Another Spyder *Fire*

[emac1]

These fires are becoming more frequent. We need to start looking into the case of the fire instead of the treatment for them when they happen. Fire extinguishers are nice to have but BRP needs to figure out what is causing these fires and eliminate the hazard. I wouldn't feel safe taking the Spyder on a long trip knowing that something could cause it to go up in flames mid trip. So far, no one has been hurt. I hope that BRP doesn't wait until that happens before they put every effort into finding what the cause of these fires are from.

I agree with Mr. Safety as well. Instead of BRP identifying the cause of the fires, we should all just buy fire extinguishers?? That is like having an elephant on your foot so you take pain pills instead of figuring out how to get the elephant off your foot~! Good to take precautions but IMHO there seems to be ALOT of problems with the Spyder. I have had steering, shifting, brakes (still no fix for that) and surging issues with my 09 SE5 and have all the updates done as well as nuts and bolts falling out in the first 500 miles. On a 400 mile ride this past weekend I smelled gas at several stops. I thought it was coming from the truck ahead of me as we followed the guy through several small towns, but I could still smell it at times even after the guy turned off. Might have been my Spyder. I'm leaving this Fri. for the Black Hills, so might be a good idea to get a fire extinguisher. Although to tell you the truth...if it started on fire I think I'd just let it burn. What is the point in putting out the fire early if they aren't going to be able to fix it? Would you ride it after it had been in a fire? And is BRP replacing the ones that have already burned? I bet the owners won't get a replacement free and clear, they will have to pay the difference between what their "used" Spyder is worth and the cost of a new one plus wait months and months for all the red tape to be sorted out. Sure is fun to ride when it all goes well, but not sure it is worth all of the headache and worry. My husband never has to worry when he takes his Harley out on the road.

[burg650]

This is the first toy I have owned (and let me tell you I have had many) that I do not feel safe riding and now wonder if I should look into to see if there is such a insurance policy that will pay full replacement and not book value. I am sure I am not the only one who has thousand $$$$ invested other than just the cost of the machine and we all know how the book value works with insurance companies pay outs you get shafted and not much. Anyone knows of such a company that has such a policy.

Every time I get ready to ride my Spyder I spend so much time making sure there is no smell of any kind no leaks anywhere and each time I stop and park I wait around to make sure there is no surprises before I walk always.

[BLACK WIDOW]

We need to get those directly affected to FILE THE REPORTS with the NHTSA - which I have posted links to over and over. Really frustrating that only one Spyder owner has taken 20 minutes of his time to do this.

The most recent link I posted takes you directly to the start of the process:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm


How about we track down the owners out here and give them a big NUDGE to file a report. As of Friday there were no new filings. I check it about once a week since the fires to see if anyone is reporting these.

Firefly--You are 100% correct; If there fires occurred and go unreported to the Government and BRP it's the same as if they didn't happen. A very serious condition will remain.

Michael

[FANG]

watchman - welcome have your ryde checked out as soon as possible and then enjoy this awesome piece of technology

[vt228]

[quote=spyder3rdr;130353]I rode to work today , about 60 miles , one way ... I got home this evening about 7 and did a few things ... then decided to ryde to town to a friends house . I got on the saddle and noticed the smell of gas fumes ... started her up and backed up about 12 feet ... I looked down and my B*lls were on FIRE !!! I quickly shut it off and popped the seat up , flames were surrounding the fuel tank cap and under the plastics , I ran inside and got my extinguisher and shot her full of powder !!! NO telling how long i'll be without my beloved Spyder ... [/quote

let us no how it started and where so we all can do fixs on ower spyders please send photos so we can see where it was on fire.where it started what started from .

[Firefly]

I agree with Mr. Safety as well. Instead of BRP identifying the cause of the fires, we should all just buy fire extinguishers?? That is like having an elephant on your foot so you take pain pills instead of figuring out how to get the elephant off your foot~! Good to take precautions but IMHO there seems to be ALOT of problems with the Spyder. I have had steering, shifting, brakes (still no fix for that) and surging issues with my 09 SE5 and have all the updates done as well as nuts and bolts falling out in the first 500 miles. On a 400 mile ride this past weekend I smelled gas at several stops. I thought it was coming from the truck ahead of me as we followed the guy through several small towns, but I could still smell it at times even after the guy turned off. Might have been my Spyder. I'm leaving this Fri. for the Black Hills, so might be a good idea to get a fire extinguisher. Although to tell you the truth...if it started on fire I think I'd just let it burn. What is the point in putting out the fire early if they aren't going to be able to fix it? Would you ride it after it had been in a fire? And is BRP replacing the ones that have already burned? I bet the owners won't get a replacement free and clear, they will have to pay the difference between what their "used" Spyder is worth and the cost of a new one plus wait months and months for all the red tape to be sorted out. Sure is fun to ride when it all goes well, but not sure it is worth all of the headache and worry. My husband never has to worry when he takes his Harley out on the road.

