In the Scheduled Maintenance Guide, inside front cover, it says, "If a vehicle fire occurs, extinguish it with a Class D powder-type fire extinguisher."

My old Boy Scout "Be Prepared" gene kicked in, and I resolved to get a portable extinguisher like I've seen at AutoZone.

Class D is for metal fires. Certain metals (lithium, titanium...) can catch fire. A regular fire extinguisher will not put out that type of fire.

Then I found out that there's NO SUCH THING as a Class D auto fire extinguisher.

I called Toyota Corporate, they said to talk to my dealer. I called my dealer, they said to talk to CarQuest! I called CarQuest, they said no deal, talk to Kidde (who makes their auto-size A-B-C extinguisher).

Kidde listened to my story and couldn't believe it. They carry a $350, 30 lb Class D extinguisher for machine shops. They figured Toyota spec'd a Class D because there must be combustable metals in the hybrid battery. But if a fire broke out in the Camry like 99.9% of all auto fires, it would be an electrical short that ignites gasoline, oil, or interior materials - a Class D extinguisher would be useless.

Can anybody shed some sense on the subject? (To the tune of "This Wheel's on Fire")

 

Sounds like a bonehead move to me. Makes you wonder who writes these manuals.

From what I see on the net, a class D extinguisher is helpful for fires only involving comubstable metals. Any other type of fire you should have a common ABC extinguisher.

Sounds like Toyota is asking for a lawsuit if and when a TCH catches on fire.

 

I dont think there is too much to worry about. If you want to keep an extinguisher handy a dry chem type ABC or even a BC would be sufficient. Personally I prefer a CO2. The BC type is for flammable liquid
and energized electrical fires. Potable extinguisers are for fires in the incipiant stage and are only practical as a first line defense.

There must be a significant amount of magnesium in the TCH for Tyota to reccommend a class D extinguisher. Some components like the seat springs may be made of magnesium. If you need one, most likely the majority of the car would be involved and a portable extinguisher would not be effective. If you have a fire it is most likely going to be in the engine compartment.

Most fire departments don't carry a class D on the rigs. They are seldom needed. Years ago, the VW beetle and older porsches would catch fire and they had magnesium blocks. Required large amounts of water to extinguish and most had to have an application of foam due to fuel igniting.

The TCH emergency response guide makes no mention of using a class D extinguisher. Here is the link if anybody is interested. Some good information....

http://www.toyota.ca/NWS/media/pdf/07camhyb_erg_e.pdf

 

In the Navy we were taught during our Fire Fighting training (required) that there was no "good" way to put out a magnesium fire and that application of water would simply make a lot of steam because Magnesium creates it's own oxygen as it burns. They demostrated by using an arc welder to ignite a chunk of magnesium - it was then picked up and dropped into a column of water in a ceramic pot where it continued to burn until it totally consumed itself.

I've worked on a lot of Porsche and VW engines and was never aware of magnesium used in the blocks. They were all aluminum to my recollection - although I must say that I never "tested" them for their alloy properties.

Please be aware that there are some fire fighting chemicals that can harm you or even kill you.

For your car, I would advise that you simply have what you need to escape the vehicle without injury - do NOT try and save the vehicle.
Get away from it and call the fire department.

 

Toyota recommends in both an Offensive and Defensive fire response that the HV battery pack should be allowed to burn itself out. Even with copious amounts of water there is not a high enough chance to cool the adjacent NiMH modules. The casing is designed to support the explosive ignition (once the battery module reaches ignition temperature) and allow it to burn out. The only danger is the gas that could/would come through the rear cabin vent.

Additionally the cell plates are designed to absorb any breach of the NiMH electrolyte akaline fluid which would be very caustic to humans. Toyota openly states that it believes any crash 'catastrophic enough to breach both the metal and plastic battery pack modules would be a very rare occurance - including rear impact'.

Toyota officially recommends that the vehicle simply be immobilized and disabled and that no forced structural entries be made unless all airbag systems have been deployed. (techinfo.toyota.com)

However, if you're really feeling boy-scoutish; you could place a vinegar gel-pack solution over the battery pack that would neutralize the electrolytes - in theory the pack would breach if there were an impact hard enough to break the battery housing.

 

Here's the response I got from Toyota:Huh?? So I replied,

 

Water on a high voltage wire sounds like a good exposure for sever shock and injury. I would recomend dry chemical before water.

 

The high voltage potential is between the HV wiring harness and chassis. Not between the car and earth ground. Unless you had one hand on the car and another in the water stream the chance of getting an electric shock while wheeling a fire hose are about zilch. Even with your hand in the water stream your chances would be near zero. Clean water is a rather poor conductor. Maybe, if you stood in the puddle and put one hand on the chassis and one hand ...

 

If my car caught on fire, I would get everyone out and not try to extinguish it. After I (we) are at a safe distance, I would call 911.
a) You don't risk getting burned trying to put it out
b) Do you really want to have what your going to be left with...a car with (probably) extensive smoke damage, wiring damage, paint damage, and extinguisher residue? This is what insurance is for, and once a fire starts, you probably want it to be a good one.

 

All said and done, I couldn't agree more. Yesterday I called to switch my add insurance onto my new hybrid and asked about the fire situation - my agents response was almost the same - "Screw safety and health, when all is said and done, don't you just want a new car?"