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NHTSA investigating GM SUV fires

02/11/2008, 6:53 PM

By Drew Johnson

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it is investigating reports of engine fires in two of General Motors’ full-size SUVs. The investigation — involving model year 2007 Chevrolet Tahoes and GMC Yukons — was launched after the NHTSA received two reports of Chevrolet Tahoes catching fire.

Both reports alleged that the SUVs caught fire while parked in a home garage while the ignition was off. Both incidents involved heavy property damage.

It remains unclear which component caused the fire and no recall has yet been issued. According to The Detroit News, the investigation could involve as many as 423,000 SUvs.

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02/11, 7:01 PM

posted by:

tripleonefive

GM cars that catch on fire? The new Gm ? lol
This is too fun

02/11, 7:05 PM

posted by:

Kaizen

1115, you’re biased to the point it makes me sick.

Too bad for GM; they didn’t need this.

02/11, 7:08 PM

posted by:

hateful83

2 suvs? Holy ****, 2, time to panic!!!

02/11, 7:08 PM

posted by:

rodeo40

Usually it’s just GM’s interiors that suck…but this could be a blow to their comeback. Hope no one gets hurt.

02/11, 7:22 PM

posted by:

corvette

its only been two.

02/11, 7:37 PM

posted by:

jackdev73

OH MY GOD….TWO!!! Shut down the factories, alert the media, everybody buy japanese!!!! Good grief, give me a break.

02/11, 7:41 PM

posted by:

Kaizen

It only takes one to instance to issue a recall, especially with the potential circumstances. GM just better be glad that is was only property damage and tha no one died. It could just be a fluke like techncians leaving oil on an exhaust pipe. OEMs usually will voluntarily recall a vehicle ahead of a NHTSA decision. This would really put a dent in the idea of the new and improved GM, especially if the recall is widespread affecting multiple models/brands.

02/11, 7:46 PM

posted by:

Kaizen

A lot of manufactuers will issue a recall if there has only been one occurance but they have determined an underlying concern. For example, the recent Lexus IS/GS recall with 1 case reported of a faulty fuel line. In that case, there wasn’t even an accident.

02/11, 9:32 PM

posted by:

psiclone

Two out of hundreds of thousands? Even in context, two events sounds more like a fluke than engineering design flaws. Engineering flaws are best exemplified by last year’s Honda fiasco when they had wheels flying off new Civics at freeway speeds. And, last year when Toyota had cars accelerating outside of the driver’s control, at freeway speeds. It sounds like there was substntial property damage caused by these 2 instances, but at least it didn’t happen while cruising at freeway speeds.

Why should this be so damning for ‘the new GM’ when the holy imports have these problems quite frequently now and in greater quantity? tripleonefive and LamborghiniZ defended the aforementioned imports when their recals were reported. They clearly were anxious for something like this from GM to jump on. They sound desperate.

02/11, 10:38 PM

posted by:

Ray Sinclair

HOLY SCHNIKES.

02/11, 11:33 PM

posted by:

LamborghiniZ

I’m not anxious for anything, and I haven’t defended any recalls by other manufacturers. This however, is a thread about GM having recalls, so that’s what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever read the comments on the threads about Toyota recalls, people are really harsh about it, and in general spare no mercy. Why should the case be any different for domestics, and why am I illogical for calling the domestics out for their problems on threads about those very problems, when you and others are allowed to call the imports out for their problems on threads about THOSE problems? You’re not very rational. This is a thread about GM screwing up, and that’s what we should be talking about. There are plenty of threads about import recalls for you to bitch about.

And in case we’re talking about design flaws, it seems pretty biased of you to only choose import recalls for your examples. And contradictory. Here, I’ll add some balance. How about the C6 Corvette Convertible’s roof flying off at highway speeds? Hmm…you omitted that one nicely didn’t you?

02/12, 12:22 AM

posted by:

psiclone

LamborghiniZ, by my count Chevy recalled 30,793 2005/2006 C6 Corvettes. What I found about Honda was they recalled 182,756 Civics due to defects that could cause the wheels to fall off while in motion. Toyota, after six accidents allegedly connected to the issue, recalled 55,000 2007/2008 Lexus ES 350 and 2007/2008 Camrys due to floor mats which the NHTSA and Toyota noted can slip forward and trap the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably. Oh, and the NHTSA recommended the Avalon and Prius be added to the list but Toyota disagreed.

The only reason I wrote what I did is because you and 1115 seem to be trying too hard to capitalize on an issue that, so far, isn’t as catastrophic as you’re making it out to be. I know several people with one form or another of the latest GM full-size SUVs and theirs aren’t bursting into flames. They are actually quite nice for the class. Either way, I hope for people’s sake it doesn’t get any worse.