This wouldn't be an issue for BRP to foot the bill for a replacement---- it is for your insurance company to deal with. If you have your bike properly insured - you should get a brand new one (heck - they are far cheaper today than when I bought mine!). Good time for everyone to check their policies and make sure your accessories are covered.

I would NOT ride mine after it had a fire - even a small one - unless BRP found out WHY and fixed it.

[WaltH]

This is number seven. My fire occurred on May 4th and I think the second fire (Texas) occurred on July 4th. If this is correct, we have had 5 fires since July 4th. Why the sudden surge in fires? Why didn't we have fires last summer? How many fires were there that we don't know about? Our group is small compared to the total number of Spyders sold.

This fire seems a little different. It appears to have started at the gas cap (vents to the canister) on the left side. Most of the others started on the right side where the fuel filter and canister are located. All of the fires appear to involve gasoline. It's the ignition source we don't know about.

The interesting question for this fire would be - "was the gas tank filled before it was parked". All gasoline expands after it leaves the underground tank.

I am sure BRP is working on this like crazy. I wish they would be a little more forthcoming about it. Sometimes you just have to tell the lawyers to "take a hike".

[bone crusher]

We need to get those directly affected to FILE THE REPORTS with the NHTSA - which I have posted links to over and over. Really frustrating that only one Spyder owner has taken 20 minutes of his time to do this.

The most recent link I posted takes you directly to the start of the process:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm


How about we track down the owners out here and give them a big NUDGE to file a report. As of Friday there were no new filings. I check it about once a week since the fires to see if anyone is reporting these.

Fire,

I totally agree with you...these people have to report...why wouldn't they?

[Firefly]

As far as our numbers being low - think of it this way---

There are around 14,000 Spyders in the world.

3,000 members on this site. Not sure how many on this site actually own Spyders - but I would guess 2,000.

So we now have 6 member Spyders out of around 2,000 that have had fires. Changes the numbers drastically!

From that, one could calculate that there may be 42 fires out of the total 14,000.

[ElkSpyder]

The number of reported fires (on SpyderLovers.com) seems to be growing. Until the number of fires report to the government grows I don't think a cause and solution is going to be found. I've ridden over 18,000 miles, have not had any gas smells. And only had my exhaust gasket replacement one time. I'm not going to buy a fire extinguisher, if my starts to burn, I'll wait for a replacement from my insurance company. And BRP will be introduced to my attorney. To anyone who has had this terrible thing happen to your , my condolence.

[Tripod]

The Spyder fires haven't taken on the magnitude on the Pinto fires of the 1970's. However, one is too many. Go to autosafety.org/ford-pinto-fuel-fed-fires, read the article and follow the timeline from the initial petition to the NHTSA until Ford recalled the vehicles in question. One of the main reasons, albeit slow, for action to be taken was a revealing article in Mother Jones magazine. All of the recent Spyder incidents must be reported to the NHTSA and BRP. As a consumer group that is at risk, our concerns have to be heard, either from us or through the media. IMHO, thinking that these fires are a coincidence is wishful thinking.

Tripod

[painterman]

I am an 09 Phantom owner as of this summer and I also will not be buying an extinquisher, let it burn.... That being said I have 1200 miles on mine and never have had any kind of gas smell, hope BRP figures this out cause I am now a little worried about taking this thing for a long ride and I didn't buy the Spyder just to cruise around the block.

[VossHog]

You're not the only one. I have to air out my garage after parking my Spyder due to the gas fumes.

Haven't had time to take my "smoking Spyder" to the dealer yet but will let y'all know when I do.

Felt I needed to say something here with the thread started about the fire starting around the gas cap area. Did not want to introduce myself like this but, I just purchased a new 09 spider and I have been watching the goings on, on this site. I must say the information is very informative and helpful. Thank you all!
Now, I have a storage building that I have kept all of my bikes in. It is sealed up tight and since I put the completely stock spyder in there just a few days ago, the air in the building now wreaks of gas fumes when I open the door. I don't know if this contributes to this fire problem but I thought all these new gas powered toys had sealed systems to control this. Any ideas or comments Welcomed.

[bone crusher]

I think those with newer bikes are better off as it appears as if there is a lot more tubing covering wires and the like....hmmmm....

[spyder3rdr]

Thank you all for your concerns ... I posted this information for ALL Spyder owners to benefit from ... it was a small FIRE and i quickly contained it ... no cosmetic damage at all !!! I emailed BRP lastnight and called my dealer today to make them aware of the incident . I will post the information with the NHTSA as well ... (Lamonster , no i havn't had the update done yet) it will be done while they are figuring out what to do with my Spyder

I've had a great experience being a SpyderLover and will continue to be once i'm rolling again ... sure I've had to replace Relays and Lightbulbs a few times but havn't had any major issues at all ... I'm sure BRP is already studying this issue and will resolve it quickly ... I will take her to the dealership ASAP and will keep you guys informed

[Motza]

How about a spyderlovers petition that 'kindly' asks BRP to look into this...get everyone here to sign it electronically and bombard their customer service with it? They might have corrected the problem on the newer bikes and never addressed the fix with those with the earlier editions...like the covering of the different lines/hoses/wires...

