blairelspeth

My 1995 4 Runner (i think it's a limited) caught fire yesterday after an hour long drive. I looked under the car after smelling smoke, to see some of the wires on fire. Couldn't get it out until the guy from Verizon came out with an extigusher. Not sure where to even start-Wanted to see if anyone else had this problem. Not much of a toyota head, but do love my 4 runner and don't want to get rid of it (nor can i afford to). I live in Los Angeles and my truck is mostly in traffic-didn't catch fire until i took it out of the city....

Matt16

Maybe see if you have fire insurance on your truck. That's where I'd start. Mybe post a picture as well.

blairelspeth

Tried the fire insurance-Not covered. I was totally kicking my self for letting my fiancee be a cheap-o. I don't have any pictures, but luckly the whole truck wasn't on fire. It seems to just be the wires under the passenger side. Another thing is that i am not sure what was done to my baby before she was given to me (fiancee ie. cheap-o). I will post a pic once i have one, but seeing as i left in in a parking lot about an hour away, not sure if i will have one. It has to be something with the starter, because the electric seems ok (windows go up and down, lights go on, etc), but the truck won't turn over.

904_runner

That may be true about the starter. Idk but my fuel pressure regulator lost a screw and caused mine to catch on fire, wasn't a fun fix, but we managed. Bummer to hear. Make sure everything as far as wires get fixed before you try to start it or it may cause another fire. I keep a fire extinguisher in my truck, you might want to start.

Good luck fixing it!

Jay351

Wow! Im sorry to hear about this. Im going to go down to the insurance place tomorrow and check if I got full fire coverage. Also gonna pick up a fire extinguisher.

Defantly post some pictures when you can.

Matt16

Before you pay out too much in insurance, figure out how much your truck is actually worth to replace, then how much extra its going to cost for full coverage versus basic rate. Figure out how many years it will take to replace your truck if you saved the money instead of buying full coverage and determine if you are likely to total your truck or have serious crash every x years.

So basically, if basic coverage is $1500/yr and full coverage is $3000/yr and your truck is worth $9000, then with the $1500 saved per year, it will take 6 years to buy another truck if you total Mickey Mouse (that's wahat you call her, right?

So if your confident you can get through 6 years without totalling your truck, put the money away in a high interest account and you'll win in the long run.

dirtoyboy

do you have a remote starter or aftermarket stereo installed? Those are the most common causes of vehicle fires

nate V

run with a fire extinguisher! I have had one in my truck for years. Safety first

dirtoyboy

Agreed...I know its after the fact now....

I have seen multiple rigs catch on fire and its interesting to see how the owners react when they realize no one has an extinguisher. I always carry one in my rig

MMA_Alex

uh yeah but fire is part of comprehensive (other than collision) on an older truck it should be cheap. It covers glass damage, acts of god (trees falling on parked car, fires, etc), animal damage, theft, etc. I have $500 deductable for OTC loss, with $0 deductable glass, and its around $80/year. Worth having IMO. Industry standard is to drop OTC after 7 years typically, but I cant afford to replace this thing out of pocket if it gets stolen, etc.

oh, and I keep my ABC dry chem extinguisher on the passengers side of the trans tunnel hump. Cheap insurance. I think I paid around $12 for it, with the cheapo mounting bracket

blairelspeth

Thanks everyone for your great input! I will be getting the fire extingusher along with the repair to my truck. I still haven't gotten it out of the parking lot, but will be today. Also, i will be putting coverage on it-Just don't want to risk this happening again. My luck a tree will fall on it next! If any one knows of a good toyota mechanic in Los Angeles, please let me know! I will have picture for you guys soon!

bobs01sr5

A remote starter eeekkkk I have one of those but do not have a fire extinguisher well I will be going out today to get one

blairelspeth

UPDATE:
I am back on the road-800 bucks later....
The engine was sitting on the frame (guess it was from a proir owner) and the wires were smashed under it. That's why it caught fire-got a big red can in case it happens again. I want to get the window fixed now-Any one else have any experience with the back window not going down? I don't want to shell out a ton of money if i don't have to....

mt_goat

Its also a good idea to keep the right size wrench handy to quickly disconnect the battery (for electrical fires that is).

There was a fireman on here a few years back that had his 4runner burn up. IIRC his was a dash fire. Totalled it.

WestCoastMoose

I had a fire also. Spark plug wires were rubbing on the dipstick.The rubber cap,dist cap,and a few wires were ablazing . I just grabbed the protective cover and ripped it off. But there was still fire on the cap and wires which after a couple of good puffs, was out..


I also did not have an extingisher or a spare cap,rotor or wires .I did drive it home, 50KM ,on 4 of the 6 plugs firing tho.And holy,did it start well on 4 of 6,and drove damn good too.
So 2 new additions to trail rides. Fire stopper and extra ignitions parts.
Moose

CyMoN

wait was it just your spark plug wire that caught fire if so may just want to go buy a new cap and rotor and wires that may be all you need to do how long has it been since the last tune up?

spark plug wires can arc out and possibly catch fire.

I would spend the 50$ or 60$ on those parts and replace them and see if it runs ok again

CyMoN

oops never mined I thought the post above was yours with pics