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2000 SUBARU LEGACY — STRUCTURE:BODY

fire1 injured · 1026191 · 2013-12-10

Vehicle

Make
SUBARU
Model
LEGACY
Year
2000
Manufacturer
Subaru of America, Inc.
Component
STRUCTURE:BODY
Miles at failure
225,000
Speed
50 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

DRIVING TO WORK CAR RUNNING FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 MIN. THE WINDOW CONTROL SWITCH INSIDE THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR SMOKED AND QUICKLY CAUGHT FIRE. I IMMEDIATELY SLOWED DOWN AND PULLED OVER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND TURNED OFF THE CARD. I OPENED THE DOOR AND STEPPED OUT. WITHIN A FEW SECONDS THE PANEL ON THE CAR DOOR ALSO CAUGHT FIRE AND STARTING MELTING. I HAD BEACH TOWEL IN THE BACK OF THE CAR, AND TRIED TO SMOTHER THE FIRE WITH THE TOWEL, BUT QUICKLY DECIDED THE FIRE WAS TOO LARGE, GROWING TOO QUICKLY AND WAS ACTUALLY INSIDE THE DOOR. I GAVE UP ON THE TOWEL, AND IN LAST DITCH EFFORT TO THE SAVE THE CAR I GRABBED, AND TORE OFF THE PLASTIC DOOR PANEL AND THREW IT TO GROUND. SOME OF THE MELTED PLASTIC FROM THE DOOR PANEL DID GET ON MY HANDS, AND I RECEIVED SEVERAL BURNS TO MY FINGERS THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. I WAS THEN ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE REMAINING FIRE. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY AT A BODY SHOP FOR REPAIR. THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR APPEARS TO BE LIMITED TO THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10555457
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown