SVX caught fire - now dead

Hi everyone.
I have had my gorgeous maroon SVX for 2 weeks.

Today I left Devon at 6am and was driving to my parents in Surrey when near j5 on the M3 (8.07am) i noticed white smoke from the rear of the car. Head gasket I thought!!

I stopped the car on the hard shoulder, looked underneath the car and at the back near the back axle (Diff??) there was fire.

the girlfriend and myself ran to the SOS phone and within 5 minutes we had 2 fire engines and 2 police cars.

The fire was put out and the car was hosed down for the next hour to ensure the rear of the car cooled down. Seems the axle had caught fire and the gaskets and oil was ablaze and the fuel lines were very very very hot.

Car was recovered home to Devon just now (4pm) and now does not run at all.

What a shame as i loved this car and now because of teh fire i now have no car. Looking at the car from above all is okay but underneath it is just black.

aarrggghhhh

Regards
Ian

[Nobody]

I feel with you Ian .
Peter

[Michael Blue]

Ouch...sooooo sorry for your loss...

I honestly hope you have good insurance. I had a car fire in '98 with Progressive, and they definitley follow truth in advertising...they were "not what I excpected from an insurance company"...I expected coverage.


I hope you have better luck.

[svxistentialist]

Hi Ian

Sorry to hear this news. You must have been very lucky. I would have expected the petrol tanks to explode for a fire back there, and the car to burn out totally.

Hopefully your insurance covers it, nearly all have Fire and Theft included. Make sure the assessor is aware of the value and condition of your car.

don't despair if the car is beyond repair. There are usually about 12-15 on Autotrader any time you log on.

Commiserations

Joe

[Aredubjay]

Ian,
I'm shocked and saddened by the news. I hate it that this would've happened. I'm happy, however, that you weren't injured in the incident.

Take heart, however, that your SVX fuel tank has been tested under extreme conditions and found to be more resilient than a standard fuel tank.

Again, sorry to hear. Especially in such a short period of time as an owner.



Fuel Tank Test:

[svxistentialist]

Wow Randy

Now it makes sense. A plastic tank. Fiendishly clever Nipponese!!

An awful pity the tank designer was not let have a go at designing an automatic gearbox for the car.

First picture of a sawn-off SVX I have seen.

Thanks

Joe

[b3lha]

Originally posted by svxistentialist
An awful pity the tank designer was not let have a go at designing an automatic gearbox for the car.

Joe

Although one might be forgiven for thinking our gearbox was made of plastic.

[The Monzta]

Such a sad end for a great car, glad you and your girlfriend were safe though.

So what exactly caused the fire? How does a rear axle burst into flames? Is this something we should all be checking our cars for?

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by b3lha


Although one might be forgiven for thinking our gearbox was made of plastic.

I used to think they were made of chocolate.

I have rung the insurance company. Seems they will only cover bodywork damge and not mechanical damage. Car is being towed away in 45 mins to be assessed.

The firemen reckon that something caused friction at the back on the diff or axle and as a result caused the rubbers (?) and any gaskets to melt and as a result caused oil to escape which again caught fire.

He was guessing and had never seen such an incident at the back of the car.

In case the insurance company say they are not paying, does anyone know how much i am going to pay out for a new rear axle or rear diff (sorry not mechanically minded - is it called a diff)?

Should i repair it or let it go say for spares?

Thanks to everyone who has replied and for good wishes.

Regards

Ian

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by svxistentialist
Wow Randy

Now it makes sense. A plastic tank. Fiendishly clever Nipponese!!

An awful pity the tank designer was not let have a go at designing an automatic gearbox for the car.

First picture of a sawn-off SVX I have seen.

Thanks

Joe

Here's the link to the Road and Track guide that's been put up on the web. This person has done a great job and is providing a great service to SVXers who don't have the guide.

http://dcss.dyn.dhs.org/svx_iw/road_track/

There was an SVX being broken for spares on the Yahoo site - Dec last year or Jan this year. They may have the bits you are after. Also, a salvage yard where I just got a front driveshaft from - 01759 372727 - engine and box has gone amongst other stuff, but might be worth a try. Think that this was a 96 car.

Good luck!

[The Monzta]

Originally posted by devonsvx2
I have rung the insurance company. Seems they will only cover bodywork damge and not mechanical damage. Car is being towed away in 45 mins to be assessed.

The firemen reckon that something caused friction at the back on the diff or axle and as a result caused the rubbers (?) and any gaskets to melt and as a result caused oil to escape which again caught fire.

He was guessing and had never seen such an incident at the back of the car.

In case the insurance company say they are not paying, does anyone know how much i am going to pay out for a new rear axle or rear diff (sorry not mechanically minded - is it called a diff)?

Should i repair it or let it go say for spares?

Thanks to everyone who has replied and for good wishes.

Regards

Ian

I've already been down the diff route this year. I know for a fact that a new rear diff from Subaru is £1529.83 incl VAT. As of late Jan they had three on the shelf in the UK.

[Sonar]

Does that price include the actual CAR also ....???




/Sonny

[The Monzta]

Scary isn't it?