Minor wreck caused my driver’s seat to catch on fire
Hello all, I had a very scary experience this morning and just wanted to share as a PSA or see if anyone happens to have a similar experience.
My 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring was involved in a two-car accident this morning; Another car t-boned me going 50 mph as they blew through a red light. But, that wasn’t the main issue.
As soon as impact was made, all airbags deployed, and I saw/ smelled a little smoke. I initially thought it was from the airbags deploying, until I looked down to my left side.
I saw flames underneath my drivers seat. Right by the seatbelt area near my left leg. I obviously immediately got out, and no less than 2 minutes later, my entire driver’s side was on fire.
No other parts of the car were burned. Back seat, passengers seat, under the hood, in the trunk…. All perfectly fine. It was ONLY the drivers seat.
I will attach photos of my car below. Has anyone ever heard of something like this??? The firefighters said they have never seen it and will have to do some research on it.
After some research, I learned that it could be due to the pyrotechnic seatbelt pretensioner malfunctioning, and that seems to make the most sense to me.
Overall, I am so thankful I remained conscious and was able to get out as soon as I saw one flame.
Please let me know if you have any theories or any experience with this!!