My mini jcw set itself on fire, help!

Advice_hunter

My mini was parked outside my house (as stated on insurance) it was driven last at 7pm. I was woken up with a loud bang and flames coming from under the passenger side bonnet. Fire got so big the whole car was damaged with pretty much the metal flame left. Fire man and police said it was an electrical fault with fire starting in the engine near dashboard. The car has been recovered and taken to a compound just waiting for engineers to examine what is left of it. Searched online and found a recall on a water pump for this model as it had the potential to cause fire, however my car was taken in to have this part replaced but fireman said it sounds like it was the cause of the fire. Car is coming upto it's third year out of five in finance. I am so shocked by this incident and so is my family, it caused a lot of damage to other cars, out clothes and there's all smoke damage to our house. Since I have had this car I have told mini so many times there's a funny sound in the engine and they have checked it and said there is nothing wrong with it everytime. I contacted the customer service department not long ago to notify them that I wasn't happy with my dream car and they are aware of this. I even said it felt unsafe to drive at times. I have all the evidence for this. I lost a lot in the car I had two watches, shoes, hats and sun glasses in the car which all got burnt in the process. I am aware the insurance is dealing with the claim but is there anything else I can do as I feel this could have been prevented if mini had listened to me earlier.

Horizon81

Did the car have any aftermarket modifications?

I suggest you join a mini car forum if you haven't already and see if any jcw or cooper s owners have had the same happen to them. I've only ever seen this happen once before and it was quite a spectacular sight - an impreza wrx sti parked up on the roadside and within seconds was engulfed in flames whilst the owner stood on aghast. It didn't look standard though, so I put it down to some tinkering gone wrong.

Advice_hunter

Everything was original mini, all work varied out including MOT and servicing was carried out by mini.

Thanks, I will have a look at mini forums.

I've got many pictures of the whole incident and it looks like a fireball to say the least!

Horizon81

Have you read this? If not then brace yourself....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087523/Mini-Cooper-recall--Fire-warning-235k-cars-recalled-electrical-fault-fears.html

Advice_hunter

Just had a read! There are many articles out there about this, plus videos on YouTube!

What I don't understand is that they replaced the faulty part but why did it still catch fire?!

*Vikki*

I have heard this before buts its very rare (I am a MINI owner of a Cooper S Works, had MINIs for 10 years now new shape) If you go over to totalmini the members on there will be able to help you. Its a natinal mini site and they are really helpful. So sorry to hear this though, your poor MINI and stuff!

tykesi

Advice_hunter wrote: »

Just had a read! There are many articles out there about this, plus videos on YouTube!

What I don't understand is that they replaced the faulty part but why did it still catch fire?!

It might not have done - you seem to be assuming this is the culprit with no evidence. If it's being investigated and they are looking for the cause you need to wait until the results are known before you decide your next step.

Also, reading that article (pinch of salt with it being the Daily Fail) the issue would not have made a 'funny sound' so your reporting that to Mini may have no bearing on anything.

Horizon81

tykesi wrote: »

Also, reading that article (pinch of salt with it being the Daily Fail) the issue would not have made a 'funny sound' so your reporting that to Mini may have no bearing on anything.

It's in many different articles, not much point bashing the Daily Mail.

The OP thankfully has a full BMW Mini history and says he has had the recall done. Whether the replacement part failed or it was something else, the investigation will find out. Incidentally, the mini was on Watchdog recently but that was for steering systems stiffening up on earlier models.

Certainly the fire problem does not appear to be as rare as BMW mini makes out. I've since read a few stories on forums of similar events.

Slightly more detailed info here:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/mini-recalls-235k-cars-over-fire-fears

Imp

Mrs Imp's car managed to catch fire by itself, while parked up one evening. The insurance company decided it was an electrical fault rather than a fire, and therefore wasn't covered by the "Third Party, Fire and Theft" insurance she had.

Because she loved the car, I had it fixed - basically new everything infront of the fire wall, and quite a bit new behind it.

Later, someone bent the door back and tried to drive it away. They didn't manage to start it, but apparently that wasn't theft because they didn't get away with it.

londonTiger

well good news is this is a known issue so it should help you to get your money back. Or at least part of it.