MDX Caught Fire While Parked
 

Hi,

I recently returned home from work, parked the car and a few minutes later noticed that it was on fire. Thought I would share this experience and see if anyone else has had any "spontaneous combustion" issues...

Wow! Sorry to see/hear. Hopefully everything works out with your insurance and this isn't going to become an epidemic!!

:what:

in these events, it's some kind of combustible liquid that leaked onto a hot catalytic converter.

Most likely power steering fluid
The MDX is still using the J-series engine and I believe the power steering hose still goes over the rear of the engine.

it does look like from the pictures the hottest part of the fire is on the passenger side.
exactly where the power steering hoses are located

Unfortunately - yes.

Yikes!!

Let Acura know. As in, the district manager and corporate!

Damn!! A recall coming soon.

OMG that's horrible, I'm glad no one was hurt. As someone else said please inform Acura of this if you haven't already done so..

Then again check with your insurance company because they may contact Acura themselves.

Good luck..

The 3G MDX is now using the "Electrical Power Steering" (EPS), and not the hydraulic power steering.

thanks for correcting my info!


I still say a flammable liquid

I am glad you are ok and it happen parked outside instead of with the family in the car.

That is one hell of fire. It really looks like a fuel leak with flames that big?

Also glad you didn't happen to park it in your garage.

Omg!!!
 

WOW, unbelievable... I park my MDX, 2015, in my garage every night... What year MDX? How Many Miles? Any maintenance done on the car recently, Oil Change?? How many miles on the car? Was it HOT outside that day? Answering these questions may help all of us and yourself..

All 3g MDX owners should not park their MDX in garage...

This is a serious safety problem. Please file a complaint with NHTSA so if this is common they can do a recall and save lives.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/Vehicl...nt/index.xhtml

thanks.

Shoot! I just put in the deposit for 2015 MDX getting delivery Monday. :(

I keep coming back to this thread because I find this un-freaking believable...

Electronic issues, mechanical issues, body fitment issues etc... are one thing. But this is on a whole different level

OP - You're very lucky!!!

It's a 2014 MDX (in Ontario, Canada), 11 months old, less than 15,000km (less than 10,000 miles).
The car was barely warm when I parked since I drove it on a five minute errand.
The car is well-maintained and cared for. All service done at dealer. I have had zero issues with the car and there were no warning lights or hints of a problem.
The only reason the car was parked on the street is that our other car and our boat (just pulled out of the water for the season) were taking up the driveway. Had I parked on the driveway I would have lost both cars. If I had parked in the garage I would have lost half the house. (I left my phone in the house when we ran outside, so I only have the one picture with the actual fire - the fire was quite a bit bigger at its peak with a very large smoke plume. The front tires both exploded due to the heat, etc.)



The service manager at my dealership has been proactive in gathering information and relaying it to Acura.


I would not worry. I believe (hope) that this is an isolated freak accident. We absolutely love the MDX. (It was my fifth Acura and 2nd MDX.) It is very likely that the replacement car will be an identical 2015 MDX.

Other things to think about!
 

Gas Vs. Oil
 

[QUOTE=RSLTSX09XMNAVWX;15184789]OK, so I was thinking about this as others probably have as well.. I think we have to also consider a few other things here.... I did some research on line and have this to add...

• A piece of paper or other flammable material was driven over and sucked up onto a hot surface
• You drove over a sharp item that was thrown up into the engine compartment and severed a hose or other item
• Something under the hood had been previously been damaged and it took a while for it to get to a point where it broke or leaked?

So I am not saying that this is not a serious DEFECT with the cars we all own, this is the same engine used in a lot of Honda Accords, but their are differences in particular those with the SH-AWD Transmission, what is under the hood is different... Also this seems to be up in Canada so it seems you have gone through one winter and that adds complexity to the root cause... So is it a defect we all face or was this something caused by external forces, we may never know... I am glad you and you other cars, house and family are all OK..[/COLOR

I wanted to add a few more things... I was listening to Car Talk on PBS just last week, and they both agreed that leaking OIL will more likely cause a fire than leaking Gasoline.. Not sure when the oil was last changed on your car? And was the dipstick securely placed back in? Overfilling oil and the dipstick combo could have caused oil to flow back up the oil measuring tube? Again all speculation on my part.... I just did a full top and bottom inspection of my 2015 SH-AWD-Advanced, 2300 mile MDX. I used my Surefire Flashlight to look at everything and did not observe anything that looked suspicious. I would recommend for piece of mind to do the same to your MDX...

