Do you have a fire extinguisher in your car?

[JulesMaximus]

There are literally thousands of recalls, TSI's (Technical Service Bulletins), Defect Investigations and consumer complaints that list fire or potential fire as the result. Also, flooded vehicles or poorly repaired vehicles can also cause a fire. Many of the high end vehicles such as Mercedes and BMW come standard equipped with a fire extinguisher. I prefer the Halon extinguishers, but they are becoming more and more difficult to find.

:hmm: A friend of mine has a 2012 650i convertible. I don't recall it having a fire extinguisher.

I'm pretty sure my Mom-In-Law's Mercedes-Benz E350 doesn't have one either.

Edit-I sent my friend with the 650i an e-mail. His high end BMW does not have a fire extinguisher.

 

[phucheneh]

I think coming with a fire extinguisher would be detrimental to sales.

I always like wiring recalls that, rather than fixing the problem, simply add extra protection to the circuit that lights up. See: Ford. I always thought it was kind of akin to just handing the customer a fire extinguisher and saying 'there, problem solved!'

I will say that German cars, even non-Volkswagens, seem to be more resistant than most to blowing fuses. I've seen a lot of burnt up contacts in Mercedes fuseboxes...Germans seem to fuse a little too high. Too much shit on the same circuit, methinks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

So if your house is on fire and you can safely pick up and use a fire extinguisher save it with little danger to yourself your gonna walk out of the house and just let it burn because its just a thing?

I have both my houses and my cars insured and if I am in a position to safely save my car or someone elses I will probably choose to do so based on real time factors not just a feeling of something being just a thing and replaceable.

money doesnt grow on trees unless your patent lawyer

I think the odds that you are going to be able to pull over safely, get your fire extinguisher out from where ever it is, get the hood opened and be able to safely extinguish a fire without damaging much of the car or potentially injuring yourself is probably pretty slim..

Personally, I'd recommend you get the vehicle stopped and just get out as fast as possible.

 

[hanoverphist]

i dont carry one in my subarus, but i do in my work truck. mainly due to work requiring it. when my sons 72 C10 truck is running, that will have one as well. maybe two.

 

[DrDoug]

You're out of your mind if you think you're going to be able to pull over safely, get your fire extinguisher out from where ever it is, get the hood opened and be able to safely extinguish a fire without damaging much of the car or potentially injuring yourself.

Get the vehicle stopped and get the hell out as fast as possible.

...

If I followed your advice I would have lost my car. As it was it cost me less than $130 to put it back on the road. No insurance hassles either, just a quick fix and back on the road. Since you prefer to watch your car burn you should at least carry some coat hangers and marshmallows with you. :biggrin:

If the fire can be put out then I have an extinguisher there to do it. If it isn't enough then at least I tried.

 

[JulesMaximus]

If I followed your advice I would have lost my car. As it was it cost me less than $130 to put it back on the road. No insurance hassles either, just a quick fix and back on the road. Since you prefer to watch your car burn you should at least carry some coat hangers and marshmallows with you. :biggrin:

If the fire can be put out then I have an extinguisher there to do it. If it isn't enough then at least I tried.

I've been driving for over 3 decades and many hundreds of thousands of miles and I haven't had a fire in any car ever. Seems like a waste of time and money bothering with fire extinguishers in automobiles. What are the odds that you'll ever really need one?

If you want to waste your money be my guest.

 

[DrDoug]

I've been driving for over 3 decades and many hundreds of thousands of miles and I haven't had a fire in any car ever. Seems like a waste of time and money bothering with fire extinguishers in automobiles. What are the odds that you'll ever really need one?

If you want to waste your money be my guest.

I've been driving for over four decades, have also put on hundreds of thousands of miles and I had an occasion where I needed one, had one on hand and used it effectively. I saved money, saved public resources (fire/police) and saved my car. If you want to call that a waste of money then please, be my guest. If you have an occasion where your car is on fire and I or someone like myself stop and pull out our extinguisher to help, please decline our services.

Just be sure to have those coat hangers and marshmallows on hand because we'll be more than happy to toast a few on your ex-ride! :biggrin:

 

[_Rick_]

I've been driving for over 3 decades and many hundreds of thousands of miles and I haven't had a fire in any car ever. Seems like a waste of time and money bothering with fire extinguishers in automobiles. What are the odds that you'll ever really need one?

If you want to waste your money be my guest.

Probably about the same as needing an airbag.
Yet those are on all new cars :O

Edit: Actually I have seen probably more cars on fire, than I have seen cars that had an airbag deployment.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've been driving for over four decades, have also put on hundreds of thousands of miles and I had an occasion where I needed one, had one on hand and used it effectively. I saved money, saved public resources (fire/police) and saved my car. If you want to call that a waste of money then please, be my guest. If you have an occasion where your car is on fire and I or someone like myself stop and pull out our extinguisher to help, please decline our services.

