My vehicle went up in flames

BMW i3 Forum

Help Support BMW i3 Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I saw a BMW i3 on the internet set for a junk auction a while back. It looked badly burned like this. I know it can happen to any EV, but gas cars catch on fire too and can burn quickly without a fire extinguisher. The Li-Ion battery, if it catches fire somehow can go into thermal runaway and can burn a car to the ground. I don't know the point at which the carbon fiber frame catches fire, but it seems to melt to the ground with the plastic body panels. The only thing in the photos that I can even make out are the wheels from the side view photo and the steel that is likely from the electric motor on the left in a back view photo. The aluminum looks like it all melted down in the rear from the back view photo. The timing of how long it took to burn is of interest. Makes us want to put fire extinguishers in the car somewhere.

Does the poster have any of the service records for it? What went wrong in the first instance - dead battery or what - to take it into the BWM dealer? It is a 2016 i3 Rex so it had the smaller battery. These fires usually happen when the LiIon battery is being charged and it overheats. Was the HV battery recently charged by the BMW dealer or the owner? Is the REX charging it while the battery is hot? Was the regeneration recharging the battery? What was the weather like? Extremely hot day? Cold weather? Is the air conditioning compressor working to cool the interior of the car and the battery? If the AC compressor is not working, you might get a battery to overheat in high temp weather.

If something was wrong with the battery, I suspect they were repairing the battery instead of replacing it over the 8 month period with the dealer, but I could be wrong. Did they use proper new components - who made the battery replacement parts versus who made the new parts.

One would want to file a negligence lawsuit and get discovery of the mechanics name, all the records of repair, and depose the mechanic, the service manager, and the owner of the dealership. Another cause of action in the complaint could be intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress from the fire, if anyone intentionally or negligently caused the breakdown. Some attorneys would take this on contingency but would charge 30-50% of the recovery. Insurance would normally cover the car and sue for the damages from BMW or not. A statute of limitations is running from the date of the accident. It is pretty easy to file complaints on your own in certain states to toll the statute so your rights are reserved.

No indication as to what state this occurred in and what state laws might then be at issue.
This can be a lot of work to sue the BMW dealer and it is not clear that it is worth it.
 
fernan85 said:
with two children in the vehicle. We escaped the car at 4:40 with 7 minutes it was burnt beyond recognition. The vehicle had just been pickup from the dealership after nearly a year in service and over $10K in repairs. BMW ultimately took zero responsibility for the incident because the car was too damaged and posed a safety risk to the engineer who was to inspect it. The vehicle was actually lost en route, as it apparently caught on fire after being loaded on the tow truck. I was told by BMW to lawyer up if I wanted to explore compensation, but I was offered $4k toward another BMW. Please help!
Click to expand...
Damage questions: Were the $10K in repairs paid by you or were they performed under warranty by the BMW dealer. BWM usually warrants their work for a period of time after completion. Did the BMW dealer provide a loaner car while the car was in for service for 8-12 months or did you have to rent/lease another car. What did you pay to own the car or was it leased? I don't know how to research vehicle prices at the time of the fire to determine its value then but there must be a way to do so - car appraisers with your insurance company would know. Good luck.
 
weajd said:
I saw a BMW i3 on the internet set for a junk auction a while back. It looked badly burned like this. I know it can happen to any EV, but gas cars catch on fire too and can burn quickly without a fire extinguisher. The Li-Ion battery, if it catches fire somehow can go into thermal runaway and can burn a car to the ground.
Click to expand...
I've owned i3's since 2014 and have been paying very close attention to all things i3. I have read of several instances of i3's burning. I'm pretty certain that all of them were REx models. Several (all?) of these reports suggested that the fire started in the area of the REx engine. Fires have started when the engine oil dipstick wasn't replaced after an oil change allowing oil to leak out onto the hot exhaust system. There was a recall that fixed a routing problem for a gasoline vent line (can't recall the details). If that had not been performed allowing the vent line to wear through, or if a fuel line leaked, a fire could result. Once the fire spreads near the battery pack, battery cells could catch fire.

I don't recall reading of any BEV model that has caught fire. With 250k i3's manufactured, the lack of fires originating in the battery pack is pretty impressive. Because of this, I strongly suspect that the fire in this case was due to something related to the REx engine, not the battery pack itself.
 
weajd said:
I saw a BMW i3 on the internet set for a junk auction a while back. It looked badly burned like this. I know it can happen to any EV, but gas cars catch on fire too and can burn quickly without a fire extinguisher. The Li-Ion battery, if it catches fire somehow can go into thermal runaway and can burn a car to the ground. I don't know the point at which the carbon fiber frame catches fire, but it seems to melt to the ground with the plastic body panels. The only thing in the photos that I can even make out are the wheels from the side view photo and the steel that is likely from the electric motor on the left in a back view photo. The aluminum looks like it all melted down in the rear from the back view photo. The timing of how long it took to burn is of interest. Makes us want to put fire extinguishers in the car somewhere.

Does the poster have any of the service records for it? What went wrong in the first instance - dead battery or what - to take it into the BWM dealer? It is a 2016 i3 Rex so it had the smaller battery. These fires usually happen when the LiIon battery is being charged and it overheats. Was the HV battery recently charged by the BMW dealer or the owner? Is the REX charging it while the battery is hot? Was the regeneration recharging the battery? What was the weather like? Extremely hot day? Cold weather? Is the air conditioning compressor working to cool the interior of the car and the battery? If the AC compressor is not working, you might get a battery to overheat in high temp weather.

