Boxster On Fire

[thelion]

I was driving today at Sebring, through turn 6, and my Boxster caught on fire! The third plastic undertray came loose and scraped the pavement and ignited, then it lit all the oil and/or rubber that was under there and I had a bit of a scare. I immediately pulled next to the flagman at turn 7 and they put out the fire. I won't know the extent of the damage until Monday, and nobody was hurt.

[WARDHOG]

Wow, that sux! Glad you didn't burn up. How did that piece come loose? What about insurance since the car was racing on a race track?

[thelion]

I wasn't racing, it was a driving school. I don't know how the piece came loose, I think it must have been defective. Porsche paid to have my car towed back to my dealer, I'll know more Monday. Meanwhile they gave me another Boxster as a loaner.

[privateselling]

Hello,

Do not understand what you really mean by '3rd undertray'. Would appreciate it to have a picture on the forum. Maybe this picture can be taken during the inspection in the workshop. A car that gets fire is the last thing one can have. Also interested to know the reaction of Porsche and if they are willing to pay for the damage ???Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Alfred

[thelion]

The aerodynamic undertray comes in three pieces on each side of the car, at least that's how it looked when I was at the track and the car was on a jack. I will get a better look at it tomorrow and supply some pictures.

I think the fasteners were defective, the fasteners seemed to be plastic, they really should be metal. Maybe there is a design change with newer models, mine is a 2002. I'm glad I was at a track when it happened, my little 2 lb bottle wouldn't have been enough to stop the fire.

Tom

[Tool Pants]

I have removed the center and rear covers to replace a fuel filter on a 1998 and they were held in place with plastic nuts. The front cover is held in place with 6 clips. On the older cars they are made of plastic and I have not looked to see if they are still plastic.

[thelion]

I saw the car up on the lift today, the O2 sensor wire might be burned a little but it was wrapped in foil, it might not even need replacing. The power steering line touched the header and it sprung a leak, it'll definately need replacing, then the rear plastic tray will need replacing. Tool Pants has some really nice pictures of the area, in the top picture, the area that got burned on my car would be in the upper right hand area.

Tool Pants: my 2002 still has plastic fasteners in some of the places.

Everyone: check that your power steering line is securely fastened so it can't touch the exhaust manifold.

Best Regards,

Tom

There are several lines routed in that area. Power steering fluid is apparently very flammable.

What you guys can gain from this whole thing is to make sure that your power steering line is secured to make sure it doesn't touch the exhaust manifold. Triple check it. If I wasn't at a track and on the highway, my little 2 lb fire bottle probably wouldn't have saved the car. They used three or four full sized fire bottles to put it out.

[thelion]

That post came out weird, heh, after I hit Add Reply

[clord]

Tom.... Do you have after market headers or the stock exhaust manifold?

[thelion]

Craig,

I have Cargraphic headers. They were installed by my dealer. I guess the power steering hose came loose from it's fastener and touched. While I was sweeping through turn 6, my steering felt stiff and then I saw smoke. It all happened so fast, I don't recall if I heard the scraping first or felt the steering get firmer first.

Either way, the parts are already ordered and it'll be repaired in a day or two. This weekend I'm heading back to Sebring, then Moroso the week after, then back to Sebring, and then an auto-x. It's a fun car, but Sebring is tough on cars, sometimes things happen.

Tom

Edited March 29, 2004 by thelion