Tacoma Caught Fire and Burned Up

Hey ya'll,

2009 Standard 2 door Tacoma, manual transmission, 103,000 miles, used for work. I've done all the preventative maintenance and just had it completely looked over in the beginning of May. No maintenance lights except a tire sensor that I've replaced a couple times and gave up on.

Employee was driving the truck and noticed smoke coming out of the shifter area while on a highway overpass. In the 15 seconds it took him to get to a slightly safer spot he felt heat on his legs and noticed flames near the clutch peddle and shifter. Pulled over, jumped out of the car, forgot his phone and by the time he turned around, the cab was completely in flames. Car was burnt to a crisp by the time the fire department arrived about 15 minutes later.

I am unbelievable thankful my guy is ok with minor burns on his legs and is down a cell phone. Has anyone experienced/heard of an issue like this with a 2wd manual transmission Tacoma? I absolutely loved this truck and I'm at a loss now. I'll be contacting Toyota, insurance has already been filed but WTF.

I know a recall went into effect because of a fire issue with the 4WD models but I didn't think there was anything for my specific truck.

Thanks for reading and thank you for any advice ya'll might have.

 

Wow, glad everyone is OK. I've not heard of anything regarding this issue with Tacomas. This is the only link I could find with a quick Google about fires in Tacomas https://www.industryweek.com/operat...toyota-recall-suspension-flaw-fuels-fire-risk but it seems this was more electrical related over a fuel tank issue given where it sounds it originated from.

 

I mean for it to burn as fast as it did, I feel like it had to be a fuel tank issue. How else does a car go up that quick?

 

I'm not up to speed with the burning rate of car fires, but that could absolutely be the case. You're within the year range of that recall.

 

Well I dont know what Toyota has to do with a 12 year old truck, but insurance should definitely cover it, as you have taken the precautions with maintenance.

I would suspect either an oil leak that burned on the catalytic converter.

The leaf springs were breaking and clipping fuel lines or damaging tanks, but I dont think it ever actually ignited. Also it was in the rear near the bumper. It's a very old recall that has been issued a long time ago, so Toyota has done their due diligence.

 

I realize the car is older but I'm rattled with how close this could have been far worse. It changes my feelings about the car completely and I'm just trying to understand what I didn't see (if anything).

 

I hate to hear this.
Good to know the guy was ok.

If you ever find out anything let us know.
I agree with others, it sounds like a leak that caught fire?

 

The reason for the rear spring recall was that the rear leafs could fracture and pierce the fuel tank and cause a fire. If your rear leafs weren’t replaced that may likely be the cause of the fire. Go check out your taco (where ever it is) and examine the leafs and fuel tank. If the leafs are fractured or broken and there’s a hole in your tank that is what happened. Take pictures. Your insurance will cover you truck. If you present pictures/proof to Toyota they will likely provide additional compensation to you.

 

Very glad it had the best possible outcome in terms of your friend, scary.

Could have also been trans/clutch fluid that hit the exhaust, or just stupid bad luck. Long ago my mom's car caught fire and she was fortunate a neighbor was outside and yelled for her to get out of it

 

the focus in the area & timeline of the last human interventuion is where i would start

a recall non specific not likely to produce results

 

Just a guess based on the location of the smoke and fire (Clutch Pedal and Shifter areas) it could be a leak at the master cylinder that was ignited by the exhaust.

Gasoline tank puncture would be unlikely as there would have been a trail of fire behind the truck.

Looking forward for any updates. Good luck.

 

That’s a hard shell taco

 

Sounds electrical. If there was clutch fluid leaking it it would’ve been felt by the driver. Clutch pedal issues etc. Any leaks would’ve been documents when you had it serviced (if it was a good inspection). Plus, an external fire is more difficult to make it inside. Outside would burn first and then the inside. This sounds inside first then outside.

Maybe chemicals or something inside? Was there any aftermarket wiring in the truck? Alarm? Aftermarket accessories plugged into the cigarette lighter? I’ve seen those burn up the lighter housing or aftermarket wiring short out and mildly burn wires. The under dash has lots of insulation that easily burns. It will get going quick once it’s started. Glad he is safe, imagine if more people were in the car or a baby. I’m going to carry a small fire extinguisher now. You never know.

 

This ^

Have you had any after market electrical work done?

 

Inside to outside or outside to inside would be the same as far as difficulty I don't see a distinction anyway.

My reasoning was what is common with those areas that is a flammable accelerant?

Brake fluid from the brake master cylinder and clutch master cylinder under the dash and the slave cylinder down on the transmission also near the exhaust CAT. Ford trucks had a recall for this very issue with a leak on the master cylinder pressure switch leaking on the 12 VDC wire and catching fire.

https://www.lieffcabraser.com/injury/car-accidents/ford-cruise-control/



Heck it could have been a gasoline leak... All just guesses at this point. Glad he is safe and nobody was seriously injured.

 

Does the dude smoke in the truck? Not trying to place the blame on him but it’s possible.

 

Hey guys thanks so much for the insight. I’ll answer the questions above:

Taco didn’t have anything aftermarket done to it and was completely stock… didn’t even have cruise control.

We also don’t keep anything in the truck (chemicals or otherwise) for fear of someone breaking into it.

He does not smoke and no one has ever smoked in the truck.

 

I’ll also mention that the clutch on the truck was original to the car. Never had an issue with it and was fairly amazed it had lasted as long as it did. My Acura RSX I had in early 2000’s would have burned through three of them in the same time frame.

 

I’ll speak to him more today but he also definitely saw gas leaking from the car and igniting so maybe that lends a little more to the gas tank puncture theory?

 

Only update I have is the truck is being moved from the impound lot to one of the insurance company's lots. I assume I'll get to see it sometime later this week but according to my employee, there isn't anything not burned.