02/12, 3:15 AM

posted by:

jamak

psiclone, honda sells a lot more civics than gm sells covettes.Did you miss the class on statistical ratios?

02/12, 8:23 AM

posted by:

Captain Spadaro

“…while the ignition was off.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if the ignition was off, than there is no logical reason for an engine fire to occur, short of a battery explosion, and THAT doesn’t happen very often, if at all.

02/12, 9:02 AM

posted by:

injunraiv

Well, with the key off the computers are still running. So thinking the vehcile is sitting dormant is incorrect.

However, there could be lots of things that cause engine fires that are not manufacturer related. It seems the NHTSB has jumped the gun (again).

BTW, announcing an investigation is not the same as finding a flaw. As I said on the Toyota ‘unintended acceleration’ story, we should wait until they actually find the problem before assigning the blame for it.

02/12, 9:04 AM

posted by:

injunraiv

jamak, more Hondas than Corvettes, that’s true. But wheels falling off at highway speeds is a significantly more serious problem, don’t ya think?

02/12, 9:33 AM

posted by:

1c3d0g

jackdev73: ROFL…that’s *exactly* the kind of panic our biased pro-import media want to spread. Pure FUD. Everybody chill and let the investigators do their job before coming to half-assed, unfounded conclusions.

02/12, 9:58 AM

posted by:

Z06ified

Yeah, I would rather have an instant convertible than have a wheel come off.

02/12, 10:12 AM

posted by:

SkiD666

Until they actually figure out what caused the fires, there is no need to panic.

For all we know, those 2 vehicles burnt up because the owners couldn’t afford the vehicle and their house due to the subprime mess in the states and torched them.

02/12, 10:14 AM

posted by:

Z06ified

This isn’t GM’s fault…yet. The investigation is still ongoing as to the cause. It could end up being something as simple as someone spilled oil on an exhaust manifold after an oil change.

02/12, 10:58 AM

posted by:

trooper1

At least its not as bad as the Fords that caught on fire while parked in peoples garages. Homes burned down, some people killed due to those crappy fords. Hopefully these fires with GM isn’t the begining of a huge problem. But knowing GM, I wouldn’t be all that surprised.

02/12, 11:40 AM

posted by:

SwerveEarly

News is funny in its simplification of complex problems, reporting these types of things when all evidence is not available. The media does this with everything, hell the war in Iraq is reported in a 45 second news bite. Regardless if I was betting these fires will both turn out to be insurance fraud cases. Both homes will be found to be near foreclosure, its the stereotypical suburban dream gone bad when the adj mortgage rate skyrockets.

02/12, 1:06 PM

posted by:

lamboz get a life

Oh Lambo Z, it is not even a recall yet so get your panties out of your poop shoot you biased little kid. The only reason you even opened this story just like your little ****smooch brother , triplefivefondler is because you saw the possible GM issue headline and it made you both smile like a little boy and his Dad’s Hustler mag.
It was just two and it is not even proven yet what the cause is.

02/12, 1:17 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

gm hurry up and fix this before you have more recalls than toyota.

02/12, 1:33 PM

posted by:

MHW

The thing that’s interesting is the fact that GM is the one who is called out from a large list. It was posted on another site that as of Jan 08 investigations are also going on involving the following imports. 04-05 Toyota Sienna, 05-07 Nissan 350-Z, 02-03 Mini Cooper, 05-06 BMW 5,7 series and X3, 06-07 Toyota Tacoma, 03-04 Toyota Carolla, 04-05 Nissan Armada and Quest, 06 Mitsubishi Endeavor, 02-03 VW Passat. Don’t fool yourself into thinking all is well in import land, GM simply makes for a bigger headline.

02/12, 3:23 PM

posted by:

injunraiv

Awww shucks C6Racer – If we do that we’d have no fun!

02/12, 4:36 PM

posted by:

Htay9500

at least it won’t be a VW, and don’t even get me there.

02/13, 12:54 AM

posted by:

The Stig

Smokey the Bear says “only you can prevent forest fires.”

02/14, 4:28 PM

posted by:

tripleonefive

Even Smokey couldnt prevent a GM fire

02/16, 2:22 PM

posted by:

jackjimturkey

I hope they figure this out quickly and it turns out to be nothing. My mom drives a tahoe

187out,I say again that I suspect toyotra’s recall had more to do with lawyers than an actual “unintended acceleration” problem.

 
 
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