I thought I would ask it here in the regional forums and see what you guys thought. My friend's car recently caught on fire and the fire department was called in to take care of the issue . Basically, they were driving very short distances and between stops they saw smoke. Thinking that the car had overheated, they opened the hood only to find flames came out instead steam.
Fire department and tow truck guy think it's electrical. Friend and family stated the fire was coming from the passenger side of the car.

Here is a picture of the car:


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05' TXS. Any input would be appreciated.

 

there is no way to tell how much damage there is with out looking at the car in person. its obvious that all the electrical stuff is burnt, but lots of other smalls parts will add up to even more, like PS hose, Valve Cover, repaint the hood, windshield cowl, fuse box, more than likely it also affected the ecu and what not.

 

okey mr know ever thing lol

 

says the guy who called me to ask how to change a spare....

 

doesnt look that bad to me......isnt that what insurance is for?

 

Alright girls(nauman and paul) stop fighting... Lol

 

All I can say is this. Depending on mileage and so on they might total it out. The damage might not look bad but I can tell you this...Cowl, Wiper arms, Harness, probably an engine if it got "overheated", and a few other stuff that I cant see in the picture...That shit isnt cheap and might turn out to be more than what the car is worth. If you do the work yourself and source out the parts it might be cheaper if you want to keep the car but I think it will probably be totaled out.

 

power steering hose?

 

That's what I thought but insurance said it was faulty wiring from the alternator. Plus, the car is still under Acura CPO warranty <62000. I figured Acura would like to take care of this but it seems like they aren't willing to. Acura customer care is useless and basically gave my friend the finger. So in the end, friend's insurance totaled the car and will be cutting him a check. Sucks, but I think this is the last time he and I will ever purchase another Acura. They look nice but could careless about you after the fact.

 

Wow I am suprised that they totaled it. It doesn't look like there is much damage. I can't believe that Acura would not have covered that under warranty. New cars like that shouldn't catch fire!!! It isn't a Ford Pinto!

 

That's bs for ACS to deny coverage. I'm glad your buddies insurance is taking care of him though. I would total it.. aside from replacing most accessory components under the hood including fuel and brake lines, wiring harness, etc.. think of the smoke damage and labor involved to fix it.

 

My buddies step dad had a brand new 07-08 TL that caught fire. He was driving and noticed smoke in the cabin. Pulled over and opened the door to get out. Flames started coming out under the dash when he stepped out. The whole front end of the car went up in flames.