Just be sure to have those coat hangers and marshmallows on hand because we'll be more than happy to toast a few on your ex-ride! :biggrin:

Congrats. You are literally the first and only person I've ever encountered who keeps a fire extinguisher in his car. I'm curious, what caused the fire?

Probably about the same as needing an airbag.
Yet those are on all new cars :O

Edit: Actually I have seen probably more cars on fire, than I have seen cars that had an airbag deployment.

Yet airbags are mandatory and fire extinguishers are not... I wonder why that is.

 

[DrDoug]

I'm curious, what caused the fire?

...

The distributor drive gear roll pin sheared off after 27 years of (ab)use, allowing the distributor to fire a cylinder when the intake valve for that cylinder was open. When that happened it blew back into the air filter, picking up fuel on the way out and setting the air cleaner/carb on fire. I drilled out the gear and shaft, replacing the 1/8th inch roll pin with a stronger 5/32nd inch spiral pin. I then rebuilt the carb to clean out the soda from the extinguisher and replaced the air filter element. Toss in a new extinguisher and I was back on the road the next day.

That's a hell of a lot better story than being stranded almost 750 miles from home with a burned out wreck.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I find it rather amusing that Jules feels so strongly against carrying an extinguisher in a car that he's actually arguing with you about it

 

[JulesMaximus]

I find it rather amusing that Jules feels so strongly against carrying an extinguisher in a car that he's actually arguing with you about it

Maybe if I had an old classic car I'd feel differently. I have zero issue not carrying one in the cars I own presently.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Yeah I don't get it either. They are cheap, light, and small so why not have one in the car? It isn't like the extinguisher is going to burst into flames or something lol.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah I don't get it either. They are cheap, light, and small so why not have one in the car? It isn't like the extinguisher is going to burst into flames or something lol.

Just one more projectile in the cabin in an accident? More hassle than it is worth IMO.

I know, the average AT garage poster is fully prepared at all times and carries MREs, weapons, blankets, a survival kit, a fullsize spare tire, flares, a few gallons of water, a compete tool kit, the kitchen sink, emergency cash, 30' of rope, chains, a winch and a hydraulic floor jack in his trunk. I think you're all nuts.

 

[DrDoug]

I find it rather amusing that Jules feels so strongly against carrying an extinguisher in a car that he's actually arguing with you about it

Yeah, I do find that amusing too. Especially since I already had an instance where I saved our car with one...lol! What is also amusing is that while I never advised people here to carry one, they are advising people not to carry one.

Maybe if I had an old classic car I'd feel differently. I have zero issue not carrying one in the cars I own presently.

It's an old Mustang, thus I carry one in it. Letting it burn up is not an option for me.

Yeah I don't get it either. They are cheap, light, and small so why not have one in the car? It isn't like the extinguisher is going to burst into flames or something lol.

And at a cost of less than $15, it's cheap extra insurance.

Just one more projectile in the cabin in an accident? More hassle than it is worth IMO.

I know, the average AT garage poster is fully prepared at all times and carries MREs, weapons, blankets, a survival kit, a fullsize spare tire, flares, a few gallons of water, a compete tool kit, the kitchen sink, emergency cash, 30' of rope, chains, a winch and a hydraulic floor jack in his trunk. I think you're all nuts.

I guess I don't measure up since I only carry the extinguisher, flares, a few small hand tools and some cash when traveling. I think I'll start carrying graham crackers and chocolate so if I'm driving along and see your car on fire then I can stop and we can make S'Mores!

Just remember to keep some coat hangers and marshmallows in your car, they're light! :biggrin:

 

[herm0016]

actually jules, i carry a tire plug kit, fire extinguisher, triangles, a tool box containing some simple hand tools, gloves, grade 8 chain with hookes, 16 ft 4in nylon lifting sling (out of date, but new and rated to about 20k lbs) a few shackles, sand/bridging ladders (maxtrax), a split sheave, and a come along when i am off on long trips. my work truck has most of this things, plus a snake bite kit and a first aid kit and extra water, though, i drive that in the middle of australia, 100's of km's from anything. i dont carry extra cash. kanaroos take visa. we replace the screw type jacks with hydralic bottle jacks. all our trucks (including ute's, med. duty and road trains) are equiped with at least 2 spares and a jack and wrench to change a tire.

