Dash destroyed in electrical fire.

[purpleminx]

First off, sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place.

I'm a new poster who's looking for some idea or advice on what happened to my own little 2006 Yaris. I figured the people here were the best to ask considering Toyota hasn't gotten back to me yet.

Long story short... On Thursday when I returned to a car park somebody told me my car was on fire. When the fire department got there they said that it was an electrical fire, and that they couldn't pinpoint what started it.

I KNOW that I left NOTHING in the car that could have done this, and I've NEVER installed anything in the car. All services have been done by Toyota. A friend suggested that a short circuit sparked, lit the synthetic carpet on fire which then set the dash alight.

The windshield shattered and the entire car is smoke damaged. I have a pretty wicked tint job going on right now.

If anyone here has seen this before, or heard of it before, or knows just exactly what Toyota will do considering it's still under warranty (and definitely a write off), I'd greatly appreciate their input.

Pics below.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/Perfect_Scars/30102008067.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/Perfect_Scars/30102008068.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/Perfect_Scars/30102008066.jpg

[Bob_VT]

Wow that sucks. That is the first one I have seen and the first electrical fire I have heard about in a Yaris (actually any toyota).

My suggestion is.......
clean out your cigarette butts.....
let the insurance company handle it and they will probably approach toyota about the warranty.....

[Bob_VT]

I can tell you that Toyota WILL NOT admit any fault or they would be responsible......

Did you EVER install any electrical items yourself?

[purpleminx]

The cigarette butts would never be blamed. They're all empty of any tobacco. I used to hold them out the window and twist them until the lit part fell out of the car.

I never installed anything in the car. From the sounds of it, Toyota already knows they're in deep. It got towed from the insurance company's assessment centre over to Toyota on Friday, and when we spoke to them we were told that after they saw it, they were instructed to lock it up, put it somewhere, and call in a bunch of engineers.

[andries]

Whow, that looks very bad

I hope for you that this can be made.

[cleong]

I sure hope you've not fitted voltage stabilizers or anything of that sort. Otherwise you haven't got a leg to stand on.

[Bob_VT]

Well..... this is going to sound terrible but I hope it was a toyota "fault" and you should be replaced free-of-charge. In the insurance industry there is a term..... substitution of collateral where you should end up with a new car if your current one is financed.

I have seen fire destroy chevrolets and fords too in the US

[purpleminx]

I haven't installed anything, added anything, changed anything, and all services were done by Toyota.

[purpleminx]

No lit cigarette butts were possible. Hadn't had a single one in the car that day. Just got in, drove to where we were going, went away from the car for 20 minutes, came back, windows were blacked out, and sirens were in the distance =/

[purpleminx]

It was a hot and sunny day, it always is, I live in Australia, lol. Nothing in the top compartment that was flammable. There were just some pieces of paper and my GPS unit.

[Bob_VT]

i wouldn't tell them you had a gps, they will blame it for the malfunction. was it a battery powered one or cigarette lighter one? it could be that the lithium ion battery malfunctioned or cooked with the high heat (its been reported before ) . so th miux of high temps , paper bits and a malfunctioning gps unit or its power adapter and you have your fire. but thats just a theory

It's probably melted in the glove box........:frown:

[purpleminx]

They'll know I had a GPS anyway, considering it's fused into the top storage compartment, relatively untouched. You can see that the charger was plugged in to the car at the time of the fire. It was also plugged in to the GPS which was sitting in the top storage compartment. If it had been a fault in the GPS it would have melted the cable, and the top storage compartment would have been a lot more messed up than it is.

So... nobody thinks that the theory I presented is plausible?

It started in the dash itself. Not in the storage compartments. Look at the two photos from different sides of the car, look at how far back it goes.

[Bob_VT]

They'll know I had a GPS anyway, considering it's fused into the top storage compartment, relatively untouched. You can see that the charger was plugged in to the car at the time of the fire. It was also plugged in to the GPS which was sitting in the top storage compartment. If it had been a fault in the GPS it would have melted the cable, and the top storage compartment would have been a lot more messed up than it is.

So... nobody thinks that the theory I presented is plausible?

It started in the dash itself. Not in the storage compartments. Look at the two photos from different sides of the car, look at how far back it goes.

What theory? You intitially said the carpet? :confused:

[purpleminx]

The theory is that a short circuit in the dash sparked, which lit the synthetic carpet that goes all the way from the floor up to underneath the dash. Then, in turn the carpet set the dash on fire.

Also, as I said previously. The fire department said that it was an electrical fire.

