← NHTSA complaints

2010 TOYOTA YARIS — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire1 injured · 1182542 · 2015-05-13

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
YARIS
Year
2010
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Miles at failure
58,290
Speed
10 mph

Severity

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

Narrative

I GOT IN MY CAR, STARTED THE ENGINE, IMMEDIATELY I STARTED SMELLING STRONG BURNING SMELL. THAN STARTED SEEING SMOKE FROM THE DRIVER DOOR. WITHIN FEW SECONDS I STARTED SEEING FLAMES. SINCE I WAS ALREADY ON THE ROAD, I COULDN'T JUST STOP THE CAR. THE FLAME GOT BIGGER AND BIGGER, IN THE CAR CABIN, IT WAS FILL WITH BURNING SMOKE. I TRIED TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, IT DIDN'T WANT TO WORK. I HAS A CUP OF COFFEE IN THE CAR, I POURED IT ON THE FLAME AND IT SUBSIDED A LITTLE. THAN THE FLAMED STARTED TO GET BIGGER AGAIN AND STARTED MELTING THE INTERIOR PANEL OF THE DOOR INCLUDING EVERYTHING AROUND THE INNER DOOR HANDLE. I PARKED AS SOON AS I WAS ABLE TO AND TOOK A CLOTH AND TRIED TO WRAP AROUND THE HANDLE TO OPEN THE DOOR, BUT COULDN'T. IT WAS TOO HOT AND FLAMES WERE BURNING. SO I CRAWLED OVER THE THE PASSENGER SEAT AND GOT OUT OF THE CAR. THEN WENT TO THE OUTSIDE OF DRIVER DOOR AND OPENED THE DOOR FROM OUTSIDE AND TOOK OFF MY SHIRT AND TRIED TO KILL THE FIRE. I WAS PARKED AT A PARKING LOT BEHIND A BUILDING AT A MALL. I REACHED OUT FOR HELP FROM THE MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL AT THE PARKING LOT. THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY TOOLS TO HELP ME DISENGAGED THE CABLES FROM THE BATTERY. FINALLY A LADY HAD A BOTTLE OF WATER THAT KIND OF EASED THE FLAME A LITTLE AND A MAN THAT WAS WALKING BY GOT A TOOL AND HELPED ME DIS-ENGAGE THE CABLE FROM BATTERY. THE INTERIOR PANEL OF THE DOOR IS MELTED INCLUDING THE WINDOW CONTROLS. THE WINDOW IS DARK FROM THE FLAME. THE WHOLE CAR SMELLS LIKE BURNT SM

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10716356
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown