I was leaving a gas station the other day, when I started to press down on the accelerator and the RPMs would not increase. Being that I had a good 30 mile trip ahead of me; and it was all on the highway with speeds of 70+; I decided to drive across the street and into a empty parking lot. Once I parked, the car began to shake and vibrate harshly and the RPMs remained at or below 250. After 3-4 minutes, the RPMs jumped to 750 and the shaking/vibrating stopped. I figured it was either a tank of bad gas, or something that could be looked at the following day.
However, as I was about to pull out of the driveway, a man came running at me saying that my car was on fire. I did not see any smoke nor hear/smell anything. But, as I slightly reversed, my underbody was basically melting and dripping fire-y gobs of plastic. The man grabbed helped to extinguish the flames on the ground, but as I opened the hood, the entire radiator fan and nearby electrical was also on fire, He sprayed the extinguisher onto it, and the fire went out.
But, their were no warning lights, and the thermostat stayed in the middle the entire time of the fire. I am amazed that this happened without any warning; and if I had gone on the expressway this strange situation could have become a fatal one. Anyone else have this issue.....fire and without warning? Is it likely my car will be a total loss? Luckily, I have comprehensive coverage, but still, after losing my job this is going to hurt!
I was leaving a gas station the other day, when I started to press down on the accelerator and the RPMs would not increase. Being that I had a good 30 mile trip ahead of me; and it was all on the highway with speeds of 70+; I decided to drive across the street and into a empty parking lot. Once I parked, the car began to shake and vibrate harshly and the RPMs remained at or below 250. After 3-4 minutes, the RPMs jumped to 750 and the shaking/vibrating stopped. I figured it was either a tank of bad gas, or something that could be looked at the following day.
However, as I was about to pull out of the driveway, a man came running at me saying that my car was on fire. I did not see any smoke nor hear/smell anything. But, as I slightly reversed, my underbody was basically melting and dripping fire-y gobs of plastic. The man grabbed helped to extinguish the flames on the ground, but as I opened the hood, the entire radiator fan and nearby electrical was also on fire, He sprayed the extinguisher onto it, and the fire went out.
But, their were no warning lights, and the thermostat stayed in the middle the entire time of the fire. I am amazed that this happened without any warning; and if I had gone on the expressway this strange situation could have become a fatal one. Anyone else have this issue.....fire and without warning? Is it likely my car will be a total loss? Luckily, I have comprehensive coverage, but still, after losing my job this is going to hurt!
- Alexander H., Elmhurst, IL, US