More than likely this could be a one time failed part, service tech forgot to put something back during last service, and/or dumb luck with a lot thing going wrong to cause a fire. I don't know how similar the 3.5L is in the rest of the Acura/Honda line up. That would probable be +2 million 3.5L worldwide (depending if the problem is or isn't related to DI or EFI).

You don't get a lot of hits on Honda or Acura engine fires on the web except from 03-07 accord V-6 and 07-08 TL with power steering hose leak that caused a fire on one vehicle. I even did the recall on my 06 TSX around the same time for the same hose.

Whoa! Glad your're okay. Probably a part failure or leak.

I noticed your MDX is white with what looks to be black interior. Is this a Canadian model?

Nevermind you mentioned it in a later post.:ugh:

Hope they compensate you with a new car replacement and not a "market value" replacement since it wasn't your fault the car burned up.

I always debated about keeping a fire extinguisher in my vehicles if I or saw someone on the road with this problem. I think I will purchase one just in case for the garage. I think a class B or C extinguisher will work for a car without damaging other components in the engine bay when used.

You will be in good company with engine bay fires with the NSX at the Nurburgring for testing:

Attachment 47048
Attachment 47049

You can probably just buff that out...

Glad that you and your family were unharmed.

Ouch.. that hurts to look at! Glad no one got hurt.

Wow, this is crazy and I'm glad no one got hurt. Acura must do something here before it is too late. This makes me not wanna park my 2015 MDX TECH SHAWD in the garage anymore. My family safety is 1st, beside that auto/home insurances will be covered.

Yeah I'm sure Acura/Honda is going to look into this. Wouldn't be surprised if Acura contacts the OP to get more info.

I bet Acura people reads this forum. :D

Check this out from 2012: http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/20...re-risk/]Honda Recalls Pilot, MDX SUVs for Fire Risk - Driver's Seat - WSJ

Try This Link,,,

Driver's Seat - Search Results

^^^^^

Very likely unrelated.

Because that suspected-leaky "Vent Shut Float Valve" is located at the fuel tank, and if leaking fuel does catch fire, the fire will be starting at the rear-passenger/trunk location.

But the OP's MDX has the fire started in the engine compartment.

WOW OP I'm glad you and your family are ok and thank God for your boat taking up the driveway hahaha

Wow that's really messed up. I hope they're able to find a cause and when they do it was just your own MDX's mess up and not 50K+ or however many they've sold so far. Honda puts a J35 in everything now days so lets hope it's not a J series issue.

:what: Sorry about your new MDX OP. I'm glad to see no one was harmed. Glad your home wasn't involved as well. Hoping this was a freak incident with the MDX.

WOW - so glad you're safe. That's a lot of leaves around the car

Can't wait to hear what the cause was - we have a 2010 MDX and plan on trading in for a 3G in a few years

Any update on cause?

No update yet. The insurance company told me that they would hire an engineering firm that specializes in investigating home & car fires. I am not sure if the insurance company would share their findings with me (assuming they can find a cause).

I would like to thank you all for the concern that you have expressed - the main thing is that nobody was hurt. The car will be replaced. I have done more car shopping in the last week than in the last 16 years... I have always gone directly back to Acura to buy my next vehicle - this MDX was Acura number five. There is a good chance that my next vehicle will be a TLX or another MDX (Maybe I will get a black one this time and call it "Smokey").

I would not recommend an Acura to anyone. My brother and I both bought an MDX at the same time. He bought a 2014 and I got a 2015. He lives in MN and I live in FL. We both have our share of issues, although he has had a lot more then me. I've owned an Acura before, a 2005 RL, which I thought was a great car. The new MDX is a different story. I can't wait to get rid of it!

Have you notified the local Acura dealership? Maybe they might want to be in the loop to help determine the cause of the problem. They might also give you a loaner until you decide what to do until the issue is resolved. A sh-awd sport hybrid RLX loaner might be the way to go until you decide on a replacement.:wish: