Cars are made up of materials that deteriarate over time and undoubtedly cause problems no matter how small those problems are. It could be as small as a hole forming in one of the seats in your car or as big as your car bursting into flames and engulfing the entire vehicle. The latter may seem highly unlikely but you’ll be surprised to know it happens more often than you think.
Various car manufacturers have had to recall certain models in their range of vehicles due to parts causing them to catch fire. Imagine you’re driving home from work and all of a sudden you notice smoke coming from the dashboard of your car followed by flames.
This has been the case for a number of Opel Zafira owners in recent years. More than 1000 Zafiras have been reported to have caught fire in the UK and a massive recall of Zafiras has been made for the second time now. After some investigation it was found that there was a problem with the car’s heating and ventilation system.
Director of customer experience and corporate strategy, Peter Hope, said the first recorded case of a Zafira catching fire happened in January 2009, but the cause of the fire was unknown because there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest there was a fault with the car. Mr Hope went on to say that they noticed a pattern from 2014 onwards that was investigated with their engineers. The first recall happened in December 2015. No reason has been given as to why the manufacturer has taken so long to action a recall given the lengthy timeframe of the investigation.
Various car manufacturers have had to recall certain models in their range of vehicles due to parts causing them to catch fire. Imagine you’re driving home from work and all of a sudden you notice smoke coming from the dashboard of your car followed by flames.
This has been the case for a number of Opel Zafira owners in recent years. More than 1000 Zafiras have been reported to have caught fire in the UK and a massive recall of Zafiras has been made for the second time now. After some investigation it was found that there was a problem with the car’s heating and ventilation system.
Director of customer experience and corporate strategy, Peter Hope, said the first recorded case of a Zafira catching fire happened in January 2009, but the cause of the fire was unknown because there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest there was a fault with the car. Mr Hope went on to say that they noticed a pattern from 2014 onwards that was investigated with their engineers. The first recall happened in December 2015. No reason has been given as to why the manufacturer has taken so long to action a recall given the lengthy timeframe of the investigation.
However, this isn’t the first manufacturer to issue a recall. At the start of 2015 Kia had to recall 87 000 of their sedans due to a fault with the engine’s cooling fan. A piece of the fan was found to overheat and melt, which in turn would start a fire. Kia said there were no reported injuries or accidents as a result of the faulty cooling fan.
Toyota was also making recalls on vehicles because of a faulty fuel delivery pipe system. While there were no reports of vehicles catching fire, Toyota said the system could result in a leak which would result in a higher risk of the car catching fire. This fault was present in a total of 759 000 of their vehicles globally.
A man in Portland in the US was left stranded when his Mercedes C300 shut itself off and had to pull over. When he tried to restart the car he noticed smoke rising from the bonnet. Moments later he saw flames and further to that the sound of a small explosion. No one was hurt. Mercedes had recalled a number of their 2015 C300’s in April last year for a fuel delivery module that was improperly secured. This is believed to be the cause of the fire for this Portland motorist’s Mercedes.
Toyota was also making recalls on vehicles because of a faulty fuel delivery pipe system. While there were no reports of vehicles catching fire, Toyota said the system could result in a leak which would result in a higher risk of the car catching fire. This fault was present in a total of 759 000 of their vehicles globally.
A man in Portland in the US was left stranded when his Mercedes C300 shut itself off and had to pull over. When he tried to restart the car he noticed smoke rising from the bonnet. Moments later he saw flames and further to that the sound of a small explosion. No one was hurt. Mercedes had recalled a number of their 2015 C300’s in April last year for a fuel delivery module that was improperly secured. This is believed to be the cause of the fire for this Portland motorist’s Mercedes.
In October 2015 Mazda announced a recall of roughly 1.37 million cars manufactured in 1998 and earlier for a defect in their ignition switch. There was too much grease added to the inside of the switches and that grease would carbonize between the connection points over time, causing it to become conductive. This would result in it overheating and potentially causing a fire. Mazda hasn’t released figures on how many instances there have been with regards to fires but have said that there haven’t been any accidents or injuries as a result of the defect.
Chrysler had to recall an undisclosed number of 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokees for a problem with the wiring in the passenger side sun visor. A family had parked their Grand Cherokee before grabbing some lunch when the daughter noticed smoke coming out of the vehicle. This was one of nine recorded vehicles that had caught fire after the recall repair had been done on the wiring to the lightbulb in the visor.
There have even been incidents here in South Africa. In 2008 a motorist was stranded on the side of the M3 between Ladies Mile and the Tokai Road offramp in Cape Town when their BMW 1 series caught fire. BMW was said to have recalled all 1 series vehicles built before 12 June 2009 because of a fault with the fuel filter heater that could cause a fire in the vehicle.
Another instance involved a BMW 3 series which caught fire in October 2014. The car was traveling down Witkoppen road in Fourways Johannesburg when the owner had to pull over and watch the car go up in flames before fire fighters could respond.
Chrysler had to recall an undisclosed number of 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokees for a problem with the wiring in the passenger side sun visor. A family had parked their Grand Cherokee before grabbing some lunch when the daughter noticed smoke coming out of the vehicle. This was one of nine recorded vehicles that had caught fire after the recall repair had been done on the wiring to the lightbulb in the visor.
There have even been incidents here in South Africa. In 2008 a motorist was stranded on the side of the M3 between Ladies Mile and the Tokai Road offramp in Cape Town when their BMW 1 series caught fire. BMW was said to have recalled all 1 series vehicles built before 12 June 2009 because of a fault with the fuel filter heater that could cause a fire in the vehicle.
Another instance involved a BMW 3 series which caught fire in October 2014. The car was traveling down Witkoppen road in Fourways Johannesburg when the owner had to pull over and watch the car go up in flames before fire fighters could respond.
Even electric cars are catching fire with reports of a BMW i3 electric car which was given to the Romanian Police Force as part of a global marketing campaign. The fire happened in Salaria, Rome on Saturday 9 July 2016. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but there is speculation that the fire might have been a result of a problem with a range extender installed in the rear of the car.
As you can see, vehicles are at risk of catching fire for any number of reasons. You could be doing your grocery shopping and come back to your vehicle in flames. The chances of this happening aren’t incredibly high but the instances above are a warning that it can happen and it’s a good idea to be covered for fire damage. If you’re uncertain whether you have fire cover, call your car insurance company and check with them. If you aren’t happy with their answer or you feel like you need to change your car insurance then go to www.autocarinsurance.co.za and fill out your details. You’ll receive quotes from various car insurance companies in South Africa.
As you can see, vehicles are at risk of catching fire for any number of reasons. You could be doing your grocery shopping and come back to your vehicle in flames. The chances of this happening aren’t incredibly high but the instances above are a warning that it can happen and it’s a good idea to be covered for fire damage. If you’re uncertain whether you have fire cover, call your car insurance company and check with them. If you aren’t happy with their answer or you feel like you need to change your car insurance then go to www.autocarinsurance.co.za and fill out your details. You’ll receive quotes from various car insurance companies in South Africa.