[bone crusher]

Thank you all for your concerns ... I posted this information for ALL Spyder owners to benefit from ... it was a small FIRE and i quickly contained it ... no cosmetic damage at all !!! I emailed BRP lastnight and called my dealer today to make them aware of the incident . I will post the information with the NHTSA as well ... (Lamonster , no i havn't had the update done yet) it will be done while they are figuring out what to do with my Spyder

I've had a great experience being a SpyderLover and will continue to be once i'm rolling again ... sure I've had to replace Relays and Lightbulbs a few times but havn't had any major issues at all ... I'm sure BRP is already studying this issue and will resolve it quickly ... I will take her to the dealership ASAP and will keep you guys informed

Good luck and we look forward to working with you and others to get this issue resolved ASAP...

[BRPjunkie]

I am a long term BRP product owner and have been through first model year issues with them before. Poor component design and minor recall fixes are to be expected. We should be and have been discussing those types of issues on this forum. The fact that we are talking about whether or not we need to carry a fire extinguisher is just plain ridiculous. BRP has built Rotax powered products for years and knows how to run fuel lines and electrical components and how to design and build them for rough conditions. Snowmobiles get pounded, PWCs are thrashed, ATVs are beaten and yet they are not burning up. This machine was 10 years in the making and there is no reason we should be talking about fire extinguishers. They need to fix it soon or they will face an uphill battle in selling this thing at any price. Forget about the real statistics, if the buzz about a product is bad, especially when fire is involved, all other attributes are out the window. I have never owned any bike that I felt I had to park in the driveway after a ride just in case in bursts into flames. I don't care about the Spyder, but I won't risk my house. I have not had any issues with my Spyder and have thoroughly enjoyed the first year and first 6,000 miles, but this rash of fires is more than simply an annoyance. I was reponsible for risk management for a Fortune 500 company, and this would be a full crisis team response issue for us. We would be preparing for the first personal injury claim. I can only assume that BRP is all over this and simply doesn't have the answer yet. When they do, we may not like the result. Major recall efforts that require redesigned parts, tech training, dealer bulletins and roll out will be lengthy and troublesome for owners and dealers. I certainly hope that is not our fate, but one or two fires is one thing, the current rash is no longer statistically irrelevant. Am I still riding, yes. Am I still enjoying the rides, yes. Am I taking precautions after rides yes. Will I carry a fire extinguisher, no. So far owners have been lucky pushing burning Spyders out and using small extinguishers and avoiding personal injury or property damage. The fact is, you should not risk serious burns or even death getting too close to any fire where gasoline is involved.

[Trickie Dick]

I am a long term BRP product owner and have been through first model year issues with them before. Poor component design and minor recall fixes are to be expected. We should be and have been discussing those types of issues on this forum. The fact that we are talking about whether or not we need to carry a fire extinguisher is just plain ridiculous. BRP has built Rotax powered products for years and knows how to run fuel lines and electrical components and how to design and build them for rough conditions. Snowmobiles get pounded, PWCs are thrashed, ATVs are beaten and yet they are not burning up. This machine was 10 years in the making and there is no reason we should be talking about fire extinguishers. They need to fix it soon or they will face an uphill battle in selling this thing at any price. Forget about the real statistics, if the buzz about a product is bad, especially when fire is involved, all other attributes are out the window. I have never owned any bike that I felt I had to park in the driveway after a ride just in case in bursts into flames. I don't care about the Spyder, but I won't risk my house. I have not had any issues with my Spyder and have thoroughly enjoyed the first year and first 6,000 miles, but this rash of fires is more than simply an annoyance. I was reponsible for risk management for a Fortune 500 company, and this would be a full crisis team response issue for us. We would be preparing for the first personal injury claim. I can only assume that BRP is all over this and simply doesn't have the answer yet. When they do, we may not like the result. Major recall efforts that require redesigned parts, tech training, dealer bulletins and roll out will be lengthy and troublesome for owners and dealers. I certainly hope that is not our fate, but one or two fires is one thing, the current rash is no longer statistically irrelevant. Am I still riding, yes. Am I still enjoying the rides, yes. Am I taking precautions after rides yes. Will I carry a fire extinguisher, no. So far owners have been lucky pushing burning Spyders out and using small extinguishers and avoiding personal injury or property damage. The fact is, you should not risk serious burns or even death getting too close to any fire where gasoline is involved.

