355 F355 burnt down while i was on a test ride *Video*

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https://www.carscoops.com/2022/09/ferrari-f355-burns-down-during-test-drive-with-potential-buyer/ Ferrari F355 Burns To The Ground During Potential Buyer’s Test Drive




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so the solution is to replace all fuel lines, how often? every 10 yrs?

 

At least he can still sell the wheels. Bad joke. Another 355 burned to the ground. Clueless owner and NO fire extinguisher. Look, the fire didn't start IN the engine from running rich. The fire started externally from a leak. Period. Everybody please open the decklid and get to know your car and it's powertrain. Stare at the engine while it's idling and warming up for 2 minutes. Buy and install a fire extinguisher or 2. The insurance Company may give him a fight on the claim due to NEGLIGENCE.

 

Given the history of the 355 and Ferraris in general.......enough have caught fire that would make negligence a non factor regardless of the maintenance cycle.

I don't think a fire extinguisher by itself would be of much use. I have one on board my 355 but even though the engine lid is mechanically actuated it may not be reliable if there is a fire under the lid. The common problem area is the fuel block located at the front of the engine NEXT TO THE FUEL TANK. The idea that you would stop the car, pull the lid release, grab a fire bottle, open the door (scary if it doesn't unlock.....which apparently happened in this case) get out, open the lid and start spraying seems pretty optimistic ESPECIALLY since the FIRE IS NEXT TO THE FUEL TANK.

Even the smallest amount of fire damage will total the car.

It makes me seriously consider putting in a fire suppression system with four engine bay nozzles. At least then.....you have a decent chance of saving the car, yourself and any other occupant.

 

Im in the camp if it ignites you want it to burn the the ground

 

Its either prevent it from happening or let it finish the job! There's no middle ground.

 

Im guessing that window from oh **** a fire to oh **** the car is gone is less than a minute. So you need to pull over safely, get the extinguisher to work and pull the trigger.

 

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-243.pdf

 

All this 355 fire business has absolutely nothing to do with service or maintenance. Yet, a lack of service can contribute to this fire problem. Here is the real issue. There is a fuel line attachment point in front of the engine, and the way the Factory positioned the fuel lines at this junction was that the fuel feed hoses would chafe against each other and then once a hole was produced from the fuel line, it would spray the entire motor compartment with pressurized fuel, hence the fire.

Years ago, I had a San Diego customer who wanted to buy a car in Los Angeles, I begged him not to buy it until a pre purchase inspection was done first. The customer bought the car any way, with out the inspection, and when driving from Los Angeles to San Diego, the car caught fire. The driver was severely injured, the passenger was burned less. The car was towed to Bobileff Motorcar Company in San Diego. Several days later, I did an investigation, and found that the chaffed fuel line at the junction block was the culprit. I contacted Ferrari North America, they sent out a team of their investigators, along with others from Italy, and all confirmed my findings were correct. Ferrari then issued a global recall on all 355's produced, which had the fuel lines re positioned, along with a clamp holding several of the hoses in place , to prevent this from happening again.
That friends, is the true 355 fire story.
Gary Bobileff

 

That is a sad and interesting story Gary and no disrespect to your enormous experience with the marque, but my understanding is there are more sources of fire in 355's than the recalled fuel clamp problem. I found one myself -- the fuel filler neck is a thin black plastic tube that rubs against AC line fittings in one area. On my car the plastic tube was almost worn through. They sit pressed against each other. I put a rubber sleeve on the neck to insulate from rubbing, but my god. What a criminal, mind-boggling design. The filler neck, like the other fuel lines, is right next to the headers.

 

Yes..not to mention the rest of the plastic vent lines that are now very brittle..and unavailable. I fear more and more 355's will go up in flames as they get older. The fuel system design in these cars is terrible.

 

It's astonishingly bad. Lots of lines flapping around in the engine bay, rubbing on other parts, poorly secured, all inches from headers. It's remarkable.

 

Unless what I've read is incorrect, this car was a 94 build so should be dual fuel pump which wouldn't have the central fuel block.

As for the later single fuel pump cars as I recall the lines at the distribution block could be chafed if the coolant hose clamp below them was clocked incorrectly allowing interference.

As for the lines chafing against each other, I've not heard that mentioned previously and can't picture that failure mode.

Please post a photo of this if you have it.

 

At least if it didn't, there be one more pair of carbon seats on the market. Since it burned to the ground, no one else got to experience those seats. Shame in my mind.

 

negligence? Please sell me the crystal ball you have.

 

my opinion. this is what i believe happened.

he said the car smelled like it was running rich.
it was making rumbling noises on deceleration. which could be heard in video.
so whatever may have been the issue that caused that, injectors etc.

the fire started at the very rear. you could see the flames coming from lower bumper grills.

so i suspect the cats basically lit up from the richness. and the fire started at the back section of exhaust.

I don’t see it as an actual fuel leak in the engine bay.

 

Yeah but if the cat ECU's were functioning, they would have put the car in limp mode when the cats got too hot.

 

Suggested to me by a respected Fcar tech that the fuel line recall may not have been done on a euro car.

Is there any confirmation that the factory mandated fuel line recall was done on this car?

 

As @INTMD8 posted the car is reportedly a 94 meaning dual fuel pumps and not apart of the fuel line recall. The issue with the earlier cars is often the old style power steering tank which doesn’t seal. Power steering fluid on the headers would be combustible.

 

IRC there was an earlier recall on the early cars fuel line as well. I’ll try and dig that up

 

The original owner of my previous F355 had the old style power steering
reservoir which he had drilled a hole into the cap and place a rubber hose that extended to the bottom of the car. Weird. Figured he was worried about pressure buildup and the cap popping off and fluid causing a fire. I found the new style reservoir (also a BMW part) and only difference was the cap. I just switched caps. Also more secure than old style.

 

So sad situation but good that everyone is safe. Always do an inspection before driving or at least check once a month. There is not really a good time to change the fuel lines, depending on were you live degradation could be different but to change the fuel lines every 7-10 years is a good practice. I plan to change mine because there is no record from previous owner.

 

You’re lucky you got out. I lost a good friend, Bob Dunn, when his 355 caught fire and he had his nephew with him and they both were trapped inside and couldn’t get out! So tragic!