My tC Had A FIRE!
Thread Starter
Member
SL Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 82
From: Los Angeles, CA
My tC Had A FIRE!
Looks like an electrical fire has ruined my tC. Here are some pictures on my website: http://www.jimallison.net
Today was not a good day for my tC. Last night I parked my car down the street from my apartment and went home to bed. I woke up this morning to run some errands and when I got to my car I noticed it wouldnt unlock with the remote. As I got closer I noticed the windows were all "fogged" up. When I unlocked the car with the key I was greeted by smoke and the smell of burnt plastic. The pictures will tell you the rest of the story. The fire department was unable to tell where it started but they said it was an electrical fire. Now my car is at the dealership and I will keep you guys posted on what they tell me. Hope this doesn't happen to anyone else and it was just a freak thing.
Today was not a good day for my tC. Last night I parked my car down the street from my apartment and went home to bed. I woke up this morning to run some errands and when I got to my car I noticed it wouldnt unlock with the remote. As I got closer I noticed the windows were all "fogged" up. When I unlocked the car with the key I was greeted by smoke and the smell of burnt plastic. The pictures will tell you the rest of the story. The fire department was unable to tell where it started but they said it was an electrical fire. Now my car is at the dealership and I will keep you guys posted on what they tell me. Hope this doesn't happen to anyone else and it was just a freak thing.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11
From: ' l | e N Y C e | l '
i think your tC dont like its owner 
im joking.. thank god at least you werent inside when it happened, be glad that you werent injured and the damages wasnt significant. could've been worst if the entire car got on fire or if it burned down property.. but thats absolutely a fricking freaky event.. how long have u had the car? did you do any electrical mods that might've malfunctioned?
from your pics, it looks like it started burning from your gauge cluster down. seems like theres alot of damage to the left side of the dash interior.. i think the repairs should be completely covered under warranty if not your insurance will kick in. good luck man.
Member
SL Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 51
From: Los Angeles
Definitely keep us all posted! I remember smelling the odor of overheated electrical parts the first few days of driving, but it's gone away now. I just figured it was new parts getting used to being used.... maybe not. Sucks for your car, but I'm sure THAT kind of thing is under warranty!
Thread Starter
Member
SL Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 82
From: Los Angeles, CA
I didn't have anything aftermarket in the car. Just the dealer installed under dash lighting. The entire car is coated in soot and gross residue. Most of the steering column, gauges and some of the center stack is melted. I couldn't get the door on the stereo to open but i am guessing thats a melted pile of goo also. It got so hot in there it melted the chrome right off the door handles.
Honestly if they do think they can fix it I'll be amazed. I already filed the claim with my insurance so we will see what happens. I'm just glad I wasn't in the car and like I said before I hope this doesnt happen to anyone else.
The tC is an awesome car...I cried today when I saw it. Nothing like a melted car to make a grown man cry.
Honestly if they do think they can fix it I'll be amazed. I already filed the claim with my insurance so we will see what happens. I'm just glad I wasn't in the car and like I said before I hope this doesnt happen to anyone else.
The tC is an awesome car...I cried today when I saw it. Nothing like a melted car to make a grown man cry.
Member
SL Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 61
From: Everett, WA
MAN I'M SOOO SORRY FOR YOU. Being a fellow TC owner I could only imagine what emotional pain you went through when you saw that. But as I looked over your pics, it seems as though maybe you had a faulty underlighting thing. At least that's all that I could think of. Seems pretty rational I think. Well keep us posted on what you find out. Good Luck.
Senior Member
Team Sushi
SL Member
Team N.V.S.
Scion Evolution
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,320
From: Bangkok, Thailand
That's an odd place for a fire to start, being that most of the power is cut off when the ignition is off. . . and most of the wires back there are pretty thin, so I'd imagine the fuses blowing before a fire were to start. . . but I don't know much about car fires either!
