On may 1, 2002 I left my office which is six miles from my home. When I started my car I heard a whining sound coming from under the hood. As the car started fine I decided to drive home. I had not had any problems with the car at this point. As I was driving home the whining sound increased. All the gauges read normal, the temperature gauge included. About 4 miles from home the whining sound increased so I turned off the A/C and the radio. I began to feel a sllight vibration when shifting gears. About 2 miles from home I began to smell a sickly-sweet odor. Approx. 3/10 of a mile from my home the battery light came on the car began to run very roughly. The sicly sweet smell became much stronger and I had a sense that my car was goin to catch on fire. The temperature gauge still read normal so I thought maybe I was wrong and possibly the alternator was failing. I drove the car home and parked it down by the road, the odor was becoming very strong. I grabbed the car keys and some of my work items and ran to get the water hose about 25 ft. From the car. I turned around, havig been out of the car possibly no more than 10 seconds and brown smoke was coming from under the right front of the hood. I called for my son to bring the cordless phone and told him the car was on fire. He began to spray water on the car in an effort to contain the fire. I called 911. Two fire engines responded but they were unable to save the car. The vehicle was a total loss, the engine was completely destroyed, everything under the hood had melted or fused together, the fire burned through the drivers side fire wall melting the dash and the radio, the hood liner and visors completely burned, the windshield cracked and melted, the fire began to burn through the passenger side front wheel well, the hood latch had melted shut so the fire dept had to use a chain saw to open the hood when the fire was out. The paint burned off the hood of the car. I have pictures to verify the fire damage.
1997 Toyota Corolla: fire, smoke or burning smell
6 of the 135 complaints about the 1997 Toyota Corolla describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 0
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
When applying gas pedal, vehicle will not move, also brake pedal gets really hard and vehicle starts to lose power. Took vehicle to dealer and they replaced master cylinder/calipers, and brake pads, but the problem is still occurring. *ak. Consumer stated after applying the pedal, it will eventually get hard which slows down the vehicle, when stepping on the gas pedal from 40 MPH to 30 MPH then there is smell of something burning and eventually the vehicle will not move.
Vehicle caught on fire, cause undetermined.
Vehicle caught fire while parked. Cause of fire was a electrical malfunction in engine compartment.vehicle was a total loss.
While parked and unoccupied, vehicle caught fire , area of front passenger seat; according to fire dept, caused by faulty wiring to safety belt.
The front seat belt wires part of rubbed together untill the seat belt caught on fire. The seat belt has a defect in it. This report is from a fire fighter.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Toyota Corolla fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 1997 Toyota Corolla?
6 of 135 owner complaints about the 1997 Toyota Corolla (4%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2010.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Toyota Corolla?
There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Toyota Corolla
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