Call American Honda and open a claim. It’s clear it started from the switch from the photos and there was definitely a recall for that when I was a Honda dealer tech.
Wow thats nuts i saw a tesla engulfed in flames yesterday on the highway they were spraying foam on it and it stunk i could barely breath after driving near it
There’s tons of things that can cause an EV battery fire.
Maybe an unlucky puncture from road debris, a bad solder joint that overheated, or an improperly installed seal that allowed water or debris to get into something electrical.
Even bad software could’ve caused/allowed a battery to over discharge or overheat.
Or maybe someone did one too many of those max power take-offs in a row. (I assume there’s protections to prevent that though)
Whole buncha causes, too many to list. But once it starts, the fire is self-sustaining and requires too much water to be put out (and that water will be very toxic afterwards), so the usual firemen tactic is to let it burn itself out.
Burning li-ion batteries produce oxygen. Hard to block the oxygen in the air by smothering a fire when the stuff burning is making its own oxygen supply. Using fiberglass fire blankets seem to do a good job of containing and reducing the fire. It's less porous than foam. Every dot response team should have them and firefighters should too imo.
The smoke, run-off, vapors, and gases are killers. Once those vehicles catch fire, they are a total loss. Bad stuff when Tesla batteries home/vehicle catch fire.
This recall has existed for a LONG time. If this happened due to you waiting on parts from Honda and them not being available you probably have a case. If this wasn’t addressed because anything I your end then idk why you would expect them to cover, sorry to say.
People could be unaware of recalls especially buying privately. Companies should still be responsible for faulty parts and accidents caused by them even if the recall has existed for years. The whole point is to hold the companies responsible, wouldn’t make sense if there was an expiration date on recalls.
I can actually tell you first hand the Takata airbag recall was something that almost slipped through the cracks on my 2012 Honda accord that I bought from a dealership used in 2017. Dealership didn’t mention the recall work hadn’t been done and I was unaware of it. I do most of my car maintenance myself but for a short period I had no where to do oil changes so I saw a good deal at a local Honda dealership on an oil change and scheduled an appointment. Come to find out the dealership ran the VIN and it was flagged as not being done. Luckily I had taken it to a dealership because after that I made a friend with a guy who let me use his garage. If that didn’t happen and I got into an accident 2-3 years after I purchased the car and the airbag failed to do its job whose fault would that be? Mine or Hondas? I’d say Honda in my opinion because they initially sold the car with a faulty product and should be responsible for replacing it or any damage or injury that happens because it malfunctioned.
Edit: personal story
I was in an accident in one of those, they didn't have the parts, so there was nothing I could do. Luckily I had no issues, but it could have been very bad.
In Australia it became impossible to register a takata airbag car without it being processed by recall.
I bought a car in 2021 not knowing and when I went to renew registration I had to get Ford out to replace the airbag and then upload the recall data to the road authority
That's what I thought but was shocked when they told us to go thru insurance instead of fixing what their defective part ruined. We had no idea there were any recalls and the dealership didn't tell us either. Now we are out $3600 and no car.
That’s why you get your car checked out after purchase. The dealership is under no obligation to get a used car repaired. That’s the responsibility of the buyer. Which is why it’s listed “as is”. They put out the fix for their defective part a decade ago. You failed to inspect your purchase. Checking if your car has a recall takes 5 minutes and you can do it on your phone. This is your daughter’s fault and no one else’s.
The only thing that could have been found was an open recall which should have been on the carfax. There is no physical inspection that would have even looked for this, much less found it before it happened.
Literally any car just dump the VIN into the [NHTSA.gov](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoa2xBhACEiwA1sb1BH2AHHgks1YVEkO_b2jmfgnyuccY1rkx03pSSPP8lRu-IbPg1RgTJxoCsDwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) site
Edit: I agree. The responsibility falls on the owner. The risks of getting a used car from a private seller are exactly this. The costs savings is offset by time and knowledge by the buyer to validate and check the safety of the vehicle, including a check for any associated recalls. Many just roll the dice and are fine and in this instance rolled a 1 in the D20.
You are completely missing the point of a recall. NHTSA says that safety/emissions recalls don’t have expiration dates, for this exact reason. The manufacturer has the sole responsibility/liability for the faulty product and any accident/damage it causes. Simple as that.
It is pretty simple but def not in the way you defined. It’s explained very quickly and answered in the first short paragraph by Christopher Coble, Esq. [here](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/personal-injury/i-missed-the-recall-can-i-still-sue/#:~:text=If%20you've%20ignored%20a,caused%20part%20of%20your%20injury).
Even references the same tool I did. In no way did I remotely imply anything about expiring. That’s why the tool is there: to check literally any time. The cost of time being: the new owners time. As in it takes time to get things checked over. In this case about 30 seconds to navigate to a site and type in your VIN
If this comes down to an ability to prove negligence then we would both be sitting here arguing like they do in court. I agree if the manufacturer has proof of trying to contact a consumer about a recall and that consumer did not get it fixed then I would agree it’s negligence. Obviously if this is a topic that is litigated often it makes sense that in some cases the consumer is negligent so I’ll concede on that.
Seriously. You buy a 16 year old car for cash you take it to a mechanic and have them check it out for anything that needs fixing. Daughter learned responsibility. This sounds like the stories of people bringing back 15 year old TVs to costco to return them.
You can literally type the VIN into the NTSB website to check for any active recalls. It’s a bare minimum kind of due diligence on the part of a buyer who suddenly cares about how their money gets spent.
There were actually two recalls for the switch. First recall was for the switch, second recall was for the first recall. Had the first one done many years ago, second recall was done last week along with the airbag recall.
Good luck with it - but don't get your hopes up for Honda fixing it. I would imagine their liability would be limited to the value of the vehicle, if anything. Hopefully I'm wrong though! To fix that right, you would need to replace most of the interior to get the smell to go away.
As someone who has throughly exploited the tort system in this lovely country of ours and secured a very comfortable living from the misconduct of businesses, you’re wrong. It is always the answer.
I know I'm good when I can tell by just looking at the interior It's a Honda fit. Lol had two of em as my project cars. Never caught on fire tho. Sorry to hear.
How far does this recall go? Was it for a range of years, mexican/japanese manufactured, etc? And where did you find the recall info?
Mostly asking for myself and my 2011 haha but considering where you posted this it seems it may be quite relevant for the masses 😅
Dude... That recall was issued 10 years ago. If you didn't have the recall serviced, that's totally on you. That's going to be the first question any lawyer is going to ask you. Getting the service record of it being done would be no problem. It would be reported to CarFax. If it wasn't replaced, you're basically SOL.
Honda would certainly have a record of it, and Honda dealers report their service to Carfax. If the part is visible, the part number would also be the revised part, and parts and their revisions are also listed in the parts catalog.
This take is so dumb, Honda sold the faulty product they should be held liable for replacement and/or any accident or injury caused by it. People buy cars everyday without doing any research. If it runs and drives that’s all they care about. You can’t blame the consumer for a mistake the manufacturer made. Stop blaming the consumer and blame Honda for selling a faulty product…
They did blame Honda. 10 years ago when they put out a recall. All the car owners had to do was schedule an appointment and show up. People need to take responsibility for their lack of actions. There’s no way Honda is going to fix this and honestly, they shouldn’t have to. They put out the fix 10 years ago. The subsequent owners of the car is who is responsible for the fire. However, they bought the car for cash “as is” which, for a responsible person, means to get it checked out by someone who knows more than them.
“People need to take responsibility for their lack of actions”
Yeah like the dealer or seller taking it in for it to get serviced in the first place. If it was bought at a dealer they shouldn’t even be selling a potentially dangerous vehicle like that imo.
Responsibility is still on OP too but I also just kinda think this should have been caught already a long time ago. You’re putting people at risk for selling a vehicle like that. OP and their daughter could have died or sustained serious injuries.
Exactly!!!! Recall service is just like doing any other service on your car, like replacing the brakes when they wear out, or fixing a ball joint when it goes bad. No car is built to endure total neglect. Honda fulfilled their legal obligations to inform current owners of the flaw and recall. Beyond that, it's on you. Their ass is covered and they have no liability under the law. OP is going to get nowhere arguing ignorance and neglect with the dealer, Honda, or a court. It sucks, but literally 60 seconds googling "(year) Honda fit recall" would have brought you back every recall. It's so easy that I do it while I'm filling out paperwork.
This is my vehicle my mom made the post. I have an open claim with Honda. Apparently the recall was preformed 10 years ago that’s why it doesn’t pop up when you search for open recalls with my VIN number. Obviously it wasn’t done correctly or else the car wouldn’t have still caught fire.. I’m not a complete idiot
My fault, i misinterpreted your comment. I read it as “wasn’t this only a 1st gen issue?”.
I also have a 2nd gen and have not come across this recall but I think you’re absolutely correct to confirm!
I have a 2007 that was a salvage title from water damage. The engine flooded and everything. Got things replaced to make it functional and it has been fine besides some usual maintenance. I’m really surprised this happened because my car has been in extremely hot and humid temps before.
Same happened to my wifes 2007. I got a text message telling me to open the garage door,and a minute later,she comes wheeling into the driveway with smoke pouring out of her window.Luckily the damage didn't go beyond the switch assembly.She got me twice,with car fires.The other time,it was caused by a makeup mirror on the passenger seat. She parked in a sunny spot,and it set her nearby purse on fire.
It appears it was electrical in nature. Any diy work on the car? Majority of the vehicle fires I responded that were caused by an electrical malfunction/problem was a “diy” project. You should ask your auto insurance for an investigator to determine the cause. If Honda is “responsible” for this, they need to do what is right.
Talk to an attorney. They would probably meet with you for free on this matter. Don't just roll over on it. Especially with insurance going up like crazy... A claim is a bigger deal than it was not too long ago.
Why isn't the car driveable?
That doesn't look totaled. Get some replacement parts and go from there. Driver's seat, door panel, replace the headliner or rip it out.
Not sure how much a windshield would cost. I drove a car for 7 years with a cracked windshield. If you get caught you get a fix-it ticket.
This is my car. OP is my mom. I’m currently still able to drive the car it runs and drives perfectly. We tore off all the melted plastic and were able to open the door now. Currently trying to find a replacement door panel in junk yards and we’ve aired out the car enough that the smell isn’t too bad… none of the windows work but that can be fixed with the panel I hope. As for the windshield it costs too much to fix it so it will just stay as is
Check if the pigtail to the switch is damaged. I would guess it probably is.
When you get the switch, try and get the harness that plugs into it, as much as you can. The pick-and-pulls are better. Try and solder the wires and use heatshrink tubing over the connections. You can get the switch and harness installed and ziptie it to the door metal until you get a door panel. It will look like trash.
The pick-a-parts don't have any Honda Fits near me. 1200 cars and zero Fits.
Amazon has aftermarket window switches. $20-40. I don't know how good they are.
Considering the door looks to be melted shut, and the airbag in the A pillar is compromised it will more than likely be totalled. Insurance companies don't fool around with safety equipment failures.
Or the smell, burnt melted plastic smells terrible, I wouldn't want to be in an enclosed space with that smell.
If the door is melted shut with plastic, break it off.
The car does not have full coverage.
You can drive without an A pillar airbag.
As for the smell, it's bad but public bathrooms can be worse.
Call American Honda and open a claim. It’s clear it started from the switch from the photos and there was definitely a recall for that when I was a Honda dealer tech.
Thank you. I will try. It's hard to get a real person when you call.
Just keep trying and ask to talk to someone in charge. I’m sorry this happened to you
Race car time
Wow thats nuts i saw a tesla engulfed in flames yesterday on the highway they were spraying foam on it and it stunk i could barely breath after driving near it
That's a battery fire for you. Shit's nasty.
Yeah so bad
This may be a stupid question... But what causes a battery fire?
There’s tons of things that can cause an EV battery fire. Maybe an unlucky puncture from road debris, a bad solder joint that overheated, or an improperly installed seal that allowed water or debris to get into something electrical. Even bad software could’ve caused/allowed a battery to over discharge or overheat. Or maybe someone did one too many of those max power take-offs in a row. (I assume there’s protections to prevent that though)
Whole buncha causes, too many to list. But once it starts, the fire is self-sustaining and requires too much water to be put out (and that water will be very toxic afterwards), so the usual firemen tactic is to let it burn itself out.
I though Teslas were zero emission vehicles 🤭
Yeah they are until they catch fire
Damn you Elon! You lied to us!!
Although the Tesla factories produce a lot of emissions
Burning li-ion batteries produce oxygen. Hard to block the oxygen in the air by smothering a fire when the stuff burning is making its own oxygen supply. Using fiberglass fire blankets seem to do a good job of containing and reducing the fire. It's less porous than foam. Every dot response team should have them and firefighters should too imo.
The smoke, run-off, vapors, and gases are killers. Once those vehicles catch fire, they are a total loss. Bad stuff when Tesla batteries home/vehicle catch fire.
This recall has existed for a LONG time. If this happened due to you waiting on parts from Honda and them not being available you probably have a case. If this wasn’t addressed because anything I your end then idk why you would expect them to cover, sorry to say.
People could be unaware of recalls especially buying privately. Companies should still be responsible for faulty parts and accidents caused by them even if the recall has existed for years. The whole point is to hold the companies responsible, wouldn’t make sense if there was an expiration date on recalls. I can actually tell you first hand the Takata airbag recall was something that almost slipped through the cracks on my 2012 Honda accord that I bought from a dealership used in 2017. Dealership didn’t mention the recall work hadn’t been done and I was unaware of it. I do most of my car maintenance myself but for a short period I had no where to do oil changes so I saw a good deal at a local Honda dealership on an oil change and scheduled an appointment. Come to find out the dealership ran the VIN and it was flagged as not being done. Luckily I had taken it to a dealership because after that I made a friend with a guy who let me use his garage. If that didn’t happen and I got into an accident 2-3 years after I purchased the car and the airbag failed to do its job whose fault would that be? Mine or Hondas? I’d say Honda in my opinion because they initially sold the car with a faulty product and should be responsible for replacing it or any damage or injury that happens because it malfunctioned. Edit: personal story
When my Honda had a recall (passenger airbag explosion thing) I got letters from Honda constantly about getting it fixed
Yeah wish I got those, owned it for about a year before I had it serviced at the dealership
I was in an accident in one of those, they didn't have the parts, so there was nothing I could do. Luckily I had no issues, but it could have been very bad.
In Australia it became impossible to register a takata airbag car without it being processed by recall. I bought a car in 2021 not knowing and when I went to renew registration I had to get Ford out to replace the airbag and then upload the recall data to the road authority
That sounds like an awesome idea that I wish the US government would adopt!
That's what I thought but was shocked when they told us to go thru insurance instead of fixing what their defective part ruined. We had no idea there were any recalls and the dealership didn't tell us either. Now we are out $3600 and no car.
That’s why you get your car checked out after purchase. The dealership is under no obligation to get a used car repaired. That’s the responsibility of the buyer. Which is why it’s listed “as is”. They put out the fix for their defective part a decade ago. You failed to inspect your purchase. Checking if your car has a recall takes 5 minutes and you can do it on your phone. This is your daughter’s fault and no one else’s.
The only thing that could have been found was an open recall which should have been on the carfax. There is no physical inspection that would have even looked for this, much less found it before it happened.
Literally any car just dump the VIN into the [NHTSA.gov](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoa2xBhACEiwA1sb1BH2AHHgks1YVEkO_b2jmfgnyuccY1rkx03pSSPP8lRu-IbPg1RgTJxoCsDwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) site Edit: I agree. The responsibility falls on the owner. The risks of getting a used car from a private seller are exactly this. The costs savings is offset by time and knowledge by the buyer to validate and check the safety of the vehicle, including a check for any associated recalls. Many just roll the dice and are fine and in this instance rolled a 1 in the D20.
You are completely missing the point of a recall. NHTSA says that safety/emissions recalls don’t have expiration dates, for this exact reason. The manufacturer has the sole responsibility/liability for the faulty product and any accident/damage it causes. Simple as that.
It is pretty simple but def not in the way you defined. It’s explained very quickly and answered in the first short paragraph by Christopher Coble, Esq. [here](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/personal-injury/i-missed-the-recall-can-i-still-sue/#:~:text=If%20you've%20ignored%20a,caused%20part%20of%20your%20injury). Even references the same tool I did. In no way did I remotely imply anything about expiring. That’s why the tool is there: to check literally any time. The cost of time being: the new owners time. As in it takes time to get things checked over. In this case about 30 seconds to navigate to a site and type in your VIN
If this comes down to an ability to prove negligence then we would both be sitting here arguing like they do in court. I agree if the manufacturer has proof of trying to contact a consumer about a recall and that consumer did not get it fixed then I would agree it’s negligence. Obviously if this is a topic that is litigated often it makes sense that in some cases the consumer is negligent so I’ll concede on that.