If something was wrong with the battery, I suspect they were repairing the battery instead of replacing it over the 8 month period with the dealer, but I could be wrong. Did they use proper new components - who made the battery replacement parts versus who made the new parts.

One would want to file a negligence lawsuit and get discovery of the mechanics name, all the records of repair, and depose the mechanic, the service manager, and the owner of the dealership. Another cause of action in the complaint could be intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress from the fire, if anyone intentionally or negligently caused the breakdown. Some attorneys would take this on contingency but would charge 30-50% of the recovery. Insurance would normally cover the car and sue for the damages from BMW or not. A statute of limitations is running from the date of the accident. It is pretty easy to file complaints on your own in certain states to toll the statute so your rights are reserved.

No indication as to what state this occurred in and what state laws might then be at issue.
This can be a lot of work to sue the BMW dealer and it is not clear that it is worth it.
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure it’s a BS post. ALL accident reports have a public record. There is NO public record on this “fire” and the posts from the OP about this “fire” aren’t consistent. My suggestion on this bogus “fire” - Don’t waste your time.
 
airman2482 said:
And.. class “d” fires are extinguished with a class “d” extinguisher.
Click to expand...
I had to look this up - "What is a Class D fire? A Class D fire is characterized by the presence of burning metals. It usually takes extreme heat for metal to ignite, but once started it can spread very quickly making them incredibly dangerous and destructive. Some of the most common types of combustible metals include the following: Magnesium, Titanium, Zirconium, LITHIUM, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Uranium, Plutonium."
 
airman2482 said:
And.. class “d” fires are extinguished with a class “d” extinguisher.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, it looks like dedicated Class D extinguishers are large (30 lb) and overly expensive. The combo units sold on Amazon are too small for a car fire.
 
fernan85 said:
I've done my due diligence in sharing the story, don't need to defend my experience -- the whole incident was unbelievable and I'm just of the opinion that the risk is not worth it. My kids are terrified of fires now, campfires now trigger my preschooler, but hey, if the sequence is questionable easier to be dismissive than support one another or accept that one's dream vehicle is not as fantastic as you might want to believe. I LOVED this car!
Click to expand...
So where did this happen? Why isn’t there any readable name on the fire rig on the scene? (Something that would verify this story?)

You don’t have to defend anything. Just post a credible experience. Your whole story (including the pics) has “holes” in it.
 
I was a volunteer fireman in my city, one of the largest in the US with the population of almost 100,000.

We had class D extinguishers on every rig.

Basically a bucket of chemical that looks like sand with an extra sack or two on the side.

Whenever I see a “news broadcast “or TV show depicting firefighters throwing water on a battery fire I laugh when they’re spraying water on a metal fire. As far as I know any fire department in the USA, (or anywhere) (which has to be certified) spraying water on a metal fire is either a mistake or stock footage.

As you found out, the average public isn’t aware what a “Class D” fire is. I’m not surprised most people don’t even know this.

Water or foam is sprayed around the scene as a protective measure.
 
Last edited:
airman2482 said:
I was a volunteer fireman in my city, one of the largest in the US with the population of almost 100,000.

We had class D extinguishers on every rig.

Basically a bucket of chemical that looks like sand with an extra sack or two on the side.

Whenever I see a “news broadcast “or TV show depicting firefighters throwing water on a battery fire I laugh when they’re spraying water on a metal fire. As far as I know any fire department in the USA, (or anywhere) (which has to be certified) spraying water on a metal fire is either a mistake or stock footage.

As you found out, the average public isn’t aware what a “Class D” fire is. I’m not surprised most people don’t even know this.

Water or foam is sprayed around the scene as a protective measure.
Click to expand...
If one has a class D fire extinguisher in an I3, will that also extinguish a gas fire from gasoline and fire on the carbon-fibre body. Or does one need multiple types of extinguishers?
 
weajd said:
If one has a class D fire extinguisher in an I3, will that also extinguish a gas fire from gasoline and fire on the carbon-fibre body. Or does one need multiple types of extinguishers?
Click to expand...
A 5BC will handle anything that can actually be handled without the fire brigade. An ABC is even better for all around.

IMG_20190615_130505.jpg
 
ksnax said:
A 5BC will handle anything that can actually be handled without the fire brigade. An ABC is even better for all around.

View attachment 562
Click to expand...
Is that in front of your driver's seat? I've got a baby extinguisher in the trunk to ease the kids' worried after they witnessed serious fire incident. It's not NHRA approved in reach of the driver or anything, but it's there. I think I wouldn't stick around to fight a burning carbon fiber frame or lithium battery, class D equipment in hand or not!
 
This is an interesting story about the insurance company not paying out due to a ‘lost’ vehicle. This case also exists in the UK in London. An i3 allegedly caught fire at the rear of some shops. The remains were taken away but subsequently ‘lost’. BMW had the same response which I understand. That if they can’t inspect the remains they can’t judge any fault - (wether it is too dangerous to inspect with properly equipped personnel seems a moot point. Building insurance is refusing to pay out so the shops remain burnt out as the car insurer won’t pay either if BMW is potentially liable. I’ll see if I can find a link to the story. Again 2 years ago? No pictures.
 
I just had a search for this. Apparently there is an article in the Times newspaper which I did read at the time. The story is pretty much in this thread on another blog site called Honest John . I did have a paywall share link but I think that now expires after 7 days.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/180450/bmw-i3---i3-catches

Very odd that in both these reported cases the car is towed away and never seen again.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top