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The world's most famous explosive cars
While many automotive fires are random, there are some cars that are more prone to catching fire than others.
Thu, May 31 2012 at 6:31 PM
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Photo: FontFont/flickr
The last thing a driver expects when he gets behind the wheel is that his vehicle will catch on fire. Unfortunately, for thousands of drivers over the years, this has been the reality. While some automotive fires may be random, other cars have been prone to catching on fire or even exploding — causing property damage and even taking lives.
The Ford Pinto may be the most well-known of these explosive cars, but it certainly isn’t the only vehicle known for self-combustion. In the 1980s, Pontiac faced scrutiny for its sometimes-flammable Fiero and more recently, General Motors faced a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation of its new Chevrolet Volt. These are just a few examples of famously fiery and explosive vehicles from the past four decades.
Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto’s fiery history was rooted in the 1970s. Ford was facing increasing pressure from Volkswagen in the small-car department and brought what would soon become the best-selling subcompact in the nation to market. Unfortunately, Ford’s rush to get the vehicle on dealer lots left consumers holding the bag — and driving a vehicle with a faulty design. The placement of the tank, a mere 9 inches away from the rear axle, left the entire car vulnerable in the event of a rear-end collision.
Writer Mark Dowie focused on the explosive Ford Pinto in his extensive investigative journalism piece that appeared in a 1977 issue of Mother Jones magazine. In the article, a conservative estimate of 500 burn deaths could be attributed to the Pinto’s faulty design, with less conservative estimates reaching as high as 900.
Chevy Volt
While the Pinto story brings back old memories, the Chevy Volt’s problems are relatively new -- with headlines that are more explosive than the car itself. In December 2010, General Motors introduced its first range-extended electrified vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is capable of driving up to 50 miles in all-electric mode, and a gasoline-powered system extends the driving range another 325 miles.
As would be expected with any new-to-market vehicle, the Chevy Volt underwent extensive testing by the NHTSA. About three weeks after the Volt was put through a side-into-pole crash test (along with other rigorous and extensive testing), the car caught on fire. This led the NHTSA to probe deeper, specifically addressing if electric vehicles were more likely to catch fire than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Ultimately, the NHTSA closed the case, saying that electric vehicles did not pose a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered vehicles. As for the Volt, General Motors is enhancing structural protection of the lithium-ion battery and began repair work in February.
Mini Cooper
BMW also has a current and potentially fiery problem on its hands with the January 2012 recall of nearly 89,000 Mini Coopers that might spontaneously catch fire. The culprit is an electronic circuit board on certain turbochargers. The circuit board has the potential to malfunction and ultimately overheat, and the result is a smoldering water pump that may lead to a fire in the vehicle’s engine.
Fortunately, the scale of the problem was nowhere near that of the Ford Pinto. According to official NHTSA documents, “by November 2011, there were 81 known cases of auxiliary water pump failure worldwide. Four of these cases included a burned engine compartment…” and no accidents or injuries related to the issue were reported.
Recalled models include certain turbocharged versions of the Mini Cooper S, Cooper S Clubman, Cooper S convertible and John Cooper Works produced between model years 2007 and 2011. For more information on the specific vehicles involved in this recall, view the NHTSA Recall Acknowledgement.
Pontiac Fiero
Let’s roll the clock back again and go back to the 1980s. Early in the decade, General Motors brought a sporty two-seater to market, the Pontiac Fiero. Although the vehicle was an instant success in the sales department, General Motors stopped producing the car a mere five years later, partly due to Ralph Nader’s declaration that the Fiero was another flaming mess of a car.
Like the Pinto, the Fiero’s fire problems were in the back of the vehicle, specifically the engine compartment. The Fiero ran hot and was prone to oil leaks and in some cases, the leaking oil would drip onto a hot exhaust manifold, causing a fire. But this wasn’t the only known cause of fire in the Fiero. Reports from a GM proving ground test showed that a faulty radiator hose led to a fire during a test drive.
Ultimately the multitude of reported fires led to a recall notice by General Motors for all 244,000 Fieros manufactured. In the notification of recall sent to then NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Director Dr. Michael B. Brownlee, General Motors stated, “from our studies we have concluded that improper owner maintenance and improper service procedures continue to be the principal causes of engine compartment fires in four-cylinder Fieros.” That’s right, every Fiero fire — including the one that happened at the GM proving grounds — was a direct result of faulty maintenance and not related to a possible design flaw on General Motors’ part.
Ferrari 458 Italia
Automotive recalls aren’t limited to automakers that manufacture millions of vehicles a year. Luxury Italian automaker Ferrari had its hands full with the 2010 recall of the $230,000 458 Italia. In some instances engine heat could cause the rear wheel housing and heat-shield assemblies to deform. Once deformed, the units were dangerously close to the exhaust system. If the exhaust generated enough heat, an adhesive on the shield assemblies could overheat and catch fire.
Unfortunately for several unlucky Ferrari owners, the assembly didn’t just catch fire locally; some fires quickly engulfed the entire vehicle. Although Ferrari takes its time when manufacturing its luxury supercars, the vehicles can be destroyed by fire in mere minutes. (That's the aftermath of a fire above.)
Ferrari ultimately issued a safety recall on Sept. 2, 2010, of the 303 Italias affected by the design flaw. Thankfully for Ferrari owners, the fix was simple and new protective heat shields were installed to rectify the problem.
Ford’s mega recall
Ford executives thought they had a media relations nightmare on their hands in the 1970s, but at least it prepared the organization for a more recent series of fire-related recalls. During a 10-year period that stretched from 1999 to 2009, Ford Motor Company issued eight different recalls for a total of more than 14 million vehicles equipped with a faulty cruise-control deactivation switch.
In October 2009, the largest single recall in Ford’s history was announced when 4.5 million vehicles equipped with the faulty switch were recalled. Models in that recall included the popular Ford Windstar, Ford Explorer and Ford Ranger. At the time, owners were advised to park their vehicles outside and away from any structure until they received official recall instructions.
The faulty switches, manufactured by Texas Instruments, were known to leak hydraulic fluid. The leaking fluid could overheat, smoke and possibly catch fire, even when the vehicle was parked and turned off. Over the course of that 10-year recall period, hundreds of fires were reported and thousands of complaints were logged by the NHTSA.
Related on MNN:
Click for photo credits
Photo (Ford Pinto): Brianteutsch/flickr
Photo (Chevy Volt): GM Corp.
Photo (Mini Cooper): Micah Young/iStockphoto
Photo (Pontiac Fiero): emarschn/flickr
Photo (Ferrari 458 Italia): ZUMA Press
Photo (Ford Explorer): M 93/flickr
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500 to 900 hundred dead in Pinto Fires, the actual number is closer to 26. but with the internet is is just to hard to get accurate facts so just make them up.
I bought my ex a Pinto Exploder, but it didn't work....
The volt is an expensive experiment that only the 1% can afford, even with tax breaks. Lucky for us, the 1% are too smart to buy this piece of crud.
Don't get me wrong, the engineering behind the car is awesome. But I can buy 2 Corollas for the price of one of these.
My understanding is that the various tax breaks and incentives bring the cost of the Volt down to the high 20s in California, New York and other areas. You cannot buy 2 Corollas for $28k. A car that’s in the high 20s is extremely mainstream these days, right in there with Camry, Sonata, and Minivan territory. A lot of middle income people don’t have any problem buying pickup trucks that reach the low $40k range easily.
I don't know why the Volt was mentioned. No Volt ever caught fire in an accident (do a Google search and you will find an article of a demolished parked Volt hit at high speed with no resulting fire). The only car fire occurred 3 weeks after testing, and followup tests were done on just the battery. The whole episode with the Volt was politically blown out of proportion by people who want it to fail.
The last item on the page shows the incorrect Ford Explorer model. You are showing the latest version of the Explorer which is based on a Volvo and is not part of the cars recalled through the 2009 model year. How about some journalistic integrity? Or at least not sure laziness on the part of the web designer?
Did anyone else happen to notice the wording that claims "...prone to catching on fire or even exploding — causing property damage and even lives.". How terrible, these things causing lives. We're -already- an over-populated planet!
Dear MNN.com: In your effort to be sarcastic, you failed to read properly. The article says "causing property damage and even taking lives." It says taking lives, not 'causing' them. please engage brain before speaking.
You're absolutely demented. Seek psychiatric help, please. You find burning people to death in faulty automobiles a solution to overpopulation? One can only hope that you'll volunteer to go first.
Well, I've owned and driven 9 Pintos from '71 to '79 models, 2 doors and station wagons. Never had one burn - not even the one I rolled 7 times off an overpass. BTW, the photo of the Pinto above is a '76 or '77 "shovelnose" model. The fire problem had been fixed long before that.
I've never owned a Fiero, but I did see one burn one night outside a restaurant I worked at.
I guess it is easier to make up a story than it is to do actual research. The Pinto had the same design flaw ALL cars of that era had. How the writer could have missed the facts on "box" chevy P.U. of the 70s and 80s are the most prone to explode when hit in the cab.
Agreed on the fact-checking - I would argue that fact-checking is a must in an article like this. As stated previously, no Volt on the road has exploded, and even in testing, it was a battery improperly handled, not even the full car. Take the Volt off the list altogether, if you want to be factual. If not, you might as well lead with the Toyota Prius or Ford F150, and say that those vehicles are all driven by people who spontaneously combust.
To Ferrari's credit, every 458 that burned due to heat shield failure was replaced with a new car at no charge.
So why would you use a picture of the NEW Explorer, which is not part of the recall? This would imply that this is an unsafe vehicle for the wrong reason. The fact finding in this article is highly suspect (Pinto vs. Maverick, Fiero engine stats). It seems like the author doesn't like Ford...
Seems to be a lot of whining from some really anal guys on here. They were simple mistakes in the article. Grow up a bit.
Ok boys let's get it right...the Fiero is a mid-engine body.
Hi John, Thanks to you and the others that pointed out that the Fiero was a mid-engine vehicle, that has now been corrected.
Why does the Pinto segment have a picture of a Ford Maverick?
That’s not a Maverick pictured. It’s a Pinto. Mavericks had trunks and were based on a larger platform. Pintos were small and didn’t have trunks. Duh.
It's now a Pinto, a real Pinto this time. Just like the Pinto my cousin had. :)
Since I owned a Fiero I caught the same comment about the "front engine compartment" as well. The author of this article needs to be recalled.....lol
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