NHTSA Complaint #10449699 — 2007 SUZUKI XL7

FAMILY WAS TRAVELING TO TOWN WHEN WE SMELLED SOMETHING THAT SMELLED LIKE WIRES BURNING. UPON INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE SMELL DISAPPEARED. UPON LEAVING THE STOP SIGN WE WERE AT, WE TRAVELED ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE & THE DRIVER (MYSELF), STARTED TO SMELL SMOKE. I THEN PULLED OVER TO FURTHER INSPECT THE VEHICLE AT WHICH TIME, I TURNED ON THE OVERHEAD LAMP IN THE VEHICLE SINCE IT WAS STARTING TO GET DARK, & NOTICED THAT THE WHOLE FRONT DASHBOARD AT THIS POINT, WAS GLOWING RED, ORANGE, & BLUE & THICK BLACK SMOKE WAS BOILING UP ON THE ENTIRE INSIDE WINDSHIELD & THAT THE TRUCK ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES BEHIND THE DASHBOARD. I IMMEDIATELY GOT MY CHILDREN (TEENAGERS) OUT OF THE TRUCK & LEANED OVER TO GRAB MY PURSE & SAW THAT THERE WAS BLUE FLAMES DRIPPING DOWN FROM UNDER THE DASHBOARD ONTO THE FLOOR WHERE MY FEET HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN JUST SECONDS BEFORE. WE ALL RAN AS FAST & AS FAR AS WE POSSIBLY COULD AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE TO SAFETY. WITHIN 3 MINUTES OF GETTING SAFELY OUT OF THE TRUCK (BY THE GRACE OF GOD), THE ENTIRE TRUCK WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE TRUCKS WINDOWS HAD AT THIS POINT, ALREADY HAD STARTED BLOWING OUT & SHATTERING & IT WAS SHOOTING HUGE BASKETBALL SIZE FIREBALLS OUT OF THE TOP OF THE TRUCK INTO THE FIELDS THAT WERE BESIDE THE ROAD WE WERE ON. THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AT 4 MINUTES AFTER THE TRUCK HAD CAUGHT ON FIRE, & THE FLAMES WERE NEARLY 30 TO 40 FEET ABOVE THE TRUCK. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE FIRE CHIEF, DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE AND/OR MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE TRUCK ITSELF. I AM JUST VERY THANKFUL TO THE GOOD LORD THAT WE ALL GOT OUT SAFELY. IF, I HAD KEPT DRIVING, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT STATED THAT WE ALL COULD HAVE PASSED OUT FROM SMOKE INHALATION & POSSIBLY LOST OUR LIVES THAT NIGHT. I JUST WANTED OTHERS TO BE AWARE OF THIS VERY SERIOUS SITUATION. *TR