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Miles when spontaneously combusted: 30K roughly - April 2016
Purchased from Lexus dealership in OC,California with full warranty.
Type of driving: "Soccer Mom" with a trip to Las Vegas, Tahoe and the rest So Cal.
Insurance: Full Coverage
No recall in the NHTSA database/websites, Lexus echoes the same and insists on it that this VIN does not have a recall.
We asked to check recall number 14V576000 - Lexus claimed again our VIN does not fall under that "FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINEELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS"
What we saw/heard the narrative
Driving on street at about 25 mph close to home. Car hesitated and "Track Off" suddenly illuminated followed by "Power Steering Off" on the panel. Car coasted to a stop, We turned off the engine and started her up again since we are a block from the drive way. Car would not accelerate and we started to hear fast clicking sounds from under the hood - sounded like a spark plug wire loose. Smoke started coming from under the hood - followed by CEL on the dash - followed by flames from under the hood on passenger side. We exited the vehicle went to a safe distance and called 911.
Year to Date details:
January 4 2016 - Car purchased from Lexis in OC
January 6 2016- Steering started to make a "wooosh" noise when turning. Car returned for maintenance and repairs - 2 days.
Periods of scheduled maintenance occurred as part of the service plan @ Lexus in OC.
April 5 2017 - Vehicle catches fire on the street a few blocks from home - a few days after a service at the Lexus in OC. Luckily no one was hurt, kids upset due to ipod loss. FD did their part (many thanks), car was taken to Junk Yard.
April 6 2017 - Contacted Insurance company - was told an inspector will be sent to assess and will provide feedback.
April 5 2017 - We make way to Lexus in OC to discuss the situation and show video/photos of the fire.
Service Adviser [SA] was "shocked" to see footage. SA says "I am interested to know what happened" The above details under "what we heard" were given.
SA asked us what we wanted to do & if we will procure another Lexus in the future due to this mishap.
Shared with us a phone number and asked us "open a claim" with Lexus Customer Service.
Asked us to wait to provide a loaner vehicle since he felt bad - only to come back with "no loaner vehicles available" and there is nothing more then can do since "their systems are not meant to handle fire cases".
April 7 2017 - Insurance assessment is a total loss to the vehicle, calculated a value and sent a check immediately, Insurance company advised an offical report/investigation will need to take place in parallel,
April 7 2017 = Lexus customer service was contacted to open case number 1704072464 and the same narrative was provided. After 3 hours on the phone, we were told
To send all the picture of the incident to the Lexus Photos @ Lexus . com email address
We will be contacted by someone from Lexus in "5 days the latest
To sign and send a Consent Form to Lexus.
April 10 2017 - called same number & attempted to find outcome from Lexus with no results
April 12 2017 - called same number & attempted to find outcome from Lexus with no results
April 14 2017 - called same number & attempted to find outcome from Lexus with no results
April 16 2017 - called same number & attempted to find outcome from Lexus with no results
April 18 2017 - Received a call from Bosch in OC and was asked if we can send a consent form to them since the one sent by Lexus was the template and was according to the technician. The same form was sent to Bosch.
May 5 (sh) - Recieved a call from Bosch asking if they can retrieve the EDR from the vehicle.
We asked if Bosch believes the EDR is designed to survive a burning vehicle? The answer was - "we still need to retrieve it as per the policy".
We asked if we can join them while they retrieve the EDR - that request was denied.
We were told a report will be available "within a week"
AND "what do you think happened" to which we provided againthe same narrative above.
June 6 2017 - Received an email from Insurance company with the following statement:
"Results/cause of fire:
There was evidence of a probable fuel leak in the left rear engine compartment area from a flexible fuel line, a fuel line/fuel line connection or a fuel handling component."
June 6 2017 - Contacted Lexus and advised the report from Insurance
Customer Service told us the case is with the claims department
We (the customer) are not allowed to contact the claims department directly
There is nothing Customer Service can do at this point and to wait for "something" in the mail
We asked what that "something" is, we were told to wait for "something" in the mail.
Sorry to hear about loss of your vehicle. Glad no one was hurt and the loss was practically limited to the vehicle it self.
