NHTSA Complaint #11476769 — 2022 HONDA CR-V HYBRID

In April 2022, my dad purchased a brand new Honda CRV 2022 hybrid touring edition. This car was deemed as one of the safest cars on the market and was his main intent while buying it. A couple of weeks ago this car was the prime suspect of a fire that impacted both the car and our house. Let me break down exactly how this occurred and where the blame should fall on this situation. When I was slowly backing out of my garage, I noticed that my car was not straight and that I needed to turn my wheel in order to straighten it out. When doing so, 3/4 of my car made it out of the garage, even the side mirrors. However, the area on the top left on my wheel scratched the side of my garage. When this occurred, I did not think much of it since scratching cars is not that uncommon, especially when reversing. The worst that is expected to happen is chipping of the paint and a minor dent. But when I got out of the car to access the situation I noticed that smoke started releasing out of the area of the impact. By the time I called my dad, a little fire was also present at the area of the impact. He advised me to go inside the house and use water or other resources in order to try putting out the fire myself. So I went inside and by the time I got back, the fire had greatly increased in size. This all happened in a matter of 2 minutes! I quickly called 911 and 2 police cars came as soon as possible. The officers tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher but there was no luck. The flames have already started making its way up the side of the garage and engulfing some of the sidings. After a while, the fire department put out the fire. How can a scratch of 2-inch depth, 4-inch width, and 6-inch height cause immense damage to a car and a house! Honda needs to consider this when reviewing the architectural design of its battery position. This is a serious safety flaw that could jeopardize many lives. I was grateful that the fire did not impact me but I fear for others.