On Friday night a week ago (11/03/17) my 2012 XKR Convertible, 28,200 miles on the clock, suffered an engine fire. I had not driven the car for 5 days and when I got in the car the battery was dead. You guys know that the battery is very hard to access in the trunk area. Per the manual instructions, I used the positive connector provided and grounded to the bolt in the spare tire area in order to jump start with my battery booster / charger. It was a bit difficult to get a good ground, I had to play with the clamp a bit. I jump started the car, let it idle for about 10 minutes, and drove to the local Walgreens about 4 miles away. While parked and running I turned around to get a bag out of the "rear seats". I heard a noise, turned around and the entire engine compartment was in flames. By the time I got unbuckled and tried to get out, flames were shooting up the windshield and drivers side window. Superheated smoke hit my eyes and burned them. I was virtually blind by the time someone in the parking lot helped me away from the car. Ambulance, ER and daily visits to the Ophthalmologist have gotten me back to about 80% vision with blurred vision and some double vision. I have included a couple of pictures of the car. Any ideas as to what happened? the fire may have started while I was driving and raged when I got parked... I don't know.

 

Glad you were able to get out alive. Hope you get back to 100% vision soon.

Most likely culprit is a broken fuel line/connection somewhere. Although an indepth investigation would probably get you more detail. I would think both the NHTSA & JLR would be very interested in the cause.

 

Man Oh Man glad it was not worse for you than it was!

 

Glad you made it out and hopefully your vision will improve.
Looking at the pictures it appears the source of the fire is somewhere behind and above the front driver wheel. It would be interesting to get someone to see if they can find the cause but most likely the insurance company will just total the car Also it would be interesting to see if the jump starter you used melted the starter circuit wires starting the fire and that melted a fuel line causing the rapid growth of the fire. Also does anyone know if JLR approves of using a jump type starter . Good luck

 

Wow, glad you survived, best wishes for continued eye recovery.
Fuel leak would be a good guess, but could also have been friction of some component that was binding and being forced to move (rotate). Had a truck fire once due to a front wheel brake that was stuck ‘on’.

 

Per cause I'm going with overworked alternator trying to push a charge into the dead battery. Don't the newer cars have the wonky charging strategy? Possibly the module was damaged during the jump start and was telling the alternator to overcharge. The alternator is down low and there's plastic above them. Sucks but at least you walked away from it.

Eye damage I'd think was caused by the caustic fumes in the hot gases. That really sucks and hope you fully recover.

 

Glad you made it out OK and hopefully your vision will return to normal soon. Sad to see the pics.

The extent of the damage and the speed and intensity of the fire leads me to believe that the fire was fueled by gasoline, and not melted plastic as Ranchero50 speculated. It's possible that jump starting was unrelated to the cause of the fire. Only an investigation will determine the cause.

 

Really too bad. Hope your vision gets back to what it was pre-fire!! An inspection by a qualified source would be a great idea. Beyond that I have no suggestions.

 

You were really fortunate you were not on the road at the time, though it is unfortunate you were injured so!

Did the jump involve a running donor? I thought jump starting required the donor vehicle to be turned off. Effectively only using the the battery not its charging system. Perhaps others here can confirm if that is true or not.

 

Jesus son. I'm glad you're alive.

 

That’s terrible news, but I’m happy you survived the ordeal.

 

I jumped the car with a Battery Charger. Although I know my way around cars,
I opened the manual and used the instructions which state to use the posts provided to jump the car rather than trying to access the battery.

I am going tomorrow to see the car for the first time. Thanks for the suggestions, I am going to look for signs around the starter area and fuel Line. I am going to meet with the insurance adjuster and press them to do a full investigation.

Now the problem is... What do I get to drive? I loved the XKR, the power and handling are addictive... I bought my 2012 in 2015 with less than 3,000 miles on the clock. Maybe I can find another barely used XKR

 

I'd rather have a CPO 2014 or 2015 with 20K miles than an out-of-factory warranty 2010 XKR with 3K miles. Low miles is no guarantee of condition.

You will find The One, but it may take some time. Search nation-wide, as they're relatively rare. Good luck!

 

Wow. That's too close for comfort. Glad it wasn't worse. Heal quickly!

 

The only thing I find that looks dated on the XKR's is the touch screen. I wonder if an enterprising member could program a flat tablet iPad type device that would fit over the touch screen? Many new high-end vehicles have flat screens that look like they were just tacked on, not integrated into the dash. I think this could be done, just not by me

 

That's awful! Hope you have a speedy and full recovery. My speculation based on what you've said is some kind of electrical problem but who knows. Do share any info you get on the cause, curious myself.

 

For info purposes what size was the battery charger you used. Also were you in "boost" mode when you started the car and did it start right up. Did you by chance check the battery voltage at the posts that you jumped from. Also did you have the charger set on high charge for any period of time before you tried to start the car. Good luck.

 

I was on Boost mode only long enough to start the car. I connect the charge while it was unplugged, plugged it in on low charge, changed it to boost mode and started the car. Then I immediately got out, unplugged the charger and unhooked the clamps.

 

Add my wishes that you continue to improve.

One suggestion. Having just gone through a search, you might ask the adjuster if you can remove a couple of things from the rear. Like the phone module and Nav system. I'm sure members are, or will be, looking for said parts. Easy to remove.

 

That is a good idea. Should be an interesting conversation with the adjuster. Any other parts members might need that I could try to get? The car came with 19" wheels. I swappped them for the 20" Wheels. I am going to try to get them if salvageable. I still have the 19" wheels and tires....

I have my eye on a couple of XKRs on the market. I am trying to decide about getting another XKR or getting something else. Very few cars can compare... Maybe a slightly used CTS-V or Mercedes SL AMG with the hardtop convertible...