[TinyGiant]

lol if they total it see if you can pay the salvage fee and keep it and part the sucker out... usually if the ins totals the car you can buy it back for $50 bux.

[Phaeton]

Same thing happened to my wifes 91 camry.
We never did figure out what really caused it.

[CTScott]

They'll know I had a GPS anyway, considering it's fused into the top storage compartment, relatively untouched. You can see that the charger was plugged in to the car at the time of the fire. It was also plugged in to the GPS which was sitting in the top storage compartment. If it had been a fault in the GPS it would have melted the cable, and the top storage compartment would have been a lot more messed up than it is.

So... nobody thinks that the theory I presented is plausible?

It started in the dash itself. Not in the storage compartments. Look at the two photos from different sides of the car, look at how far back it goes.


I've done some analysis of this nature on some of our products that have had catastrophic failures in the field. If you weren't on the opposite side of the globe, I'd like to poke around under there. You would think that fuses would prevent this type of thing from happenning, but you'd be amazed at how little current it can take to set a small component ablaze.

Also, When I installed my remote start/ keyless entry unit in my car, I found a nice nick in one of the wires, with exposed copper. There is a mile of wiring in a modern car and a whole lot of sharp sheet metal (and humans dragging one over the other).

Having never seen a right-hand-drive Yaris in person, can someone describe what is different and the same under the dash. For example, is the fuse panel above the left front kick panel?

[tuckevalastin]

....

Or there was a problem with car's electrical systems that caused a fire, or am I looking too far into this?

[TheRealEnth]

i thought there was an airbag around that area?

[purpleminx]

Having never seen a right-hand-drive Yaris in person, can someone describe what is different and the same under the dash. For example, is the fuse panel above the left front kick panel?

Knowing nothing about cars, I'm going to assume that you're asking if the fuse box is on the left hand side under the dash, the answer is yes.

....

Or there was a problem with car's electrical systems that caused a fire, or am I looking too far into this?

That's what I'm thinking.

i thought there was an airbag around that area?

There is. It's lucky that the fire didn't get in there and get to the explosive chemicals in there. There are huge yellow stickers on the windows from the fire department saying not to reconnect the airbag and stay clear of the deployment area.


If you guys can see a little silver thing that looks like it has buttons that's visible a bit out of the top storage compartment on the left hand side, that's the GPS. If it was due to the charger being faulty I would also assume that the cable going from it up to the GPS would be melted? I'm not sure.

Thanks for all the brain storming and suggestions so far, I imagine that Toyota is going to take their time with this so I'm just trying to figure out myself what it was.

Even after all this though, my next car is going to be another Yaris!

[ddongbap]

Thats pretty gnarly.

[TinyGiant]

i'dmake them give you a loaded S for the hassle

[TinyGiant]

or get you an asian S model :)

[CKaelin]

You should try Chantix. Worked for me.. My Yaris still smells new!

http://www.chantix.com/images/n_chantix_logo.gif

Sorry that sucks!

[contraband831]

the silver round thing in the center side compartment, is that a flash light? maybe with the heat it exploded, (well the batteries exploded) my 2 cents.

[TinyGiant]

well they obviously weren't paying attention when they put your yaris together.. the steering wheel is on the wrong side :tongue:

[Sodium Duck]

You should try Chantix. Worked for me.. My Yaris still smells new!

http://www.chantix.com/images/n_chantix_logo.gif

Sorry that sucks!


The FDA and Pfizer have made statements that Chantix is linked to changes in mood, depression, agression, and suicidal ideations. I think it was May 18th they came out with that. I just recently saw one of those cheesy law/sue somebody commercials about it. Be careful!

However, I doubt that the cigarettes had anything to do with this -- as we can plainly see the butts in his ash tray (which is intact) not on fire/melted in any way.

[CKaelin]

The FDA and Pfizer have made statements that Chantix is linked to changes in mood, depression, agression, and suicidal ideations. I think it was May 18th they came out with that. I just recently saw one of those cheesy law/sue somebody commercials about it. Be careful!

However, I doubt that the cigarettes had anything to do with this -- as we can plainly see the butts in his ash tray (which is intact) not on fire/melted in any way.

Are you a smoker?

[*MAD DOG*]

No lit cigarette butts were possible. Hadn't had a single one in the car that day. Just got in, drove to where we were going, went away from the car for 20 minutes, came back, windows were blacked out, and sirens were in the distance =/

That is one messed up Yaris. Just a few questions, you say "...drove to where we were going..." To me that indicates that you had at least one other passenger in the car, right?

