Pontiac Solstice Forum - View Single Post - Nittany caught on fire last night!!!!

Last night while I was driving home from Christmas shopping my DIC started to go crazy. It was cycling through all of the options including the language setups. After awhile it settled down to just flashing the message to change my oil (which doesn't need changed) and to service the air bag. I was about a quarter of a mile from my exit on the PA turn pike when my driver's air bag deployed. The air bag did not come straight back but instead hit me in the chest and left arm. The inside of my car filled with whatever the gas is that is used to deplay the bag. All I know is it's not something that you want to breath. I was pushed towards the console which put me in front of the only clear spot of my windshield. This was another fantastically lucky ( I don't think so ) occcurrance for me because I was traveling at 70mph at the time. I was able to stay on the road and reach over to the window buttons and lower the windows. I exited the turnpike and noticed the DIC was stable on the engine temperature mode. The engine temp was 201. My dealer is only a mile and a half from the exit so I thought I'd try to make it to the dealer's lot to leave the car for the night......what more could happen...right? I made it about 3/4 mile and flames came up out of the dash. In the couple of hundred feet it took me to find a place to pull off of the road, the flames were completely up over the gauge pod and burning melting plastic was dripping down between my legs as I was trying to get my car off of the road. I pulled off and bailed out. A young girl stopped and used my cell phone to call the fire department. A man who lives near where I stopped had just pulled into his garage and saw me grab snow and throw it on the dash (my fire extinguisher did not fire when I pulled the pin). He came down with his fire extinguisher and after an attempt with snow decided to use his extinguisher on the flames. By the time the fire department got there three or four minutes later we had to use the extinguisher at least two more times. The fire would not go out until the battery was disconnected. The fire department used a pry bar to peel off the dash pod to get into the fire area. The entire wiring harness around the ignition switch and controls was a melted mess. I came away with a couple of slightly burned fingers and a pair of burned pants but no permanent damage. Unbelievable considering what had happened to me over the previous ten minutes. I may not have had a visible passenger with me last night but I'm certain a guardian angel was riding with me doing extra duty allowing me to be posting this right now. I'm going over to take some pics later today and to set up a visit for the insurance adjuster. I'm not certain how this is going to play out, especially with Nittany's high mileage and the amount of damage that was done. I do know that I'm alive and even a first 1000 can be replaced if needed. I'll post pics later for the not-so-faint-of-heart to see.

__________________
AKA xmm
First 1000 Order VIN # 000218 - Time Stamp 2:35:20
DEEP with Steel/Sand leather,
73,500+ miles on the odo - Silver side stripes - My wife named my car "Nittany" after Penn State, my Alma Mater
Reborn at the factory at 57,100 miles
Proud Member - ICoD EHDoR&M
WPASC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASSOA
Founding Member #41
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's Going To Be A Girl......plus twins on the way too!!!"

	Ex-Miata Man Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Western PA (the center of grandparents)	Last night while I was driving home from Christmas shopping my DIC started to go crazy. It was cycling through all of the options including the language setups. After awhile it settled down to just flashing the message to change my oil (which doesn't need changed) and to service the air bag. I was about a quarter of a mile from my exit on the PA turn pike when my driver's air bag deployed. The air bag did not come straight back but instead hit me in the chest and left arm. The inside of my car filled with whatever the gas is that is used to deplay the bag. All I know is it's not something that you want to breath. I was pushed towards the console which put me in front of the only clear spot of my windshield. This was another fantastically lucky ( I don't think so ) occcurrance for me because I was traveling at 70mph at the time. I was able to stay on the road and reach over to the window buttons and lower the windows. I exited the turnpike and noticed the DIC was stable on the engine temperature mode. The engine temp was 201. My dealer is only a mile and a half from the exit so I thought I'd try to make it to the dealer's lot to leave the car for the night......what more could happen...right? I made it about 3/4 mile and flames came up out of the dash. In the couple of hundred feet it took me to find a place to pull off of the road, the flames were completely up over the gauge pod and burning melting plastic was dripping down between my legs as I was trying to get my car off of the road. I pulled off and bailed out. A young girl stopped and used my cell phone to call the fire department. A man who lives near where I stopped had just pulled into his garage and saw me grab snow and throw it on the dash (my fire extinguisher did not fire when I pulled the pin). He came down with his fire extinguisher and after an attempt with snow decided to use his extinguisher on the flames. By the time the fire department got there three or four minutes later we had to use the extinguisher at least two more times. The fire would not go out until the battery was disconnected. The fire department used a pry bar to peel off the dash pod to get into the fire area. The entire wiring harness around the ignition switch and controls was a melted mess. I came away with a couple of slightly burned fingers and a pair of burned pants but no permanent damage. Unbelievable considering what had happened to me over the previous ten minutes. I may not have had a visible passenger with me last night but I'm certain a guardian angel was riding with me doing extra duty allowing me to be posting this right now. I'm going over to take some pics later today and to set up a visit for the insurance adjuster. I'm not certain how this is going to play out, especially with Nittany's high mileage and the amount of damage that was done. I do know that I'm alive and even a first 1000 can be replaced if needed. I'll post pics later for the not-so-faint-of-heart to see. __________________ AKA xmm First 1000 Order VIN # 000218 - Time Stamp 2:35:20 DEEP with Steel/Sand leather, 73,500+ miles on the odo - Silver side stripes - My wife named my car "Nittany" after Penn State, my Alma Mater Reborn at the factory at 57,100 miles *Proud Member - ICoD EHDoR&M* WPASC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NASSOA Founding Member #41 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "It's Going To Be A Girl......plus twins on the way too!!!"

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