What I am missing to understand is what is your involvement now? Insurance paid you off for your loss promptly (not sure if there was deductible or not). The time you took the loss money, the vehicle belongs to the insurance company ... unless you took the option to keep the carcass and took less money. Hopefully you are no longer paying insurance on the old and not renewing tags. Let the matter be between your insurance company and Lexus. If Lexus is at fault the insurance company would recoup the payout. Both these entities (insurance and Lexus) have plenty of lawyers to work this out. If Lexus or its agent like Bosch call you for authorization, you should tell them to contact the new owner (your insurance company)
Your options are ... would you buy another Lexus or not. I sense you already made up your mind.
If you feel you and your family's life were endangered by negligence of Lexus, then I would suggest contact a lawyer.
@SalimShah. Thanks for your reply and thank you for your concerns.
The insurance paid minus the deductible and that is sorted now.
Our ask is, since the car had full coverage warranty and it could possibly be a Lexus fault, will we get a replacement vehicle for the same price or an equivalent vehicle? Not sure how this works now.
@SalimShah. Thanks for your reply and thank you for your concerns.
The insurance paid minus the deductible and that is sorted now.
Our ask is, since the car had full coverage warranty and it could possibly be a Lexus fault, will we get a replacement vehicle for the same price or an equivalent vehicle? Not sure how this works now.
thank you
In balance is the deductible. I think you and your insurance company [let your insurance company take the lead on determining the entity responsible for the loss]
settle and then reimburse you, your deductible.
Fair market value is such a loose term that can exactly be determined by if you had a sale offer the day the vehicle got totaled. Most likely your insurance company determined that number for you and if you have a beef then you need to spend endless hours negotiating and worse going to the courts to give get the 'fair market value' given to you. My observation is that if the insurance company is yours, you get treated better and if it is a 3rd party insurance [some one hit you] it will be an arduous process and often one gives up and moves on. You can use KBB and local for sale ads (- negotiation room). Your insurance company should provide you the comaprables they chose to offer you the compensation. And it stops there [other than you having an issue with the price]. It is unlikely that they will bring you the keys of an equivalent, as all sales are handled by purchaser and seller. [Note: Some large insurance companies are getting into middleman sales of vehicles, so they may offer that service to you as well].
Once you have the insurance money you can choose to add more to the pool or keep some to purchase the next vehicle.
Purchase is open market, where the seller [can be the Lexus dealer] wants to make a commission. They are at no obligation to sell you an equivalent for the amount of compensation. They may be sympathetic but not obligated. There is no harm in sitting down with the dealership manager and outright stating that .. I just had the service done at your place and soon the vehicle caught fire. You have the right to push responsibility on them but most likely they will not admit/accept. Tell them you have a choice to walk away or come back (that is why you are here) and expect reasonable adjustment in price. Do not expect miracle but remember the dealer will make its profit and it is a question of how much or how little.
I also edited my last post ,,, please see the last para in there
IN summary:
Vehicle loss compensation [valuation, rental, personal item loss etc] is between you and your insurance
Behind the scene [determination of responsibility] is among your_insurance, dealership (negligence), Lexus corp (manufacturing defect).
Replacement purchase is between you and who_ever_is_selling
Best legal advice would be from a lawyer .. which I am not.
So sorry to see this, and very happy to hear no one was hurt...
As far as Lexus goes, since the insurance company paid you for your loss you are no longer the owner of the RX, so it's not surprising that Lexus won't speak to you. But IMO the real reason they probably aren't speaking to you is to make sure no one on their side says something wrong in case of any possible litigation. This way everything is in writing and they are covering their a$$.. Not saying your planning to sue them, but IMO this is what they're doing.
Try following up with the insurance company to see if they have rec'd any feedback as to what caused the fire.
When and if you do find out what caused the fire please post the findings here. A lot of us would be very interested to find out what happened
Here is what I suspect happened. Between 1/6/16 and 1/8/16 the Lexus service department loosened some fuel lines or components in the process of addressing your steering "woosh" issue. It is possible something was not torqued correctly and, over a period of a year, they loosened up--causing a slight fuel seep or leak. Add a drippy fuel line over a hot exhaust manifold and you get a nasty fire. This is not a manufacturing defect; it was likely a service mistake. Do you have the service records indicating precisely what was done in January 2016?