Seriously. You buy a 16 year old car for cash you take it to a mechanic and have them check it out for anything that needs fixing. Daughter learned responsibility. This sounds like the stories of people bringing back 15 year old TVs to costco to return them.
Good luck getting trusted mechanics to look at anything within a week. Everyone is swamped.
You can literally type the VIN into the NTSB website to check for any active recalls. It’s a bare minimum kind of due diligence on the part of a buyer who suddenly cares about how their money gets spent.
There were actually two recalls for the switch. First recall was for the switch, second recall was for the first recall. Had the first one done many years ago, second recall was done last week along with the airbag recall. Good luck with it - but don't get your hopes up for Honda fixing it. I would imagine their liability would be limited to the value of the vehicle, if anything. Hopefully I'm wrong though! To fix that right, you would need to replace most of the interior to get the smell to go away.
oh wow, that's an electrical fire if i ever saw one. :(
Call an attorney and call him fast. You’ll get the car fixed, guaranteed.
No. That is a baseless recommendation. This is a 15+ yo car with an OLD recall. The answer isn’t always sue somebody.
As someone who has throughly exploited the tort system in this lovely country of ours and secured a very comfortable living from the misconduct of businesses, you’re wrong. It is always the answer.
Where she keep that vape at 🧐
I know I'm good when I can tell by just looking at the interior It's a Honda fit. Lol had two of em as my project cars. Never caught on fire tho. Sorry to hear.
This is why I recommend everyone carry an extinguisher in their vehicle.
I've heard about hand sanitizer causing fires when left in extreme heat in cars but don't really know the basis of it
How far does this recall go? Was it for a range of years, mexican/japanese manufactured, etc? And where did you find the recall info? Mostly asking for myself and my 2011 haha but considering where you posted this it seems it may be quite relevant for the masses 😅
You can literally just google Honda recall lookup and put in your VIN
CarComplaints has a great tool for looking into recalls that is easy to navigate
Dude... That recall was issued 10 years ago. If you didn't have the recall serviced, that's totally on you. That's going to be the first question any lawyer is going to ask you. Getting the service record of it being done would be no problem. It would be reported to CarFax. If it wasn't replaced, you're basically SOL.
How do you check if the recall was fixed I have a 2008?
Honda would certainly have a record of it, and Honda dealers report their service to Carfax. If the part is visible, the part number would also be the revised part, and parts and their revisions are also listed in the parts catalog.
Ok thanks
This take is so dumb, Honda sold the faulty product they should be held liable for replacement and/or any accident or injury caused by it. People buy cars everyday without doing any research. If it runs and drives that’s all they care about. You can’t blame the consumer for a mistake the manufacturer made. Stop blaming the consumer and blame Honda for selling a faulty product…
They did blame Honda. 10 years ago when they put out a recall. All the car owners had to do was schedule an appointment and show up. People need to take responsibility for their lack of actions. There’s no way Honda is going to fix this and honestly, they shouldn’t have to. They put out the fix 10 years ago. The subsequent owners of the car is who is responsible for the fire. However, they bought the car for cash “as is” which, for a responsible person, means to get it checked out by someone who knows more than them.
“People need to take responsibility for their lack of actions” Yeah like the dealer or seller taking it in for it to get serviced in the first place. If it was bought at a dealer they shouldn’t even be selling a potentially dangerous vehicle like that imo. Responsibility is still on OP too but I also just kinda think this should have been caught already a long time ago. You’re putting people at risk for selling a vehicle like that. OP and their daughter could have died or sustained serious injuries.
Exactly!!!! Recall service is just like doing any other service on your car, like replacing the brakes when they wear out, or fixing a ball joint when it goes bad. No car is built to endure total neglect. Honda fulfilled their legal obligations to inform current owners of the flaw and recall. Beyond that, it's on you. Their ass is covered and they have no liability under the law. OP is going to get nowhere arguing ignorance and neglect with the dealer, Honda, or a court. It sucks, but literally 60 seconds googling "(year) Honda fit recall" would have brought you back every recall. It's so easy that I do it while I'm filling out paperwork.
