Dash destroyed in electrical fire.

[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.