Do they smoke?

Could they have left something on the passenger side of the car?

What brightness setting did you have the speedo on?

It really is unusual for a Toyota to catch fire. I hope it all gets sorted out in your favor.

[TheRealEnth]

god damn, Mad dog is a detective =D

[*MAD DOG*]

god damn, Mad dog is a detective =D

Me, super slueth? It was captavise with the can of spam in the laundry! :biggrin:

[cleong]

If you're in Brisbane and the car has to go to the scrapyard, I'd be interested in buying the steering column off you. Australian Yarii steering wheels are adjustable for tilt and reach, aren't they?

[*MAD DOG*]

^
Only on the YRS and YRX model, the YR (base model) does not have adjustable reach.

[b_hickman11]

When was the last time you checked and replace your cabin air filter? Sometimes these can become so clogged up that it will cause the AC to overheat. Depending on what kind of trash is stuck to the filter, it could ignite from the over heating of the AC....Just a thought.

[contraband831]

It looks like the fire started here, so i will ask this again to the OP: is this a flashlight?? if so this could have caused the fire, the batteries where exposed to extreme heat. It looks like the fire traveled up form this point destroying your dash and gauge cluster.
10933

[Thirty-Nine]

Wow -- sorry to see your car caught fire. :sad:

[YarisSedan]

It looks like the fire started here, so i will ask this again to the OP: is this a flashlight?? if so this could have caused the fire, the batteries where exposed to extreme heat. It looks like the fire traveled up form this point destroying your dash and gauge cluster.
10933

I think you are right. I think there is a warning on most batterys do no leave in sun or prolong heat.

Atleast you were not inside the car driving while it caught on fire and no one was hurt.

Dealership is probally not going to try to accept blame on it so either way if you have full coverage insurance you are covered. Now you can get a 09 yaris =)

[stran]

Holy Smokes! (no pun intended ;))

If someone has time, they can look through the service manual and figure out what's actually behind the dash. If the ignition is off, most of the wires will not be live, so that would narrow down what could cause the fire.

I don't think the flashlight is a cause. Only lithium batteries will vent flames, and I really doubt that flashlight used lithiums. Alkaline batteries might explode and release hydrogen gas but won't start a fire.

Best of luck getting Toyota to cover the damage. Let us know what happens.

[purpleminx]

That is one messed up Yaris. Just a few questions, you say "...drove to where we were going..." To me that indicates that you had at least one other passenger in the car, right?

Do they smoke?

Could they have left something on the passenger side of the car?

What brightness setting did you have the speedo on?

It really is unusual for a Toyota to catch fire. I hope it all gets sorted out in your favor.

They smoke, but like I said, we didn't smoke in the car that day. I'm not sure if they left anything in the car, but if they did, and it's recognisably theirs, and I'm presented with it as being the cause.... God help me.

The brightness setting was on default.

If you're in Brisbane and the car has to go to the scrapyard, I'd be interested in buying the steering column off you. Australian Yarii steering wheels are adjustable for tilt and reach, aren't they?

I am in Brisbane, actually. The car is sitting in the Morningside Downtown Toyota Service Centre right now. Called them yesterday, apparantly it's caused quite the stir. It's definitely a write off, so I'll see what I want to do with the leftovers after all this is done.

It looks like the fire started here, so i will ask this again to the OP: is this a flashlight?? if so this could have caused the fire, the batteries where exposed to extreme heat. It looks like the fire traveled up form this point destroying your dash and gauge cluster.


The car wasn't exposed to prolonged or extreme heat. It was left sitting there for maybe 20 minutes max. While it was a moderately hot and sunny day, it was partially shaded by a tree, especially on the passenger side. I refuse to believe that it was the torch. If it was, that area of the car would have sustained so much more damage. The damage that is down there is basically just melted dash thats dripped onto the torch.

I think it had to have been something further up in the dash. Not the storage compartments, not down where the torch is. The heat had to have been extreme where the dash is melted away and the wires are all exposed. Look what it did to the windshield.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/Perfect_Scars/30102008074.jpg

The plastic is so tough that if you look closely at the pictures in my first post, you can see that the rear view mirror actually touches the drivers side floor now. I don't think a torch could start the kind of fire or heat necessary to light the dash on fire.

Then again, I admittedly, don't know that much about cars.


If someone has time, they can look through the service manual and figure out what's actually behind the dash. If the ignition is off, most of the wires will not be live, so that would narrow down what could cause the fire.


From the extent of the damage and the time that it would have taken to get like that, I'm assuming that the problem actually started towards the end of my journey, probably before I turned the car off and got out.

[stran]

Hmmm, thinking about this some more, there are two variables to measure flames: heat and temperature.

A large wood fire would have a lot of heat but low temperature. An acetylene torch would have very high temperatures but low heat. In order for a fire to start, the temperature of the flame must be above the ignition point of the fuel and there must be enough heat to raise the fuel to that temperature.

A cigarette butt would have temps up to 1300F. An electric spark, judging by its blue color, could have temperature well over 3000F. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire

Here is a good link to fire forensics. http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/article10.html Though the cigarette butt has the sufficient temperature to ignite plastic, I doubt it has enough heat. Electric sparks on the other hand, is powered by the battery, which as +100 watt*hr of power.

[Red Horse]

Maybe a Spontaneous Combustion..

http://science.howstuffworks.com/shc.htm/printable

[Bob_VT]

Okay...... here is an experiment that people will try but I will warn you in advance ...... this is usually accompanied with KIDS DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!!

Batteries are dangerous regardless of size.

Get a 9 volt battery and some fine steel wool....... grab a chunk of steel wool and fluff it up to about the size of a golfball. Now touch the steel wool with the 9 volt battery (you might want to wear gloves) and make contact with both + and - on the 9 volt. Near instant fire! Thin wires burn very easy and considering there is 12V in the dash and tin wires..... you get the picture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvDBtBUfk_I

Now go clean out the junk draw in the kitchen or workbench and make sure you do not have any old batteries stored near steel wool.

[cleong]

Actually this car looks like a repairable writeoff.

If Toyota won't cover this car, you might want to explore the possibility of locating a repairable writeoff donor in a wrecking yard yourself and grab as much of the interior as you can, because yours will be smoke damaged. With the exception of the top dash panel through which the passenger side airbag blows, the rest of the dash usually don't get damaged in an accident too badly. After removing the burnt stuff, it should be fairly easy to repair or replace what's you need.

And you definitely need a new window. By the way, what trim is your car, YR, YRS or YRX?

Good luck. I spent quite a bit of time crawling through wrecked cars looking for parts myself. If nothing else usually you can come away with a pocketful of automotive fuses.

[Stargate YARlantIS]

Was there any aftermarket sound system?? maybe faulty wiring?

[purpleminx]

Actually this car looks like a repairable writeoff.

If Toyota won't cover this car, you might want to explore the possibility of locating a repairable writeoff donor in a wrecking yard yourself and grab as much of the interior as you can, because yours will be smoke damaged. With the exception of the top dash panel through which the passenger side airbag blows, the rest of the dash usually don't get damaged in an accident too badly. After removing the burnt stuff, it should be fairly easy to repair or replace what's you need.

And you definitely need a new window. By the way, what trim is your car, YR, YRS or YRX?

Good luck. I spent quite a bit of time crawling through wrecked cars looking for parts myself. If nothing else usually you can come away with a pocketful of automotive fuses.

It's insured, so even if Toyota doesn't take the blame, my insurance company will replace it. They're the ones who told me to get Toyota to tow it over to their workshop, actually.

My car was a YR.

Was there any aftermarket sound system?? maybe faulty wiring?

No, all Toyota. Like I said, I never installed anything, never changed anything, and all services were done by Toyota.

[PetersRedYaris]

lol if they total it see if you can pay the salvage fee and keep it and part the sucker out... usually if the ins totals the car you can buy it back for $50 bux.

Seriously? Where in God's name did you hear this? Salvaged cars go to auctions where they are sold to the highest bidder, unless the insurance company has it on a call (basically a reserve that wasn't met). I've seen vehicles sell anywhere between $25 and $25,000+.

Insurance companies are in the business of making money, or saving money. What will cost them less money? Fixing your wrecked car, or buying it from you and selling it at auction to repay some of the cost? The option that costs them less money is what they will do.

They don't simple sell them back at $25 a pop...

[rob323]

I was bidding on a repairable write off Echo which had fresh water flood damage up to windscreen height (therefore engine and ecu stuffed, body work perfect), I stopped bidding at a grand, it went for almost $4000 to a wrecker.

[b_hickman11]

did you have a cabin air filter????

[ozmdd]

I have to seriously contest the flashlight battery theory. A couple of problems: there should be soot/melting directly above the flashlight, and the tray itself should have melted substantially; the flashlight should show significant damage, yet appears basically unscathed. Also, that flashlight appears to be one of the aluminum screw-together type, which would be at least semi-waterproof. It would need to burst somewhere at its seams or at the lens, which also doesn't appear to have happened. Finally, alkaline batteries are safe at temperatures of 180 degrees Farenheit plus, and it would be tough to produce that even here in Dallas in August.

Anecdotally, I have kept a mini maglight and a 6V lantern in my car/trunk for most of the past 20 years in Texas, including in a black CRV, and never had the slightest hint of heat damage/leakage/combustion. Also, my brother used a maglight in Afghanistan and Iraq, where temperatures routinely exceeded 120 degrees farenheit AIR temp. No idea what that translates to inside a dark-colored, armored and sealed HumVee sitting in the sun all day, but no flashlights exploded.
One other thing: I don;t know about Aussie Toyotas, but US Yarii have the 12V outlet wired to the ignition, so no power would flow to the GPS when the key was out.

[darthbauer]

Did you have a car charger for your mobile phone in there?

I remember one time with my old Accord that it got so hot it sparked. I unplugged it and never used it in the car again.

[rob323]

One other thing: I don;t know about Aussie Toyotas, but US Yarii have the 12V outlet wired to the ignition, so no power would flow to the GPS when the key was out.

That is the case in Australia as well.

[auxmike]

Did the flashlight use Lithium batteries?
I have a small Streamlight Scorpion in my glovebox right now. I left it on while it was standing upright on it's lens on a table, the lens started to melt! Those lights run HOT. After seeing this, I'm removing my Scorp from the car in the morning.....:frown:

[SilverBack]

Damn that sucks! Sorry to hear about it.

Noticed that there was a cell phone charger plugged in. Did you leave your phone hooked up to it? Ask because the back of my phone gets kinda hot when it's been charging for an hour or so. Just a possibility...

[purpleminx]

Did the flashlight use Lithium batteries?

No, and it was nothing to do with the flashlight.

Did you leave your phone hooked up to it? Ask because the back of my phone gets kinda hot when it's been charging for an hour or so. Just a possibility...

No, and it didn't have power going through the cable anyway, considering I was not in the car, so the keys weren't either ;)


Very close right now to finding the cause. Will definitely post their answers.

[SilverBack]

Hmm, that's a stumper...

[deadworld]

batteries exploding will just corrode not cause fire unless it corrodes smtg to start fire

[purpleminx]

For anyone who wanted to know, I heard back from Toyota yesterday. What they told me was along the lines of, "Toyota is not at fault, but we don't know what is" so I asked them if they had ripped the dash apart to take a look inside. The answer was no.

Apparantly all they did was look at it, look at the fuse box, and decide they had nothing to do with it. They said if I wanted more than that, I'd have to talk my insurance company, which is nonsensical. It's as if they don't want to prove that it was them, they want someone else to do it.

The insurance company has taken the car back to its assessment centre. They're not happy. They're calling in an electrician and an engineer. The saga continues!

[CTScott]

For anyone who wanted to know, I heard back from Toyota yesterday. What they told me was along the lines of, "Toyota is not at fault, but we don't know what is" so I asked them if they had ripped the dash apart to take a look inside. The answer was no.

Apparantly all they did was look at it, look at the fuse box, and decide they had nothing to do with it. They said if I wanted more than that, I'd have to talk my insurance company, which is nonsensical. It's as if they don't want to prove that it was them, they want someone else to do it.

The insurance company has taken the car back to its assessment centre. They're not happy. They're calling in an electrician and an engineer. The saga continues!


From my experience with analyzing catastrophic electrical failures on machinery, the origin is typically where the maximum amount of charring (or complete combustion of combustible material) has occurred. In your case it looks like that point is the area completely devoid of plastic, directly left of the radio volume knob by approximately 15cm.

I still want to see what is under that part of the dash on the "down under" Yaris. Can someone else from Australia snap some pictures up under the dash (Lay on the floor and snap a few up in the area mentioned above)?

[nsmitchell]

Were you listening to an AC/DC music, or maybe Judas Priest?

[Bob_VT]

I know that alot of us are interested in this topic. Thanks for the update.

[floydisrock]

For anyone who wanted to know, I heard back from Toyota yesterday. What they told me was along the lines of, "Toyota is not at fault, but we don't know what is" so I asked them if they had ripped the dash apart to take a look inside. The answer was no.

Apparantly all they did was look at it, look at the fuse box, and decide they had nothing to do with it. They said if I wanted more than that, I'd have to talk my insurance company, which is nonsensical. It's as if they don't want to prove that it was them, they want someone else to do it.

The insurance company has taken the car back to its assessment centre. They're not happy. They're calling in an electrician and an engineer. The saga continues!

Care to share who your insurance company is?

[purpleminx]

Care to share who your insurance company is?

AAMI

[Mordarvia]

Cigarettes in the ashtray. I know they may be out and had nothing to do with the fire. but as soon as the dealership see's that. Your automatically at fault in there eyes. I'm a smoker man I know how it feels. But I don't smoke in the car thats just gross :). Same thing lets say your house goes up in flames because your stove was screwed. If the insurance company finds out your a smoker its a 10X more hassle getting cash from them. Just reality

[ddongbap]

Cigarettes in the ashtray. I know they may be out and had nothing to do with the fire. but as soon as the dealership see's that. Your automatically at fault in there eyes. I'm a smoker man I know how it feels. But I don't smoke in the car thats just gross :). Same thing lets say your house goes up in flames because your stove was screwed. If the insurance company finds out your a smoker its a 10X more hassle getting cash from them. Just reality
An electrical fire is totally different than a non-electrical fire.

[SilverBack]

First off, sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place.

I'm a new poster who's looking for some idea or advice on what happened to my own little 2006 Yaris. I figured the people here were the best to ask considering Toyota hasn't gotten back to me yet.

Long story short... On Thursday when I returned to a car park somebody told me my car was on fire. When the fire department got there they said that it was an electrical fire, and that they couldn't pinpoint what started it.

I KNOW that I left NOTHING in the car that could have done this, and I've NEVER installed anything in the car. All services have been done by Toyota. A friend suggested that a short circuit sparked, lit the synthetic carpet on fire which then set the dash alight.

The windshield shattered and the entire car is smoke damaged. I have a pretty wicked tint job going on right now.

If anyone here has seen this before, or heard of it before, or knows just exactly what Toyota will do considering it's still under warranty (and definitely a write off), I'd greatly appreciate their input.

Any news yet of what caused it?

[firemachine69]

Take the dealership to court. Shouldn't be too hard of a sell to win your case.

[b_hickman11]

probably your cabin air filter clogged up.....

[firemachine69]

Did the flashlight use Lithium batteries?
I have a small Streamlight Scorpion in my glovebox right now. I left it on while it was standing upright on it's lens on a table, the lens started to melt! Those lights run HOT. After seeing this, I'm removing my Scorp from the car in the morning.....:frown:

I'd check to see that your Scorp is legit. IIRC, they have a glass lense.

[auxmike]

About the Streamlight;
The lens appears to be a clear plastic of some sort. I bought it from Texas Tactical Supply, it's the real deal. Nice torch, but it eats through Li batts. like crazy....:confused:
After reading this thread, I went right to the glovebox and removed it from the YARIS.:eyebulge:
I'll be using an LED MiniMag from now on.

[rob323]

Purpleminx, any updates on whether the cause of the fire was pinpointed yet?

[YarisSedan]

About the Streamlight;
The lens appears to be a clear plastic of some sort. I bought it from Texas Tactical Supply, it's the real deal. Nice torch, but it eats through Li batts. like crazy....:confused:
After reading this thread, I went right to the glovebox and removed it from the YARIS.:eyebulge:
I'll be using an LED MiniMag from now on.

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/cosll7742.html

I am a mechanic and keep this on my belt every day. Lasts about 2 weeks before i needs to be charged. Keep in mind it has daily use sometimes for a hour at a time. And have had it for a year so far. Battery hasnt really got weak yet. And its insanely bright. Its dropped on the floor multiple times and got run over by a car too =).

[TinyGiant]

I'm a smoker man I know how it feels. But I don't smoke in the car thats just gross :).


lol and smoking in general isnt? :barf::tongue:

[Shroomster]

I want an update purpleminx

[kou]

i say it was the gps in glove box on the daash,at least thats what it looks like from the pics he posted.

[mr9865]

and they story just ends?

[*MAD DOG*]

and they story just ends?

Apparently everyone lived happily ever after.

[1NZYaris1]

:laughabove: :bellyroll: apart from the poor yaris :thumbdown:

[IllusionX]

Apparently everyone lived happily ever after.

such classic ending :)

[YarYarBinks]

looks like your air bag short circuited and lit on fire.

[doublewam]

This is obviously the result of the car reacting to an employee of either Edmunds or Consumer Reports that walked by the car in the parking lot. The poor little thing just blew its top!