Tahoe Fire

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DenM59

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A few weeks ago I was driving my Tahoe on my way to do grocery shopping. I was stopped at a red right waiting to turn left into the parking lot when I began to smell burning and then the car started to fill with smoke. I wound down the windows but the smoke became thicker so I did a U turn and parked on a slip road. By now the vehicle was thick with smoke and I could see burning material and flames dropping from under the dash on the front passenger side. I exited the parked car and opened the passenger door and tried to pull out the burning carpet and the some wires from under the dash but the flames were quickly spreading upwards in the dash and a passing motorist shouted I should move away from the vehicle. I dialed 911 and requested police and fire service but by the time the fire tender arrived a short time later the whole front of the car was engulfed in flames and by the time the fire was extinguished most of the vehicle was destroyed. Fortunately I was on my own and able to exit the vehicle before it was completely in flames and I only suffered minor burns to my hands which were treated at the scene by a paramedic with the fire service.

The vehicle was a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe LS 4x4 that I purchased brand new from a Chevy dealership. The car was very low mileage for its age (estimated to be < 64K), had never been in any sort of accident and was well maintained. The only recurring problem with this car was the Blower Motor Resistor wiring which had been replaced a few times during the life of the vehicle and I read on Google this may be a known fault. In the past the symptom was a slight smell of burning and the blower motor ceased to work on one or more settings but was fine after this part was replaced. On this occasion I initially thought this was a repeat but this time things rapidly progressed and the vehicle caught fire and was a total loss. When I tried to stop the flames this was the wiring that was on fire so I suspect this was the cause.

This happened to me in a busy well populated area and did not cause serious injury or any damage to anything in the immediate vicinity. I obviously had a lucky escape but in different circumstances this could have ended much worse. I feel quite strongly that if GM knew about this issue they should have issued a recall or at least warned all owners about this defect and the possible consequences.

I am interested to know if anyone else has experienced a similar problem.
 

PNW NBS Z71

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Looks like a good candidate for that blower resistor, especially with the history. Glad he is ok and only minor burns. Sad to see a NBS Tahoe with low miles like that burn down.
 
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