Even though I said I was not going to be one standing on the side of the road watching my Vette burn, I was incredibly wrong. Here's what happened: I picked my C5 up at the shop and within 3 miles it was smoking and within less than 10 minutes the engine compartment was...well, you can see. Shop says it was electrical and was not their fault based on the work done to the car (oil change, new spark plugs and some interior work). Insurance is not willing to belly up to the bar on value of the car. I need to know what caused this fire and need to know if anyone in the Orlando has a cause and origin person who can tell me why my car did this. At about the 5 minute mark, I lost brakes, which made the whole experience that much more fun.
So any recommendations on a cause and origin professional would be appreciated.

 

Wow, that totally sucks! There are no real people specialized to perform a post mortem on a situation like this unless it's an engineer. If you're looking to put partial blame on the shop you will need to go in there with enrefutable proof they were the cause of this. Unless you had the hood open when it began you wouldn't be able to get a sense of where it started otherwise it's only a guess.

That being said the shop cannot say it was electrical based on the work they did because unless they have a crystal ball they don't know. Ferrari 430 for example can be prone to catch fire because of where the oil pressure hose lies next to a heat source, and if they rupture, well you get the idea.

Your best bet is to argue with the insurance company to pony up more money based on condition of the car and so on....good luck!

 

Terrible, but glad you got out ok!
Good luck with your insurance.

 

Thanks. Unfortunately others don't really care - it was a sweet ride (500 to the wheels) and I miss having the car.

 

I had a friend who was wiping down the engine compartment before a show and got distracted and closed the hood with a microfiber towel that fell on the headers. With in a few miles he had smoke coming from under the hood, he stopped and opened the hood and saw the flames, grabbed his fire extinguisher and put it out, only damage the the hood liner, fuel rail and fuel rail cover. That being said I wonder if while filling the oil after the oil change if the same thing didn't happen to the tech. I found this but know nothing about the company


Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.
277 Douglas Avenue, Suite 1008
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
Phone: 407-661-1245
Toll Free: 800-625-3060
Fax: 407-660-2277

 

It looks like the fire was especially intense at the battery area.
What a nightmare. Glad no one was hurt.

 

Twice, I've made mistakes on my and my GF's Mercedes that could have caused this.

First one, I put the O-ring on the C-280 oil filter unit (very different on a MB than a GM though) in the wrong place, which caused oil to leak out of the oil filter area. Fortunately it was on the front of the engine, and dripped directly down and did not contact anything hot. She drove it 30 miles to work, and I noticed the oil on the garage floor while she was gone. I drove down to her office and fixed my mistake, no issue.

Second one, on my E550, I changed the oil, and did not put my oil fill cap on correctly. It has two spades that hold into the top of the timing chain cover (DOHC) and I only had one spade inserted. As such, the rubber washer seal was not flat on the housing, and the timing chain spewed oil out of that gap, and it DID land on my exhaust manifolds. Once I noticed the problem 6 miles down the road, (smoke wisping out from under hood); I darted into the car wash and doused that side of the engine with water and mitigated what could have been a total loss.

I would venture a guess that they messed something up with the oil change, perhaps the oil filter O-ring. It could have likely burned up a brake line, as well.

...OR...

they physically damaged a brake line while they were replacing the oil filter OR spark plugs. I don't remember how close they are, but brake fluid can and will burn.

Regardless, the issue is with your insurance company.
Do you have all the work that was done to the car documented including price of parts and installation? That's going to be key to getting your proper value. The shop that just serviced it should have a documented ticket with date stamp on mileage.

 

The brakes going out before the fire may be a clue. Brake fluid spilling on to hot exhaust could start a fire. I doubt if you could prove positively whose fault it was.

 

youre right as I look at the pictures. The hood has a hole burnt through it above the battery, and everything looks much worse around there than on the other side.

 

Soooooo Glad I do ALL my own work !!!!! very sorry for your misfortune !!!!!

 

Your insurance carrier will evaluate the evidence of negligence by the shop and determine whether there was any and if so, take the necessary steps to recover their loss. Whether they do or not, you can still make a claim against the shop for anything you feel that you loss and was not compensated for. A friend of mine made a claim in small claims court for loss of value from an accident. The car was repaired and now had a history of an accident. He won his case in small claims court.
Hopefully you will reach a better value with your carrier.

 

Glad you're OK, that's most important. That being said if I was in your shoes I'd be mighty PO'd.

Hope there's another one in your future.

 

First off, I'm glad everyone was okay.
I would wager it was somehow the shops fault as it happened within 3 miles of the place and the Corvette was perfectly fine before they put their hands on it. But....it will be next to impossible to prove. Best wishes on your dealings with the insurance company. They can suck. That's why I got an agreed value policy on my 02 Corvette. I have it insured for waaaayyyyy more than what a regular insurance company would pay in the event of a total loss.

 

So how much does the insurance company want to give you?

 

You might try the instructors who teach fire protection at your local Community College. They might even take it on as a class project.

 

I like how they say the work they did couldn't have caused it. Thats total BS. I have seen in person arcing spark plugs/wires start an engine bay fire at work.

I'm leaning strongly towards the shop being at fault. If a plug wire was not quite connected all the way it could easily arc and possibly start a fire. Did they replace your wires too? If they didn't its very possible they damaged some of them pulling them off your plugs. DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT! Don't let them bully you! You're their customer. I'm telling you, PLEASE persue the shop on this because the more I think about it the more likely seems that an arcing wire caused this fire. Especially if say, some oil was spilled nearby.

 

Glad no one was hurt. Sad sight

 

Bummer, sorry for you're loss. In for the ending, let us know how this plays out

 

What does insurance company say caused it? As others have said if they feel shop did something wrong they would go after them to recover what they can.

I hope you can get some resolution, please let us know how it turns out. Glad you are safe.

 

That's grasping at straws...