I am perplexed at what your end game is with Lexus. Your insurance company cut you a check after only 2 days (4/5/17 to 4/7/17). Neither Lexus nor your insurance company owe you anything at this point. Unfortunately depreciation is what it is, so you will probably need to add your own $$$ to get a NEW replacement vehicle. Your only remaining angle is to negotiate hard with the servicing dealer to make you a great deal on a new Lexus. This will be especially easy should you get your hands on any conclusive evidence of negligence by that dealer's service department. But, as another person stated, this is why they do not want to talk to you. Litigation = risk = tarnishing the brand = big money.
Best legal advice would be from a lawyer .. which I am not.
Salim
Hi Salim, thanks and that seems to be aligned with our thoughts at the moment. From what your saying is we need to pass this responsibility over to the insurance company and have them deal with Lexus. But from What I am reading is we have limited options
a) We get paid by the insurance already done
b) Lexus will not compensate us for the value of the car or a replacement car - we asked them but no response.
c) maybe use our weight and circumstances to get a high discount on a new car from Lexus have not taken this avenue
d) pursue legal case have not pursued this either for the moment.
kids upset due to ipod loss, found that to be funny, I have about 4 dead iPods laying around the house
did you put the claim in to replace the IPod ?
The insurance should paid you enough to get a replacement RX including the tax
Yes, our son was not worried about the car, at his young (age 8 years old) he realized the car can be replaced, but all his pictures/memories and songs might be a challenge.
Originally Posted by lexus114
OMG!? thats terrible? so glad you are ok?
Yes it was, but plastic, metal, all other material can be replaced for sure.
I think you should speak to attorney right away and stop posting in public forums until you are advised otherwise by your counsel. The case is serious enough that you could use legal counsel, IMHO.
I think you should speak to attorney right away and stop posting in public forums until you are advised otherwise by your counsel. The case is serious enough that you could use legal counsel, IMHO.
I agree 100%.
Your statements here might be a + or - in the future for your claim.
Nobody got hurt, that's good.
Good luck with your situation, but suggest you get representation.
Here is what I suspect happened. Between 1/6/16 and 1/8/16 the Lexus service department loosened some fuel lines or components in the process of addressing your steering "woosh" issue. It is possible something was not torqued correctly and, over a period of a year, they loosened up--causing a slight fuel seep or leak. Add a drippy fuel line over a hot exhaust manifold and you get a nasty fire. This is not a manufacturing defect; it was likely a service mistake. Do you have the service records indicating precisely what was done in January 2016?
I am perplexed at what your end game is with Lexus. Your insurance company cut you a check after only 2 days (4/5/17 to 4/7/17). Neither Lexus nor your insurance company owe you anything at this point. Unfortunately depreciation is what it is, so you will probably need to add your own $$$ to get a NEW replacement vehicle. Your only remaining angle is to negotiate hard with the servicing dealer to make you a great deal on a new Lexus. This will be especially easy should you get your hands on any conclusive evidence of negligence by that dealer's service department. But, as another person stated, this is why they do not want to talk to you. Litigation = risk = tarnishing the brand = big money.
One can smell gasoline drips or leaks. After thought, restarting the car block away from home. I'd leave the car there and walk home, Call service to tow the vehicle to shop. It could be worse, no one got hurt(thank god for that), time to move on.
Hi Salim, thanks and that seems to be aligned with our thoughts at the moment. From what your saying is we need to pass this responsibility over to the insurance company and have them deal with Lexus. But from What I am reading is we have limited options
a) We get paid by the insurance already done
b) Lexus will not compensate us for the value of the car or a replacement car - we asked them but no response.
c) maybe use our weight and circumstances to get a high discount on a new car from Lexus have not taken this avenue
d) pursue legal case have not pursued this either for the moment.
Best.
From my vantage point
b) Is not an option ... your loss has been compensated (may be adjusted for more [deductible] or you convincing insurance company for different current value). It is you and insurance, Lexus is out of it.
c) Lexus is not obligated and dont hold your breath for them to accept responsibility.
d) Consult a lawyer, but you have no other loss that needs to be compensated for. No injury. no death. Lawyers can dig into, the vehicle in question should have been recalled, your loss of sleep etc etc.
At this time the only party that is at loss is the insurance company. It is up to them to pursue recovery.
Your loss is depreciation and use, plus the deductible.
06-08-17, 08:26 PM
My RX350 caught fire - long with pics & video
ELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS"
