NHTSA Complaint #11377033 — 2013 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

DRIVING CONDITIONS WERE CLEAR WEATHER AND DRY ROADS WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC. WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH WESTBOUND ON INTERSTATE 4, THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND ALL THE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON. FORTUNATELY, WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS TRAFFIC TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR AND ALL THE INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON BUT THE CAR DIDN'T START. EXITED THE VEHICLE AND WALKED TOWARDS THE FRONT TO SEE SMOKE, AT FIRST, THEN SAW FLAMES COMING FROM UNDER THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. TRIED TO DIAL 911, BUT HAD WEAK CELL SIGNAL. APPARENTLY 911 WAS NOTIFIED. HIGHWAY PATROL ARRIVED, THE FLAMES WERE SPREADING AND GETTING LARGER. BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED, THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES, WHICH REACHED ALMOST 10 FEET HIGH. THE FIRE FIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO CONTAIN THE FIRE BEFORE IT REACHED THE FUEL TANK, BUT THE VEHICLE AND ITS CONTENTS WERE TOTALLY BURNED. THE VEHICLE WAS A SHELL OF METAL AND ASH WHEN IT WAS TOWED AWAY.