail.com


The Vehicle Details as follows:

Make: Hyundai
Make Classification: i20
Chassis no.: MA LA BB51 BR9M074755G
Engine no.: G4LA9M199075
Registration no.: JH-10T-8291

Dealer details as follows:
Libra Hyundai; Bank More,Katras, Dhanbad,Jharkahnd

My vehicle has run approximately less than 20,000 Kms and is single hand driven. The vehicle has always been services at Authorized Service Centers .I have replaced only the music system that also from the Hyundai show room only after 6 months of purchase of the car because there was some fault in the music system and it was replaced free of cost .Apart from this there was no replacement or any modification in the vehicle till date.
On dated 22nd September 2012(around 1PM), I took out the vehicle for a small drive of about 6km and when just reached back to home and slowed down the vehicle, my cousin noticed some fire ball falling below the bonnet cover and within few seconds a large dense black fumes started coming out of the bonnet cover .I luckily escaped from the heat of the fire inside the car and he somehow managed to come outside the vehicle. We tried to open the bonnet cover, but due to high intensity of fire we were not in a position to open the bonnet cover. The local people immediately contacted the fire tender and reached on site and they took control of fire. But till then there was huge damage to the vehicle had already occurred.
My family was petrified and dreaded the consequences had the same been occurred during running car in the NH road.
Immediately we contacted the sales manager (Mr.Sudhir ranjan das) and GM (Mr.Himanshu Singh) of Libra Hyundai and narrated the entire incident .Soon a team visited at site from Hyundai showroom to know the exact cause (Report still awaited). All the service staff there was also perplexed to see the state of the car. They have also never seen/ heard such incident. I have taken some pictures and would be attaching the same for experts to see.
I have been advised to visit the Service Centre on 24th September 2012 (Monday) so that senior management/ Insurance company reps can examine the car and decide further course of action.
I was very appreciative of Korean Engineering and Hyundai in particular. However, this incident has literally shaken my faith in the safety aspects of the car.
I was lucky to escape unhurt due to the prompt action of self and the passersby. Had I/we driven out of the city, and encountered the incident in the middle of a highway, the consequences could have been very severe.I strongly believe there is Technical issues in i20 which the company need to address the customers in INDIA
Needless to say, other than the damage to the entire vehicle I have been severely inconvenienced as we are without any mode of transportation at present. The incident has sent a severe shock regarding the safety and security aspects of the luxury cars of Hyundai make in particular i20.The incident has left untarnished impression on the brand image of Hyundai.Hyundai cannot play with the life’s of Indian peoples in particular where they compromise with the quality aspects.

I kindly request you to intervene in this issue and take all necessary prompt action to replace this car with a new one with immediate effect.

Enclosures:

1. Photos captured during fire
2. Warranty certificate
3. Media Report on the incident


With Regards

Rajiv Kumar Mondal
Indian Oil Corporation Limited
+919671003547

SOURCE - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...5879622&type=1

[Prodigyy]

Shocking to say the least !!!

Hyundai has always advertised aggressively for i20 in particular being a very safe car. No doubt the car has all the safety features in place in its top model to earn its 5 star NCAP rating. But with this fire incident, i am sure all the Hyundai owners would be doubting there vehicles now.

Have heard of such fire's taking place in old Maruti 800's & some Tata vehicles, but this is the first time i am hearing a modern well engineered & well acclaimed vehicle catching fire.

Hyundai MUST respond to this one with a strong and convincing report.

[fuel_addict]

Shocking and horrifying. Atleast the occupants were able to get out of the car before the fire could spread into the cabin. Not clear from the letter if this was a petrol i20. I suspect it was.

[Jeash.vk]

WoW.. that fire looks really scary. Good that the occupants managed to jump out. Reading this reminded me of an article which I read in TOI/Bangalore Mirror a few months back - That too was an i20, which caught fire while on the road (Nice road, if my memory serves me right). I am unable to find any internet link for the said article, but I am quite sure that I am correct with the details.

i20 seems to have the best safety ratings, but such incidents are going to put a lot of doubt on the customers' mind - especially if they keep hearing such stuff happening. Wonder whats happening here!

[joslicx]

An i20 had burst into flames in Bangalore also (on the NICE road) a few months back. Heres the report:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...0300&AppName=1

So it is not an isolated incident.

With so many cars bursting into flames all around, I am kind of reminded of one of the Tintin comics (I think the Black Gold?) In that too cars started bursting into flames (Tintin later found out the problem was with gasoline!)