need your advise on my friends new car

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Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:19 PM
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need your advise on my friends new car

He got an 03 accord back in 2003 and it has 5300 miles on it at the time this happened


So yeah, i was driving my mom's '03 Honda Accord on the freeway home from church and like... between Decoto and Mowry smoke starts coming out of the car... I thought to myself... hmm the smoke is probably from an old car that broke down next to us... I checked my mirrors more closely... nope. it was our car. So i decided to exit the freeway... My dad was all screaming "YOU'RE TOO FAST KEN SLOW DOWN!" and I replied "SHUT YOU MOUTH THERES SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE CAR" (I always wanted to say something vulgar in cantonese for a reason. So I exitted off Decoto and pulled into the first street I saw (Cabrillo)... the car was smoking even worse at that time, it was coming out of the AC and ****... which sucks... but yeah... i popped the hood and there was a FIRE in my car... so gay... it was small too... i could have put it out but i didn't, everyone told me to get back...if we had went to the water tap to fill up a few gallons of purified water like every other week we do then we could have put out the fire hella quickly... and we would have saved the car... but yeah... i knew i could have saved the car... and now i kinda feel bad for not doing anything about it... anyways... on the same street there happened to be this hill-billy-like oldguy sitting outside of his garage... they helped us out the most... more than the cops... but its not like the cops got anything to do with fires anyways... so yeah, he redirected traffic while the car stood there burning (i should have done something)... the firefighters got here hella fast... took like 2 mins to speed down decoto... the took a ice-pick-like tool and ****ed up the hood so bad i won't open up anymore... gay... i was going to inspect it myself to see wtf went on under the hood... so yeah... after they hosed down the engine... and the rest of my car... they called the tow truck for us and they left... thats about it... well... this is why i'm kinda drunk right now too... I could have done something but i didn't... and now we're going to recycle a brand new and slightly-burnt accord for a new accord... if they let me have the engine or something at least then i wouldn't be so hard on myself but i doubt they would... o well i haven't had a drink in a long time so i guess this is a good excuse... i'll post pictures of the damage tomorrow so the rest of the world can see this freak accident that happened to me and my family...
there's also some pictures if interested. However my main question is, doesn't this sound a bit weird? driving and the engine starts smoking? Is there anything he can do about this ? The car is declared totalled today

Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:32 PM
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and what are we supposed to do about it?
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:33 PM
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oh and
cliff notes please
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:36 PM
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Originally posted by Daredevil
and what are we supposed to do about it?
++

Edit: Dude sounds like he has issues.

Last edited by ubercaff; Mar 16, 2004 at 05:42 PM.
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:38 PM
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Originally posted by Daredevil
and what are we supposed to do about it?
read the title next time you decide to click a thread thank you
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:42 PM
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Because he bought a Honda? Is that my fault?
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:45 PM
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Originally posted by ubercaff
Because he bought a Honda? Is that my fault?
i asked for advice, not the stuff that comes out of your *** thank you and have a :banana:
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:46 PM
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Originally posted by Daredevil
oh and
cliff notes please
Cliffs notes: something in engine bay randomly catches on fire totalling the car. What could cause this to happen? What should he do?

I say take it up with Honda. I really don't think there is a reason for a car that new to go up in flames.
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 05:48 PM
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Originally posted by nKoan

I say take it up with Honda. I really don't think there is a reason for a car that new to go up in flames.

finally a decent response. thank you
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:07 PM
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Yea, take it up with Honda. I believe there's a lemon law on new cars. Obvious the car catching on fire would be a clear indication on that. I have no idea how in the hell that happened, but on a fairly new car that has less than 6k on it, that's just down right bizarre. There could be a possible recall issue on that car if your friend isn't the only one with that problem. =X
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:10 PM
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Once the cause of the fire is found and looked in to, it can go either way. If it was due to a manufacturer's defect that can = a lawsuit...
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:14 PM
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take it up with the dealership. the car should be covered under its warranty and it should be covered for sutch things. If the dealership doesn't do anything than take it up with Honda and get an attorney. Also a call to the insurance company wouldn't hurt.
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:20 PM
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For some reason i couldn't help but laugh at those pics.

Seems like a reasonable story to me. Why would he lie about that? Also, it seems like those photos prove the story well. **** can and does happen. My cousin's 1994 F250 truck literally burned to the ground in > 5minutes because of an electrical short.

Quality control is a risky thing. I think honda makes great cars that can last 200k+ miles but one slips through the crack at times... this tends to happen when you sell millions of cars a year.

I suppose he could sue Honda but that might get messy.
Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:23 PM
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Might be time for a body kit and CF hood.

If the insurance paid sufficiently, it doesn't really matter what caused the fire. Your friend may never learn the cause unless the insurance folks did a thorough investigation.

Common causes are fuel or oil that leak onto the exhaust in the engine compartment. On another car, I've had an air-conditioning compressor clutch that seized and the belt generated so much heat that smoke was coming out of my hood seams at freeway speed - I stopped before a fire started. I know someone else who lost their car to a freeway meltdown due to a leaking fuel line. I suspect that in the latter case, they inadvertently caused the fire themselves because just days earlier they'd changed some sort of inline fuel filter (carbureted). Luckily, no one was injured.

Underhood fires aren't common on new vehicles, and an Accord isn't exactly low-end, either.

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Old Mar 16, 2004 | 06:24 PM
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insurnace is paying for the current value of the car prior to the accident, however the car is declared damage, so the kit and cf hood doesn't apply. Hehehe. thanks for the input



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