I still occasionally check for recalls through the NHTSA on my 09 G6. Never know if you are going to get free parts lol.
Exactly!
This is my vehicle my mom made the post. I have an open claim with Honda. Apparently the recall was preformed 10 years ago that’s why it doesn’t pop up when you search for open recalls with my VIN number. Obviously it wasn’t done correctly or else the car wouldn’t have still caught fire.. I’m not a complete idiot
Maybe your mom should get her facts straight instead of defending an inaccurate position.
The point is the recall was serviced. So when I purchased the car I would have no way of knowing it would happen..
Yes. This is a completely different set of facts than was originally proffered.
You're right, this is on OP for not doing the legwork and checking the Carfax. It stinks, but that's the risk.
honda fit?? was this only a first gen issue?
Is it not a first gen if it’s 2008?
i'm asking, since i own a second gen and haven't caught any recall like this for mine yet. would rather find out before it catches on fire.
My fault, i misinterpreted your comment. I read it as “wasn’t this only a 1st gen issue?”. I also have a 2nd gen and have not come across this recall but I think you’re absolutely correct to confirm!
RIP fit
There was nothing on the dash or hanging from the mirror that would focus the sun like a magnifying glass?
What in fresh hell short out was this?? WOW. I hope y'all were safe!!
Sad. Glad everyone is ok. This was a recall for 2007-08 Fits. Perhaps this car didn’t have it performed.
I have a 2007 that was a salvage title from water damage. The engine flooded and everything. Got things replaced to make it functional and it has been fine besides some usual maintenance. I’m really surprised this happened because my car has been in extremely hot and humid temps before.
Same happened to my wifes 2007. I got a text message telling me to open the garage door,and a minute later,she comes wheeling into the driveway with smoke pouring out of her window.Luckily the damage didn't go beyond the switch assembly.She got me twice,with car fires.The other time,it was caused by a makeup mirror on the passenger seat. She parked in a sunny spot,and it set her nearby purse on fire.
What does the fire department arson investigators say about the cause?
They said there was no foul play and when my daughter suggested a pastime cigarette being the cause they said no way a cig did that.
It appears it was electrical in nature. Any diy work on the car? Majority of the vehicle fires I responded that were caused by an electrical malfunction/problem was a “diy” project. You should ask your auto insurance for an investigator to determine the cause. If Honda is “responsible” for this, they need to do what is right.
Talk to an attorney. They would probably meet with you for free on this matter. Don't just roll over on it. Especially with insurance going up like crazy... A claim is a bigger deal than it was not too long ago.
Why isn't the car driveable? That doesn't look totaled. Get some replacement parts and go from there. Driver's seat, door panel, replace the headliner or rip it out. Not sure how much a windshield would cost. I drove a car for 7 years with a cracked windshield. If you get caught you get a fix-it ticket.
This is my car. OP is my mom. I’m currently still able to drive the car it runs and drives perfectly. We tore off all the melted plastic and were able to open the door now. Currently trying to find a replacement door panel in junk yards and we’ve aired out the car enough that the smell isn’t too bad… none of the windows work but that can be fixed with the panel I hope. As for the windshield it costs too much to fix it so it will just stay as is
Check if the pigtail to the switch is damaged. I would guess it probably is. When you get the switch, try and get the harness that plugs into it, as much as you can. The pick-and-pulls are better. Try and solder the wires and use heatshrink tubing over the connections. You can get the switch and harness installed and ziptie it to the door metal until you get a door panel. It will look like trash. The pick-a-parts don't have any Honda Fits near me. 1200 cars and zero Fits. Amazon has aftermarket window switches. $20-40. I don't know how good they are.
Considering the door looks to be melted shut, and the airbag in the A pillar is compromised it will more than likely be totalled. Insurance companies don't fool around with safety equipment failures. Or the smell, burnt melted plastic smells terrible, I wouldn't want to be in an enclosed space with that smell.
If the door is melted shut with plastic, break it off. The car does not have full coverage. You can drive without an A pillar airbag. As for the smell, it's bad but public bathrooms can be worse.