Amen

[3wheeldemon]

BRPjunkie: Yours is one of the better postings I ever read. I agree 100% that the issue is to prevent the fires not how to extinguish them. My only comment to this and some other previous posts is that there is no need to “flame” (pun intended ) those who recommended fire extinguishers. As you said, it is not only the Spyder you may be protecting, is the people and property around you. I am obviously contaminated by my background; I was a volunteer firefighter in oil refineries for twenty years, acting on six real fires. I also had the scary experience of putting off a boat fire in a friend’s boat. It only took me a leveled head and a 5 pound BC extinguisher to put down an eight foot gasoline flame. My friend and other buddy had already jumped into the water, 30 miles offshore Galveston. I did not do it out of courage but out of fear of the alternative. The potential tragedy just became a one thousand dollar repair bill and a near miss. Hollywood has us misinformed about vehicle explosions, it just take little preparedness to de-escalate a major event to a minor repair by attacking a fire right at the beginning. I rather deal with a repair shop for a while than with insurance companies (which will treat you a lot better if you show that you tried to minimize property damage) and lawyers. However, please do not let this comment detract for the very valid point of those who encouraged the reporting of these incidents to NHTSA and BRP and to concentrating on going after the root problem.

3WD

[Firefly]

I always have one nearby in my shop - so if something (even the Spyder) goes up - I can put it out - but I'm not gonna carry one onboard. If it happens alongside the road---- burn baby burn.

Checked that ground wire under the seat---- isn't near the canister at all--- so it ain't that coming loose and sparking.

[BRPjunkie]

I am not anti-fire extinguisher; I have them in my garage, in my shed and in the kitchen. If a fire starts and I catch it early enough, that's what a handy fire extinguisher is for. In reading about the Spyder fires, they seem to erupt into a ball of flames rather quickly and I do not see myself reaching for the key to unlatch the trunk, going around in front to grab a fire extinguisher and trying to get it out. I always keep the Spyder in neutral when in the garage and probably before I reached for the fire extinguisher on the wall, it would get pushed out and down the driveway. By law, I have a fire extinguisher on my Sea Doo, but if I see smoke coming from the engine compartment, I'm not wasting time looking in the storage bin for the extingusher. I'm off the thing and trying to turtle it into the water. Most people are not trained in how to use an extingusher and have never discharged one and the burn unit at the hospital is where they will tell you that.

[Badasz]

[quote=vt228;130606]

I rode to work today , about 60 miles , one way ... I got home this evening about 7 and did a few things ... then decided to ryde to town to a friends house . I got on the saddle and noticed the smell of gas fumes ... started her up and backed up about 12 feet ... I looked down and my B*lls were on FIRE !!! I quickly shut it off and popped the seat up , flames were surrounding the fuel tank cap and under the plastics , I ran inside and got my extinguisher and shot her full of powder !!! NO telling how long i'll be without my beloved Spyder ... [/quote

let us no how it started and where so we all can do fixs on ower spyders please send photos so we can see where it was on fire.where it started what started from .

WOW ill have to keep a lookout for that gas smell but just as a precaution I think ill remove the panels in that area and look for chafes of wiring and fuel lines

[Pazuzu]

Hi everybody , yesterday one of the BRP customer service guys call me to ask me all these questions about how much I like my experience with the Spyder rating the questions from 1 to 10 . etc . I'm sure you all had to do this before , I just got my Spyder six months ago . Anyway when he asked if I will recommend the Spyder to some of my friends , family etc, I said that I wouldn't until they fix all the problems with all the Spyder catching on fire . ( I think I said twice during the whole questionnaire ) . He took note of my complains and ask me if I would mind having somebody from BRP calling me and talk to me about this issue , so I agree . This type of phone conversation are always recorded for quality purposes , so even better .

My point is that everybody that got a Spyder recently , like i did , and haven't go trough this type of phone call , please let then know how concern you are and that you won't recommend any BRP product to anybody until they take care of this situation .

[SpyderRyder810]

Hi everybody , yesterday one of the BRP customer service guys call me to ask me all these questions about how much I like my experience with the Spyder rating the questions from 1 to 10 . etc . I'm sure you all had to do this before , I just got my Spyder six months ago . Anyway when he asked if I will recommend the Spyder to some of my friends , family etc, I said that I wouldn't until they fix all the problems with all the Spyder catching on fire . ( I think I said twice during the whole questionnaire ) . He took note of my complains and ask me if I would mind having somebody from BRP calling me and talk to me about this issue , so I agree . This type of phone conversation are always recorded for quality purposes , so even better .

My point is that everybody that got a Spyder recently , like i did , and haven't go trough this type of phone call , please let then know how concern you are and that you won't recommend any BRP product to anybody until they take care of this situation .

Thank you...this certainly is one way to let BRP know we're all concerned.