My 07 Pacifica caught on FIRE!

npr74

New member
My brand new 2007 Chrysler Pacifica with 3,000 miles on it caught on fire! I was driving it into a parking spot when it burst into flames under the hood. I was lucky to get out unharmed. I am so glad that my children were not with me. I have no idea how I would have undone 3 car seats in time. Chrysler has admitted fault (they couldn't tell me why the fire started because the engine was "all burned up"). They wanted to give us another Pacifica, but they wanted us to keep paying the original loan (just swap loans with them). I told them I couldn't put my family in another Chrysler and feel safe, so they are paying our original loan off. I am not too happy with them right now. I feel like they could have done more. We were on vacation at the beach when our car caught on fire. It totally ruined our vacation , and we came home early in a rental van that we paid for.
Since we need a family car now, We are looking at the new Saturn Outlook. Is the Outlook better than the Enclave or the Acadia? Are they equally rated? Most people tell me to go with Honda or Toyota, but we have 3 car seats. What do you guys suggest? We definately need some good advice!
Thank you,
Nicole
Grace 6 regent
Andrew 3 regent
Becca 6 months roundabout
 
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MySillyKids

New member
People tell you honda or Toyota, because they last forever. We have been through oh Tons of honda's (we've had every honda except for the CRV) and we've never had ONE single issue with ANY of them.

Not that domestic cars are bad.

Sorry to hear about your car! Wow.!
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
I am soooo sorry that happened. I would be mad too and I agree they should have at least done more for you.

As a proud GM owner we many GM vehicles with out any major issues. I currently drive a '05 Chevy Z71 Tahoe that I LOVE to pieces but will be replaced with a new Saturn Outlook or GMC Acadia late next year when my lease is up. My dh drives a '02 Chevy 2500HD crewcab Silverado pickup truck.

As for the safety standards between the 3 GM crossovers they are exactly the same vehicle with just different options & styling. So, They are all equal as safe.
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
I LOVE the Mazda CX-7 (or CX-9 if you want 7 passenger seating). We're getting a CX-9 next year and there is tons of room for three across the back.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Sorry to hear about your car. That's just scary.. glad your kids weren't in the car at the time.

We have a Saturn Outlook and absolutely LOVE it! We have 2 car seats and keep our 3rd row down. With the 2nd row slid backwards *we have 2nd row bench* there's enough room for my dh to have the saet adjusted comfy and he's a big guy. ;) We've had ours since Feb, and I'm still really pleased with it. :D

So far I've had a Radian, snugride, SS1 and MA in there, right now the SS1 is middle and the MA passenger outboard. Driver outboard would need a bit of a narrower car seat than the MA in order to fit next to the SS1, but 3 across would be pretty easy to do.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
Was this last weekend? Because I had van problems too, on Saturday, on my first anniversary! I feel for you!
 

amy919

New member
That's just crazy! I'm glad no one was hurt! I looked at the Pacifica, but went with the Freestyle instead. If you like the crossovers, check it out. I'm very happy with mine.

I do have to say though, I wouldn't have let them off the hook so easily. Someone could have been seriously injured, killed even! I would not accept that they just admit to fault - they need to determine WHY this happened. For them to ignore it is just plain irresponsible. They'd have to do a lot more than just pay off my loan to satisfy me. I would not be happy with them shrugging this off. Talk about a major liability issue.

Amy
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
Sorry to hear about your car. That's just scary.. glad your kids weren't in the car at the time.

We have a Saturn Outlook and absolutely LOVE it! We have 2 car seats and keep our 3rd row down. With the 2nd row slid backwards *we have 2nd row bench* there's enough room for my dh to have the saet adjusted comfy and he's a big guy. ;) We've had ours since Feb, and I'm still really pleased with it. :D

So far I've had a Radian, snugride, SS1 and MA in there, right now the SS1 is middle and the MA passenger outboard. Driver outboard would need a bit of a narrower car seat than the MA in order to fit next to the SS1, but 3 across would be pretty easy to do.

I wish you lived closer so I could see if my Regents fit in the Outlook using SBP. When we had 1 for the week in Jan I got an AWESOME install with the LBP but never tried SBP.
 

npr74

New member
Thank you for all of the good advice! We test drove both the Toyota Sequoia and the Saturn Outlook. Since the Outlook has better safety ratings (rollover & side impact) and better gas mileage and more upgrades for the same price and better warranty...we are buying a new Outlook. We have decided on the Ocean Mist (light blue) with grey cloth interior (Saturn will replace the seat if a stain will not come clean). It has everything on it...minus navigation, sunroof & leather. I pray that we will all be very happy in it. Thanks again for all of the advice!! I will update you all after we pick up our new car! :thumbsup:
Nicole
 

stevel

New member
People tell you honda or Toyota, because they last forever. We have been through oh Tons of honda's (we've had every honda except for the CRV) and we've never had ONE single issue with ANY of them.

Not that domestic cars are bad.

Sorry to hear about your car! Wow.!

I'm with you for honda. can't go wrong. domestics have never been on par with honda and toyota. Now that toyota has passed GM as the biggest manufacturer in the world, that's proof that domestic car makers have some serious issues with quality and reliability......... probably more than I had to say. sorry. :eek:
 

nisi

Senior Community Member
Yowza! That is scary. I'm so glad you're ok. A similar thing happened to my uncle a few years ago with his brand new Dodge Ram. IIRC it turned out to be some kind of flaw with the electrical system.

If you haven't done so already, I strongly encourage you to file a report with NHTSA. They'll keep track of any other reports and do an investigation if they feel it is warranted. If it's serious enough, sometimes one report is all it takes to launch an investigation. To file a report, you can call them at 1-888-327-4236 or file on the web at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Yowza! That is scary. I'm so glad you're ok. A similar thing happened to my uncle a few years ago with his brand new Dodge Ram. IIRC it turned out to be some kind of flaw with the electrical system.

If you haven't done so already, I strongly encourage you to file a report with NHTSA. They'll keep track of any other reports and do an investigation if they feel it is warranted. If it's serious enough, sometimes one report is all it takes to launch an investigation. To file a report, you can call them at 1-888-327-4236 or file on the web at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/


Definitely do this. It could have been a complete fluke, but if there is a pattern the NHTSA needs to know to force a recall.
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
I'm with you for honda. can't go wrong. domestics have never been on par with honda and toyota. Now that toyota has passed GM as the biggest manufacturer in the world, that's proof that domestic car makers have some serious issues with quality and reliability......... probably more than I had to say. sorry. :eek:


Okay this could so turn into a lively debate but I will refrain from even going there as you can go read some of the past debates on this to get correct information.

And, Toyota passing GM for 1 quarter so far isn't saying all that much. Not everyone can stay on top for ever. Seeing as GM has been the leader for how many years now something live 20yrs (maybe off a little on that number). That right there says a lot about GM and their products.
 

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