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Camry fire hazard? / Camry's Catch Fire

32K views 44 replies 38 participants last post by  Old Mechanic 
#1 ·
Tonight my neighbor pulled out of her driveway and got about a block down the road before her car started to smoke.

She got out and turned it off, but it only got worse... we stayed away from it and called a fire truck... by the time they got there it there was a ton of black smoke and a lot of fire under the car...
It's a total write-off.

It seems weird that this would just happen for no reason...

Has anyone heard of a fire hazard recall, or anything like this happening?

She has a 1996 Toyota Camry (not sure if it's the 6cyl or 4cyl).

Let me know....
 
#4 · (Edited)
Honestly, this is why you need a fire extinguisher in your car. Preferably one that can tackle both chemical and electrical fires. It's not just for ricey looks.

Contrary to what you see in the movies, cars *rarely* blow up. Even if the fire reaches the gas tank, you'll just get a neat flame thrower effect. Ask any firefighter. Gasoline is not like C4.

So if the fire is not too hot as to be unbearable, you can still pop the hood and put it out before it gets too bad.

As for what started the fire...hell if I know. Those things don't just burst into flames for no good reason. The cars that are prone to fires are usually the ones that have some nasty defects. The Pontiac Fiero, for instance, had a poorly designed exhaust manifold placement and faulty rod bearings on the earlier models that could cause a fire in the engine bay.

It is possibly that some combustable materials got near something hot (like an exhaust manifold), but that would likely be more as the result of something not being maintained right or fixed wrong, rather than anything on Toyota's part. Toyota even warned GM about the issues with the Fiero, but GM ignored their pleas to do something about it.

Friggin' GM....I swear. Only Ford can manage to build a crappier car.

- John
 
#40 ·
Honestly, this is why you need a fire extinguisher in your car. Preferably one that can tackle both chemical and electrical fires. It's not just for ricey looks.

Contrary to what you see in the movies, cars rarely blow up. Even if the fire reaches the gas tank, you'll just get a neat flame thrower effect. Ask any firefighter. Gasoline is not like C4.

So if the fire is not too hot as to be unbearable, you can still pop the hood and put it out before it gets too bad.

As for what started the fire...hell if I know. Those things don't just burst into flames for no good reason. The cars that are prone to fires are usually the ones that have some nasty defects. The Pontiac Fiero, for instance, had a poorly designed exhaust manifold placement and faulty rod bearings on the earlier models that could cause a fire in the engine bay.

It is possibly that some combustable materials got near something hot (like an exhaust manifold), but that would likely be more as the result of something not being maintained right or fixed wrong, rather than anything on Toyota's part. Toyota even warned GM about the issues with the Fiero, but GM ignored their pleas to do something about it.

Friggin' GM....I swear. Only Ford can manage to build a crappier car.

- John
 
#6 ·
I have no idea why the Camry burned. I saw a car get hit from the side. The full gas tank leaked and ran down the gutter. No problem until it reached the local sheriff's flare. The gas hit that flare and flashed in an instant 50 feet in the air. People 1/2 mile away saw it and came to see what happened. Sorry, I'm no help but, I couldn't resist telling that story. Mr. duputy sheriff is still employed!
 
#9 ·
Kensuke said:

Contrary to what you see in the movies, cars *rarely* blow up. Even if the fire reaches the gas tank, you'll just get a neat flame thrower effect. Ask any firefighter. Gasoline is not like C4.

So if the fire is not too hot as to be unbearable, you can still pop the hood and put it out before it gets too bad.
- John
True. Gasoline only combusts, you need pressure to create an explosion.
 
#14 ·
On the topic of spontaniously combusting cars and bad design. You've heard of the Honda CRV (or something) where the oil squirts out from around the oil filter and on to the exhuast manifold. I don't know if they've even figured out why yet.
 
#18 ·
trypsix said:
On the topic of spontaniously combusting cars and bad design. You've heard of the Honda CRV (or something) where the oil squirts out from around the oil filter and on to the exhuast manifold. I don't know if they've even figured out why yet.
Thats just excess oil after an oil change. I believe they put in a shield of some sort to fix the problem.
 
#19 ·
Sounds like there ma have been some kind of fluid leak and it got hot enough to iginite. If so that is one good reason to keep up with oil leaks and things like that. Exhaust parts get hot and can ignite oil based fluids. Which is almost every fluid in the car.
 
#23 ·
Well, I guess no one knows the answer to this problem. My 1999 Camry 4cycl. just caught fire this weekend and it appears the fire started at the starter (maybe the starter itself) and now nothing electrical works.
 
#25 ·
'91's and back had a problem in the doors. Think it was the electric door locks. Believe they changed the logic so power was normally off instead of on in the '92's. And mid-90's Corolla's had an unused connector under the driver's carpet which could short due to snow/slush from driver's shoes soaking carpet. Don't know of any other common problems.
 
#26 ·
crain said:
Well, I guess no one knows the answer to this problem. My 1999 Camry 4cycl. just caught fire this weekend and it appears the fire started at the starter (maybe the starter itself) and now nothing electrical works.
The fire probably burned some (or many) of your wires. Just hope and pray that the computer wasn't damaged :bowdown:

Another area to inspect is the fuse boxes in the engine (near the battery). If you find out what caused the blaze, let me know... since I have a 1999 Camry 4 cyl!

-Joel
 
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