So my RX-8 Caught on fire today
 

So today I was with some buddies at a mall and I drove my car over a median not paying attention. The car was stuck on the median and could not pull it self over it. We tried pushing it off the median for about 15 minutes with no luck. The car wasn't able to get itself over the median by itself as only the back left wheel was touching the ground and the rest of the car was resting on the median. After about 15 minutes we saw smoke coming from somewhere so I immediately turned it off. We assumed it was just smoke from the tires. My friends went inside the mall to go get help to push the car off the median while I stayed by the car.

Well the smoke kept coming and I noticed it was now coming from under the hood. I lifted to the hood to investigate and saw the smoke was coming from somewhere in the back of the engine bay. About 5 seconds after that the entire engine bay went up in flames followed by an explosion from somewhere in the engine. 10 minutes after that my precious RX-8 was engulfed in flames while I watched hopelessly with about 80 people watching and taking pictures.


I can not think of anything that would have started a fire in the engine. We were definitely giving the clutch a work out while we were trying to get it unstuck but I've never heard of a clutch starting a fire. Only thing I can think of is the Cat caught on fire but I think I would have noticed that earlier than I did.

Either way sad day for RX-8 owners everywhere.

GREAT pics/Videos will follow if people are at all interested

EDIT: Ill have the pics up tomorrow.

Wow - that really sucks .

any grass on the median ?

holy shit, sorry to hear that...

+1 for pics and video

Nah It was basically just dirt and rocks.


I have the vids on my phone and my friends phone Ill have them up Tomorrow for sure

I wouldn't mind betting it was caused by your cat

That's what we figured also.

damn that sucks....and kinda scares me.... i dont want that happening to me.

+1 for pics and video

Oh man. Sorry to hear about your car dude.

yeah most likely it's your cat that touched something it shouldn't touch when you jammed it on the median

rotary cat runs uber hot, fyi

wow man that sucks.

shit man that blows... hope insurance takes care of you.

cat got really hot and started a fire. rose up to enginebay. sucks.

how will you explain it to insurance? :P

Whatever I can to get as much money as I can :P

Hoping insurance covers what I still owe on the car

say you had a flat tire and pulled over on the median because you were losing controle.. then fire happend.

Bummer. Sorry about the car dude!

I don't think trying to get the car off the median had anything to do with the fire. Something likely happened when the car rolled on the median.

Whatever the cause, you should be ok insurance-wise as long as you have full coverage. Good luck!

bahahaha ripping off insuracne companies. Normally, my morals would kick in and I'd say don't do that. But they steal a shit ton of money from people... so fuck them haha

If the frame or cross brace was resting on a concrete or asphalt part of the road or curb it is also possible that the thin cross brace was pushed up and grounded into the hot wire of the starter, although this is less likely than the exhaust starting the fire on some dry grass or brush.

Did the fire start on the passenger side or the driver side?

Not sure this would fly because there were about 15 cops and 5 firetrucks and about 100 witnesses who would beg to differ :P

That's what insurance is for. I don't think they have any reason for not covering it.

I bet you wished you would have called a tow truck now.

wow that sucks.. Get the video or pics up though

let me get this right.

You high centered your car and left it running?
just wow.

I'm glad no one was hurt, but Darwin catches the slow ones.

wow...

sucks..
another one bites the dust....

That sucks amigo. I hope all turns out well. We've all made mistakes, it just sucks when you make a big mistake.

Yeah looking back I should have remember that right? Too bad I didn't but it's cool you came in here and reminded me that I was a retard. Appreciate it man.

I'm really sorry for your loss I am...but you weren't paying attention and ran over a median. What if that were a person? I mean...I don't think the cops would enjoy that story. Or the person you ran over in flames...YIKES!

pix/video or it never happens and be labelled as another troll post.

OOO, I'd like to see those pics!

And if you can get enough insurance money you're definitely in a good spot for a new car purchase. Perhaps a rugged 4x4? lol

Well damn, I didnt hear about this in the news or anything, what mall were you at?

Sorry to hear about it, get the pics up.

you're welcome

this thread is worthless without pictures.

Totally sucks. I bet for now on you are going to avoid medians like a mother f***er now.

hey now you can get the 09 rx8 hope you have full coverage on the car

^or get a used 8 and put a custom lift kit on it for the medians and whatnot!!!!! lol lol

anyways sucks about the car hopefully everything works out1

http://www.pnw3.org/imagegallery/alb...0002/mot-1.jpg
(make this thread more interesting)

You don't have to 'lie' about anything.

Insurance is there to cover your loss for your own acts or those of others, whether negligent or not.

Your acts would have to be intentional in order for the insurance company to deny your claim lawfully, based on the contract your insurance policy represents.

If you accidentally drove your car into a lake, your insurance would cover the loss. If you intentionally did so, it wouldn't.

Also, lying on a sworn statement for insurance claims is a felony in most, if not all, states.

You will be covered if you simply tell them what happened.

But she apparently handled the situation better than the OP, hers isnt on fire...

:cwm27: Sorry, someone had to say it lol.

Its kinda hard to drive over a median not paying attention. You lost control or something?

I'd assume didn't see it going 20 and OOPS!

Going over a median isn't too bad. Leaving on/ running the engine is pretty bad if not stoopid (sorrydude). next time you shouldn't be so careless with an expensive car lol's, you should buy an FC3S rx7 instead of another 8. still good, just cheaper(that's what I'd get).

oh yeah! and screw insurance companies, over priced shits. they don't deserve sympathy, all they care about is money... their money.

It's a mistake that i'm sure he has learned from. Good luck on a new car.

That sucks!!! sorry to hear!! It was most likely caused by long grass burning from the bottom of the hot engine/underside that ignited while it was on the median.

He said there was only loose gravel/dirt on the median.

Good luck with the insurance dude

It was the CAT.

Need pictures!

I think you guys scared him away! Still no pics, Dammit

did you just get your license or something?

wow. that sucks.

did you rescue anything out of your car? i'd start emptying it right away. ;)

Hopefully yours was a automatic, because you may of done the 8 community a favor.

that sucks were you straight? about 14yrs ago i ran over a parking median and small tree leaving a bar in a mall after 6 beers and 8 shots right after work. thank god it was dark out and the eclipse had all wheel drive:) All my stupidity cost me that night was a new tire and some super glue for the side skirt. i was sure i was gonna get a dui changing that tire, it must have took 45 min:)