[adarsh76]

Thank God, you are unhurt which is much much more important than a vehicle.

But yes, sad to know that we people living in India are given sub standard products.

Could you please get to report this incident in leading newspapers and TV channels if possible? And suggesting to give a tweet to the Prime Minister.

This has to be exposed in a big way.

[Rakkum13]

Originally Posted by Rk Ranjan

.. the "suspected cause is an extraneous factor of fuel leakage" is what they are saying!

Why are Indians taken for granted ? And can't companies offer a little more respect to their customers rather than routine, prepared statements which make no sense? Just thought these links might be of interest http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/42480282.cms
http://www.ibtimes.com/quality-crisi...s-2004-1588125
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0EW02O20140621

[Top-Gear]

Good to know you were not hurt in this nasty incident. I've always felt as it is that GM has really lost the plot in India and should just shut shop if they cannot get their act together. This incident and their attempts to cover up is just atrocious.

On a different note, this also reminded me of a training on fire fighting held in our company where a compact fire extinguisher meant for keeping in cars, was being promoted. May be a good idea to keep one in our car (and not just in the Captivas and Nanos )

[ashishmathur14]

Good that you applied good presence of mind to roll down the windows and come out of the car in time.

GM Captiva always looked a robust car to me but such incident and re-call news from GM tells another story.
I have really not heard or read about GM recalling cars from India, which is a sign that automobiles giants still take india for granted and a place to dump products.

I would suggest you should just sue GM and get your deal done.

[vc.vinay]

Dear Ranjan

first of all I would like to congratulate you that you escaped this accident, I had a captiva ltz in which I was facing the same issue of overheating, I managed to sell it out and got rid of the vehicle . I know internally in GM there is a huge fuss about recall of captiva and they are just trying to muffle the issue.

[Fiatanic]

Here is the latest recall by General motors due to fire risks.

Quoting from the article-

"DETROIT – General Motors is recalling 221,558 Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala sedans because the brake pads can stay partially engaged even when they're not needed, increasing the risk of a fire.
The recall involves Cadillacs from the 2013-2015 model years and Impalas from the 2014 and 2015 model years. There are 205,309 vehicles affected in the U.S.; the rest of the vehicles are in Canada and elsewhere."

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/...ver-fire-risk/

[joybhowmik]

@OP
You mentioned you were looking for fellow Captiva owners who like you may be interested in filing a PIL to force GM to announce a recall to fix the issue.

What has been your progress and experience? Can you fill us in on the details

[Rk Ranjan]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

@OP
You mentioned you were looking for fellow Captiva owners who like you may be interested in filing a PIL to force GM to announce a recall to fix the issue.

What has been your progress and experience? Can you fill us in on the details

I have had a few Captiva owners reaching out to me, and i have been doing likewise, but progress is slow. ALL Captiva owners must realize that what they are driving themselves and their family in, poses a very real threat to their life. At least 4 Captiva owners have reached out to me from different parts of the country to inform they have faced engine overheating issues with their vehicle, though it has not caught fire yet! So, I don't think it is a matter to be taken lightly by those who are driving Captivas in the country, irrespective of the model and the year of make....

[Fiatanic]

"General motors victim compensation fund sees a steep increase as more casualties reported due to faulty parts"

http://archive.detroitnews.com/artic...claims-hit-131

[VineetG]

A brand new chevy beat, brought by a dealer for a sales drive to our office for one of my colleagues, caught fire and was totally consumed in flames in a matter of seconds.
My colleague and the dealer sales guy managed to get out in the nick of time. Fire started from the back of the car.
I had made a small video of the fire.

Link for youtube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-GnL96SdFQ

I was a GM-Opel customer, but it did not suffer from fire related incidents. But the overall quality/reliability was pathetic. Never a GM for me again.

Rgds

[Desi Dybuk]

As the numbers of cars sold in our country increases, expect to hear more of these stories in future. The car companies take Indians for granted because we also place no value in the life of an Indian.

Sounds harsh? Well, let me ask you. You hear about numerous recalls in US & Europe for models that are also sold here. How is it that only few recalls ever are conducted here by the same manufacturers? Or, is our Indian manufacturing so good that these safety issues don't occur?

The SIAM & other Industry bodies cry wolf about a government mandated safety recall mechanism & talk about Industry self-policing.

This issue OP has faced could happen to any of us. I know manufacturing mistakes happen & can't be avoided. However, when GM knew there were problems & conducted safety recalls in Western countries, why did GM India not do the same recalls here?

Our corrupt bureaucracy, lethargic justice system & the general disdain of Indians towards the lives of other Indians will ensure that issues like these won't be a one-off.

Sorry for the rant. Just had to get it out of my system.

[ortho_surgeon]

Nothing is more precious than your life and you are indeed fortunate to escape with your life.

I think you should take legal action against GM.

I was always captivated by a captiva, and had also checked out a used one. But now I no way getting it.

[nitinbose]

Thank goodness you'd escaped!

This is quite interesting - A captiva catches fire... Previously, a team-bhp-ian has posted about his Skoda Laura catching fire and prior to that there were Tata Nanos!

I feel there could be a common factor to all of these "fire" incidents.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Rk Ranjan

So, I don't think it is a matter to be taken lightly by those who are driving Captivas in the country, irrespective of the model and the year of make.

Hello Sir,

Any update on the case from GM? What is their opinion and reaction to this fire accident?

Anurag.

[Rk Ranjan]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Hello Sir,

Any update on the case from GM? What is their opinion and reaction to this fire accident?

Anurag.

Hi Anurag and my fellow forum-members

I have been asked quite often what GM's response has been.... Here, i am posting the verbatim copy of the email I received on 28th Aug, after a so-called "thorough" investigation of the burnt vehicle by their engineering team.
MAIL BEGINS...
Dear Mr. Ranjan Kumar,

This is with reference to your appended mail to our Managing Director regarding the thermal incidence in your vehicle Chevrolet Captiva.

In this regard, we understand that our Area office team has been in constant touch with you and that your vehicle has been inspected by our technical team.

Here, we would like to highlight that in a vehicle burnt to such an extent it is very difficult to ascertain the root cause or the actual origination of the incidence. But with whatever information and evidence was available for our teams to ascertain the cause of thermal incidence it seems to be a case of suspected fuel leakage which could not be attributed to a manufacturing defect in vehicle.

Further, we would like to inform that the technology, make-up and constitution of your vehicle is such that it is impossible for the vehicle to catch fire in such manner and circumstances as reported, unless and until supervening and extraneous factors have operated to cause the same.

In view of the above facts, we would request you to kindly take up the matter with the concerned insurance company.

Regards,
Shweta Ojha
Customer Assistance Center
Chevrolet Sales India, Gurgaon
*e-mail - gmi.cac@gm.com
www.chevrolet.co.in