Tonight I had a fire under the hood of my RX8. I drove from my house to my daughter's house (12 miles), parked my car, and 20 minutes later went out side to see flames coming from under the hood around the windshield. I'm not sure what happened. There was no damage or smoke inside the vehicle, but I bet I have $3,000 to $4,000 damage under the hood.

Has anyone heard of such a thing? I only have 4,633 miles on this car.

 

hoy cow!!!! what could have caused that?

 

Spontaneous combustion?????

 

Were you parked over some combustible material? The exhaust gets very hot, especially the catalytic converter, and has been known to cause a fire. In fact the manual warns of this.

 

I've never heard of any fire issues.

Did you have any work done recently on the car that might have cause it?

 

Electrical, for sure. Done any mods lately?

 

The only fires I have heard come from underneath the car, specifically the CAT. Someone burned his 8 and garage to a crisp when he parked over an old oil slick in the garage. Another guy started a fire when he parked his car on dry grass, luckily no damage to his car though.

I haven't a clue what may have happened to yours... first time I've heard of spontaneous combustion... electrical perhaps?

 

hmmm wonder if it is related by any chance......

http://rotarynews.com/node/view/483

 

Rx-8 Production Line Halted!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently a fire at the factory has seized the production of the RX-8. Damages (physical and financial) yet to come.

Sympathetic combustion?

Seriously, what were you parked over? Did you do any mods, or have work done? Did you add or check the oil, and maybe spill some?

 

No, I have not done any modifications to the car and have not had any work done on it either. I parked it along the curb, so who knows. Because it was a fire, Mazda's road side assistance does not apply. They classify fires as an accident and told me to contact my insurance company. Boy, tomorrow is going to be a busy phone day for me.

 

does ur car still work now after the first?

 

I didn't even try to start the car after the fire; just called a tow company to haul it off.

 

Did you open the hood an look underneath? Take any pictures? Where did they tow it to? Did you put it out? If so, how?

Roadside assistance won't help if it's a fire??? What dealer did you buy your 8?

 

If your tire had a blowout wouldn't that be an accident too?? It certainly wouldn't be an on purpose. Seems bad they would not assist you.

 

Man, sorry to hear that...I hope you find out what happend ASAP and let us know. Road Side Assistance should have helped you...someone was being really stupid not to tow you like they should have. Sorry to hear that, let us know...

 

Ummm, welcome to the forum, BTW.... :o

 

damn i knew the rotary engines ran hot, but thats a little too hot for my my liking. \
robert

 

I don't believe roadside assistance wouldn't cover that...you should get AAA

Do you think the fire could have been arson?

 

Over a manhole (sorry maintenance) cover maybe or storm drain? Methane?

 

is your car silver? sorry that's a bad joke for a moment like this. please get some pics.

 

I had my damaged car towed to a Mazda dealer body shop today. Will let everyone know what the cause of the fire was and what Mazda does about it.

 

Sorry to hear it! Hope things turn out ok. And welcome to the lunacy.

 

In the past, RX-7's have had recalls about possible engine fires. The 2nd gen RX-7 had them as well as the '93 year model 3rd gen.

 

...some pics, so we can determine for sure whether the Curse of the Silver has struck again.....

zoom, you're sooooo transparent :D