2017 VW Tiguan R Line Electrical Fire Write Off

[Crasher]

We are going to have to get used to it, in the coming decades as modern high voltage cars age and get badly repaired, cars bursting into flames on your driveway is going to become a terrifying common experience and pouring water on a Lithium Ion battery is a really bad idea...

 

[boscher21]

We had a local car burn, but it was extinguished before the whole car went. Dash and wire harness damage, and smoke damage to interior.
Ended up a fight between insurance and VW, VW eventually took car in for analysis, said someone had replaced a fuse with a LOWER spec fuse that led to the fire. VW refused anything to do with it, and insurance company repudiated the claim based on VW's investigation. Poor guy was left paying off installments on a car he could not use. He said he did not have the money to get lawyers and experts involved to take on VW and risk losing.

never heard of a lower spec fuse causing a fire, but know of fires where a a fuse of to high a rating was used, was these cars petrol or diesel ?

 

[Belix]

No, that was why VWSA's whole argument was pathetic, a lower spec fuse would only pop earlier. Car is a diesel. A VW mechanic bought the car and rebuilt it over 4 years and got it driving again, he recons the fire started in the door control module.

 

[Crasher]

he recons the fire started in the door control module.

Now funny you should say that as I had this in the passenger front door of a Altea XL a few weeks ago; the owner said "smoke came out of the door lock"! It was a low milage four year old car and I think it was a manufacturing defect where the wire became trapped between the window regulator frame and the door inner shell. It didn't blow the fuse but shut the whole car down as it sent battery voltage up the CAN BUS wires which blew the CANBUS and body Control Modules; if it had happened when driving it could have been very nasty.