 

[JulesMaximus]

actually jules, i carry a tire plug kit, fire extinguisher, triangles, a tool box containing some simple hand tools, gloves, grade 8 chain with hookes, 16 ft 4in nylon lifting sling (out of date, but new and rated to about 20k lbs) a few shackles, sand/bridging ladders (maxtrax), a split sheave, and a come along when i am off on long trips. my work truck has most of this things, plus a snake bite kit and a first aid kit and extra water, though, i drive that in the middle of australia, 100's of km's from anything. i dont carry extra cash. kanaroos take visa. we replace the screw type jacks with hydralic bottle jacks. all our trucks (including ute's, med. duty and road trains) are equiped with at least 2 spares and a jack and wrench to change a tire.

LOL! I rest my case

Where you drive you probably actually need all that stuff.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I guess I don't measure up since I only carry the extinguisher, flares, a few small hand tools and some cash when traveling. I think I'll start carrying graham crackers and chocolate so if I'm driving along and see your car on fire then I can stop and we can make S'Mores!

Just remember to keep some coat hangers and marshmallows in your car, they're light! :biggrin:

There are what, 150 million cars on the road in the United States? How often do you see one on fire? Cars are pretty damned reliable. I'll take my chances.

You know what I carry in my car in case of emergency? A cell phone. That's it.

 

[_Rick_]

A triangle and first aid kit are obligatory carry-along items in Germany.
Some people add seatbelt cutters, window hammers, safety vests, breath alcohol detectors (both obligatory in France), extra wiper fluid, flash/blink light...
If you break down/have an accident at night, there's plenty of useful stuff. In those accidents, the fire extinguisher may also well save lives. Crashed cars have a tendency to go up in flames, and people may be stuck in a car due to the deformation of the frame and tricky to get to, if they're unconscious, and the car lies on the side, blocking the door. If you can effectively extinguish a fire, that's quite convenient. A small extonguisher can be stored under the driver or passenger seat, where it's still easily accessible, but won't go flying around. Or you can properly mount it somewhere.

 

[JulesMaximus]

A triangle and first aid kit are obligatory carry-along items in Germany.
Some people add seatbelt cutters, window hammers, safety vests, breath alcohol detectors (both obligatory in France), extra wiper fluid, flash/blink light...
If you break down/have an accident at night, there's plenty of useful stuff. In those accidents, the fire extinguisher may also well save lives. Crashed cars have a tendency to go up in flames, and people may be stuck in a car due to the deformation of the frame and tricky to get to, if they're unconscious, and the car lies on the side, blocking the door. If you can effectively extinguish a fire, that's quite convenient. A small extonguisher can be stored under the driver or passenger seat, where it's still easily accessible, but won't go flying around. Or you can properly mount it somewhere.

In the movies maybe... in real life? It is pretty rare.

 

[_Rick_]

In the movies maybe... in real life? It is pretty rare.

Well, any noteworthy crash can lead to fuel leaking and dropping onto something that is sufficiently hot to ignite it.
And that's before you're considering brakes just going up in flames due to them overheating.
A car that's been driven down hill for a longer stretch and then ends up in the ditch could easily have fuel running into the wheel well.

It doesn't even always take fuel or even an accident, just look at all the burning 458s and GT3s over these last years.

I wonder how seriously non-performance brands take brake-heat induced material decomposition in their designs.

With there being at least three independent sources of heat in cars, and easily combustible material pretty much all over the place, I think it's not too far fetched to take the risk of fire seriously. Though here in France, the risk of fire being the result of arson is probably just as likely as "spontaneous" combustion.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, any noteworthy crash can lead to fuel leaking and dropping onto something that is sufficiently hot to ignite it.
And that's before you're considering brakes just going up in flames due to them overheating.
A car that's been driven down hill for a longer stretch and then ends up in the ditch could easily have fuel running into the wheel well.

It doesn't even always take fuel or even an accident, just look at all the burning 458s and GT3s over these last years.

I wonder how seriously non-performance brands take brake-heat induced material decomposition in their designs.

With there being at least three independent sources of heat in cars, and easily combustible material pretty much all over the place, I think it's not too far fetched to take the risk of fire seriously. Though here in France, the risk of fire being the result of arson is probably just as likely as "spontaneous" combustion.

Cars hold quite a bit of fuel so if you have a ruptured fuel tank I'd say get as far away from it as possible as quickly as possible. No way would I risk my life to save a vehicle, that is probably totaled anyway, in that situation.

BTW-I toned down my earlier comments in this thread a bit. Didn't mean to come off as inflammatory.

 

[Railgun]

<------yes.

DD, no.

 

[A5]

Only safety gear I carry are triangles and jumper cables. Never seen a reason to carry an extinguisher.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Currently don't have one in either my car or woman's car, keep meaning to pick one up to toss in the back for each.. just in case ...

I do keep a couple in the house though (one in basement utility room, one in kitchen)