Prius 2001 battery fire

[tochatihu]

The original post on this subject was in the Yahoo toyota-prius group, msg #89335. Today the LA Times covered it, as seen in Prius Online.

I mention it here not to spread FUD, but rather that all owners of 2001 to mid-2003 Prius are supposed to get the SSC 40G battery resealing. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please contact your toyota servicer with your VIN.

If you bought the car used and not sure of its history, open the driver's door and look for a small sticker saying "40G" above the curved black piece of metal that keeps the door from swinging open too wide. No sticker -> call Toyota with VIN.

At present there is no evidence of link between this unhappy event and the battery resealing, either way. But the 40G is free and is supposed to get done.

[kk6yb]

Here's a link to the article if you want to read it:

Is Toyota's make-good offer fair? By Ralph Vartabedian, LA Times Staff Writer

[jayma8]

hello, i came across this forum when i started researching why in the world my perfectly good 2001 Toyota Prius spontaneously caught fire.
The Prius had been parked in my driveway for 48hrs. At about midday my neighbor came to the door and told me my car was full of smoke.
I went out and heard crackling coming from the rear end. I opened the trunk and the back of the seat and all the carpet was flaming and melting.
We got the fire out before it progressed too far and the firefighters said the fire started where heat had melted a hole in the far right corner of the protective metal casing for the Prius Hybrid battery pack.
I should also say I'm in Australia. I phoned the dealership to tell them about the problem and they asked if they could come take photos.
Naturally i agreed and waited to hear back from them. They did not call, so I called and asked for their assessment they told me we would have to arrange for a tow at my expense and then they would get a very busy specialist to investigate the car in a few weeks or so.
The car was not fully insured. I did not receive any letters of any type from Toyota to bring my car in for service or recall.
I have attached photos on carspace in a similar forum.
Toyota Australia told me this was the first time this has ever happened. I informed them that my research identified other similar fires in the Prius.
Does anyone know who i can talk to for help or if Toyota is doing anything to rectify this situation and help their customers who have had their Prius spontaneously combust?

[bwilson4web]

Are these your photos?

Carspace.com - suzikn: Prius Battery Fire

The first photo is a classic example of a battery fire but it located in the battery control electronics area. The plate just below the hole appears to be the cover plate that the primary power leads, normally orange but apparently smoke and melt covered, come out.

Normally, the battery and control electronics are isolated from the case. So this is pure speculation but given the well melted, external vent on the right, I'm wondering if an insect managed to get in and complete a circuit. A centipede or millipede would be my guess although a small snake could also complete the circuit.

Speculation on my part but I suspect the short happened in the 19 modules on the control electronics side. The safety interlock is located there on the trunk side so half of the traction battery, quite enough, could have shorted on that side. Once the arc started, nothing will stop it.

You have my sympathy.

Bob Wilson

[jayman]

Of course, now that times are getting tougher, I wouldn't be surprised if some Prius owners look to get out of car payments by having a case of "spontaneous combustion" happen to their Prius

I should warn the lurkers that in the US and Canada, the local fire marshall is trained to look for evidence of accelerants, and tests can be performed on the remains to determine if accelerants were used to start the fire

There was a case of a Prius being burned, but the firebug in question was targeting a lot of vehicles, not just hybrids.

[JimboK]

Originally Posted by jayman

I should warn the lurkers that in the US and Canada, the local fire marshall is trained to look for evidence of accelerants, and tests can be performed on the remains to determine if accelerants were used to start the fire.

That is true, but the fire marshal may not be called to investigate. If the fire suppression crew doesn't suspect anything suspicious, they may not alert the fire marshal's office. Problem is, firefighters usually are not as well trained as fire investigators in determining origin and cause, so they often will make their best educated guess as to cause and leave it at that.

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by jayman

Of course, now that times are getting tougher, I wouldn't be surprised if some Prius owners look to get out of car payments by having a case of "spontaneous combustion" happen to their Prius

I should warn the lurkers that in the US and Canada, the local fire marshall is trained to look for evidence of accelerants, and tests can be performed on the remains to determine if accelerants were used to start the fire

There was a case of a Prius being burned, but the firebug in question was targeting a lot of vehicles, not just hybrids.

I could never hurt any of my cars


How often can we get a 40G my last one was in 05, can i request it?

[Ogo]

I see even see many non hybrid cars catching fire. And no, it was not arson. Many times electricals are the culprit. Even the 12 V battery can produce enough energy for combustion, hybrid battery with much higher voltages and amperages, of course even more. Most probably fire did not start in cells themselves, but in some surrounding electronics going belly up in short circuit type of way.

[tochatihu]

Jayma8, I only know of the '800 number' for Toyota in the US. There must be a similar one in Aistralia, and indeed you should be talking to them.

So you owned it since new and never had the HV battery resealed? This is certainly something you should dicuss with them, even though I am not suggesting that A corroded busbar is a known triger to these (thankfully rare) problems.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Sandy

...How often can we get a 40G my last one was in 05, can i request it?

SSC 40G is applicable to 2001-2003 Prius only. I do not believe that the intention was to perform this SSC more than once per affected vehicle.

Sorry to hear about jayma8's fire. You'll have to work with Toyota Australia to see whether financial help will be made available; however I suspect that not much assistance will be offered.