Can oil & filters change cause enging fire?

The first two things I'd be curious about are whether they actually
put the right filter on the vehicle, and whether it is tight. Third
would be whether the filler cap was put back on.

 

*YAWN*

 

Even if the filler cap was left off it would not allow oil out of the valve
cover, some slight vapors only. If the recall was not done and the oil
change jockey hit the fuel rail and caused it to leak afterwards, that would
not be the fault of the person changing the oil.
If the original OP took his car to the dealer for service, they should have
ran a VEIP to see if there are any outstanding recalls that apply.A good
investigator would be able to determine the cause if they were interested
And if the fire originated at the battery , it would not be a fuel or an oil
leak, possible low electrolyte in the battery causing battery to explode

 

I'm NOT familiar with the 3.3 and 3.8 Mopars - but if, when the oil is
changed, oil can run onto ANY part of the exhaust, the danger of a
fire within minutes is there. I generally wipe down the exhaust
components that get oily with a rag, and then give a squirt of
something like "brake-kleen" for good measure to remove as much oil as
possible.- making ABSOLUTELY SURE I don't leave a rag behind.
The fact hot oil was smelled moments after startup would lead me to
believe there WAS some oil on the exhaust.
On my current Pontiac it is impossible to change the oil and filter
without oiling the exhaust. My old Aerostar was almost as bad, and the
Merc Duratec is even worse.
I have seen several under-hood fires caused by oil on the exhaust in
the last 35 years or so - as well as a few from shop rags left behind.

This would NOT show low oil after the fact, or turn on any warning
lamps.

If it was an electrical short, it is most likely that SOMETHING would
have misbehaved. The "preponderence of evidence" would lead me to
believe it was a fire caused by excessive oil on a hot engine part.

 

More like a fine mist.

 

Perhaps the "On Fire" light was burned out?

Steve B.

 

Are you joking or is there indeed such a light?
If not, this looks like a good idea to me - some
sort of indication that under-hood temperature is
abnormally high.

IP.

 

The problem is that the vehicle doesn't have comprehensive insurance.
I'm a good driver, but the insurance doesn't recognize that and asks
exorbitant prices for comprehensive since I've been driving in US
for only four years, so I decided to assume the risk, but now this
doesn't seem like a terribly good idea :-(
In any case, there seems to be some hope still. I'll only have to
deal with the repair shop directly instead of through insurance and
that might be much more hassle. - Insurance companies deal with such
cases en-mass, but for a single case like this it is even difficult
to find a lawyer. The van's value is probably 9K and lawyers seem to
prefer slip & fall cases where they can exaggerate the damage to
anything like this where the damage is clearly determined.

 

I talked to the Chrysler tech at the dealership yesterday and showed him
the photos of the damage. He said that disturbed wiring might be likely
cause but he also said that in cases like this it is almost irrelevant,
but what is important is that they worked on the car and then minutes
after they finished it went on fire. This by itself almost totally excludes
the coincidence. He said that this should be taken care of by shop's
insurance. It looks like he is very familiar with the subject - most likely
Chrysler service department has similar insurance to take care of possible
cases like this one.

IP.

 

Most cars should probably have a "SON OF A B**CH!! HEY A**HOLE!!" light.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

When the cutlines around the hood start glowing orange, that's your
light right there.

nate

 

Well, what do you know, that's just what I said 2 days ago:

"The fact that the fire started minutes after you left the oil change place
means that there's a preponderance of the evidence that a mistake they
made caused the fire"

I'll give you some more unsolicited advice - the longer you waste time
yakking this up with us, convenient service departments, lawyers offices,
and so on, instead of doing what I mentioned and calling the oil change
place shop's
insurance company and filing a claim, the harder it's going to be to get
the claim paid.

But I won't mind if you check this with the Chrysler tech at the dealer -
again. ;-)

Ted