Well that was an interesting morning... April 08, 2015, 01:50:55 PM Some of you have already seen this on Facebook. I woke up to go to work this morning. There was a heavy frost on the car, so I went out and started it to let it run while I came back in to make my lunch for work. When I had done that I went back out and opened the driver's door and washiznit with a wall of smoke. I reached in and shut it off but could see flaming plastic dripping down from the passenger's side dash onto the floor. I closed the door, went back into the house, called 911, and got the dog on her leash to take her outside. The dog and I stood in the garage and watched it burn while waiting for the fire trucks.Thankfully there was no damage to the house. The car was parked about 10 feet away. This was a miracle, because any other night it would have been parked right next to the house, but I'd moved it last night to plow the 6" of snow we got yesterday. As much as I hated that snow yesterday, it might just have saved my house... Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #1 – April 08, 2015, 01:52:58 PM The car is a total loss: Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #2 – April 08, 2015, 02:00:04 PM Sorry to see this Carmen. At least you or your family wasn't in it and the house was spared. Hopefully insurance will cover your loss.Rick Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #3 – April 08, 2015, 02:04:21 PM I had been having intermittent problems with the car for a few weeks. I hadn't driven it at all in January, February and most of March because the weather's been so bad. When I finally did start driving it again the first day out it cut out on the highway and I could smell smoke. It only lasted a few seconds and the car started acting normally again. I suspected the alternator was seizing up (as it's known to do on Hyundais), but when I got home and checked the belt it didn't look burnt. The next day I brought it to the Hyundai dealer, but they couldn't find anything (I was not upset at this - as a mechanic I know intermittent problems are difficult to find). A few days later I drove it to work and parked it in employee parking, and another employee came in and told me he could smell smoke by my car. I went out to check, but couldn't smell anything. A few days after that I was driving home and it was a fair day (by our standards), so I opened the driver's window to enjoy the balmy 40 degree weather. When I got to a higher speed section of road I went to put the window up and it wouldn't go up. I tried to turn the heat on, and the heater fan wouldn't work. When I got home after a very chilly ride I smacked the driver's door a bit and the window went up. The fan wouldn't work no matter what. I shut the car off, went inside for supper. Later I came back out with the intention of looking for mouse nests in the heater box, since the car had sat so long. Didn't find anything, but what I did find was that the fan was now working. I called the dealership but it was too late to make an appointment. The car worked fine for a few days after that.Last night on the way home the burning smell returned a few miles from home and stayed with the car all the way home. I looked the car over and couldn't see anything, and the car was working fine (all the accessories were working, etc). My intention was to bring the car to the dealership this morning and drop it off (the Hyundai dealership is right next door to the Honda dealership where I work). Unfortunately, as you can see in the posts above, I didn't quite get that far... Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #4 – April 08, 2015, 02:57:17 PM What were you saying about that car being boring?? Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #5 – April 08, 2015, 03:15:01 PM True, it provided some entertainment this morning. I think I aged five years watching that thing burn so close to the house and waiting for the explosion (that thankfully never came). I still don't think my heart rate has returned to normal... Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #6 – April 08, 2015, 03:20:19 PM That sucks. But I guess of all the ways to have a car fire, that's the best way. Nobody inside, at home (not stranded somewhere), nothing else burned. Looks like you have a security camera right above that car. You should save the video just in case, for insurance, etc. Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #7 – April 08, 2015, 03:30:16 PM Any idea what it was? The car was completely stock correct? Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #8 – April 08, 2015, 03:48:51 PM That sucks. Did this start under the hood or dash? Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #9 – April 08, 2015, 04:20:51 PM Quote from: thunderjet302;446902Any idea what it was? The car was completely stock correct?The car was completely stock except some aftermarket HID headlights, and the front part of the engine compartment is relatively intact, so those won't be blamed. I don't know what caused it, but since it started over where the blower motor is at, and the blower motor has been acting up, I can only guess that was the cause. Might have been rodents, too, where the car had been parked for a while. I've seen many rodent infestations working on customer cars - little s love to chew on wiring. Quote from: V8Demon;446905That sucks. Did this start under the hood or dash?It started under the dash. When I opened the door and saw smoke I reached in to turn it off, and as I did I could see burning plastic dripping from the dash on the passenger side. Quote from: CoogarXR;446900That sucks. But I guess of all the ways to have a car fire, that's the best way. Nobody inside, at home (not stranded somewhere), nothing else burned. Looks like you have a security camera right above that car. You should save the video just in case, for insurance, etc.The camera only catches the back end of the car (I already looked at the footage). The cars are usually parked further up the driveway, but the snow pile has forced me to park them a good 25 feet further down the driveway. Like I said, this could have been much worse - the car is usually parked right next to the house, and the truck in the further away spot. It was only because I had to plow yesterday that the car was parked further away - I moved it to plow the area it was parked, and didn't bother moving it back. And if it would have happened while driving to work, well... at least I'd have ended up on the news - I can only imagine the gridlock a burning car on the side of the notorious Magazine Hill would have caused, and it would have taken forever for the fire crew to arrive through that gridlock. The only thing that sucks about having it happen at home is now I've got a burned car in my driveway, and Lord knows how long it'll be before they drag it away. The insurance adjuster hasn't even been to look at it yet. Apparently insurance adjusters are crazy busy due to the weather we've had this year - lots of snow, lots of cars in the woods. I even had a hard time getting a rental because they're all rented out (finally did find me a Corolla) Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #10 – April 08, 2015, 05:30:25 PM rats :hick: Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #11 – April 09, 2015, 12:23:50 AM , a little too chilly for a BBQ..Sucks, but as mentioned thankfully the car was the only casualty. Reminds me...the last time i was at the salvage yard a few weeks ago, I saw a Dodge truck..newer one, probably 2008 or 2010 or so...there wasn't shiznit left of that crispy critter. There were naught but steel cords around the wheels, everything combustible was burnt away. Amazing how much of a vehicle is able to be burnt, once you see one that has been immolated. Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #12 – April 09, 2015, 10:04:01 AM that sucks! Glad your house is OK. Darn Hyundai's...is it Focus ST time? lol... Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #13 – April 09, 2015, 11:03:15 AM I saw this article about a 2013 Sonata that burned from the back seat suddenly- he quotes several others that had spontaneously-combusting Hyundais:http://tomthorneejournal.blogspot.com/2014/01/2013-hyundai-sonata-destroyed-by-fire.htmlJust looking at google, there are quite a few articles out there about various Hyundai models just catching fire while going down the road! Scary...Here's an '06, fire started under the hood, but the aftermath looks similar:http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2293584Another engine fire, looks like it was put out much sooner:http://www.carcomplaints.com/Hyundai/Sonata/2011/engine/engine_caught_fire.shtml Quote Selected
Well that was an interesting morning... Reply #14 – April 09, 2015, 12:46:59 PM My wife's parents have a 2012 Sonata. It has around 60K miles on it. Still hasn't started on fire :flame:. Quote Selected
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