Spontaneous Electrical Fire

[BURNTINMO]

RE: safari bikini,duster,deck cover

I was the proud owner of a 1997 Grand Cherokee when I parked it on a friend's driveway. It had been off over 30 minutes when we noticed from inside the house that the Jeep was on fire. It was destroyed. The worst news was that when I reported it to DC to understand the source of the fire. They sent an investigator out and a few days later sent me a form letter that stated I had no grounds for a claim against them. Has anyone else been treated like this?

 

[Joopin]

That's crazy, sorry to hear it. Are they trying to say that YOU set the fire or something? Myaunts 65 mustang did the same thing. She was letting it warm up in the morning and she noticed it was on fire from her kitchen. Turned out it was a dry rotted hose plug on the carb. Good luck, you gotta get another jeep!

Oh and Welcome to the site!

Joop

 

[Sparky-Watts]

RE: This is ABSOLUTELY NUTS!

Although I sympathize with you over the loss of your Jeep, I can understand their position. Unless there was a safety recall for whatever it was that caused the fire, you are unfortunately SOL. Tens of thousands of cars catch fire on a daily basis, for a variety of unforeseen reasons, and unless there are recalls or it's still under warranty, the makers have no liability to replace the vehicle. To do so would be extremely cost prohibitive. There are many, many reasons an 8 year old vehicle may catch fire, and the majority of them would be due to improper maintanence, such as letting fuel lines and electrical wires become worn. There isn't much a manufacturer can do to prevent this. Now if it had only been a couple of years old, I would think you'd have some recourse, though you'd have to prove that the cause was a negligent defect on the manufacturers part. Very hard to do unless there have been a lot of other documented cases.

Again, not trying to rain on your parade, but that's just how it is. I'm truly sorry to see any fellow Jeeper lose their rig. I know I'd be ticked at them if my YJ burned to the ground, but I also know that it's 11 years old, and anything can go wrong at that age. Keep us posted as to whether you get another one or not. I sure hope you do, and I hope you stick around here at Jeepz.com....the more the merrier!!