Media Professional's Hyundai i20 catches fire in Delhi

New Delhi, 25 April 2016: This weekend was a nightmare for 33-year-old media professional Mukund Prabhakar, because his new car – a one-year-old Hyundai i20 Elite Sportz – went up in flames where it was parked. Mukund, who works for multinational media and communication agency Dentsu Aegis Network at Gurgaon, recounts his ordeal. "I got home early from work around 6 pm on Friday, and parked the car at the nearest possible location from my residence at Khirki Extension, Malviya Nagar. On Saturday, around 2 pm, the person who washes my car called me to say that my car was in flames. When I reached the spot, a big crowd had gathered, including the police. Within minutes, firemen rushed to spot and put out the blaze with water-hoses, leaving behind a junk heap of ashes."

Photo: the burning Hyundai i20 in Malviyanagar, new Delhi, before arrival of the Delhi Fire Brigade.

Thankfully, other cars were not parked too close to this Hyundai i20, otherwise the fire might have spread. And even more fortunately, Mukund and his friends were not in the vehicle when it caught fire, otherwise there is no telling what might have happened.

Needless to say, Mukund (mukundprabhakarapj@gmail.com, 9953998001) is traumatized. "A car is a prized possession and we take it after saving our hard earned money.. I purchased it an year back in March 2015 from Koncept Cars India Pvt Ltd. Something like this is not expected from a brand like Hyundai.. This totally shatters my faith in the brand."

Photo: Mukund Prabhakar took delivery of his cars in March 2015 from Koncept Cars India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.

See high-resolution photos: http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-120-burns

Video of firemen putting out the flames: https://youtu.be/4tTfn3wqaas

A large number of Hyundai cars have been spontaneously catching fire without any external cause. We wrote about this issue here: http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Fluidic-Verna-burns

Why? Subcontracting, cost-cutting and unsafe manufacturing practices are evidently behind Hyundai Motor's repeated burnups, putting customers at risk and compromising road safety as well. Read this report: http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Subcontracting

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Here is a fast-growing list of 18 RECENT HYUNDAI CAR FIRES IN INDIA, with details, photos and videos:

1. Goa, January 2015: Hyundai i20 started burning on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mandovi bridge. See video: http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i20-Goa
   
   
2. Bangalore, November 2014 –Hyundai i20 burnt to ashes at a dealership during bumper replacement. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i20-Dealer-fire
   
   
3. Mangalore, August 2014 - Hyundai Fluidic Verna Car belonging to Mr Prakash Rao, former managing director of Bhutan-based Tashi Group, spontaneously caught fire after being parked for a few days in his sister's garage. Despite lengthy correspondence, the company did not reveal the contents of its inspection report as to the cause of the fire. In its replies, Hyundai blandly stated, "Your vehicle was inspected by our team at our workshop Advaith Motors on 2/09/2014 & 3/09/2014. Accordingly we would like to confirm to you that the reported concern in your car is not due to manufacturing defect. Please don't have any apprehensions in this regard." http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Fluidic-Verna-burns
    
4. June 2013 – Hyundai i10 caught fire while being driven in an Indian city. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i10-burns
    
5. Gurgaon, June 2014 – Hyundai Santro spontaneously caught fire on the road, killing two of its three occupants. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Santro-Gurgaon
   
   
6. Chennai, June 2014: A techie and his uncle had a lucky escape when their luxury sedan plying towards Adyar from Thoraipakkam went up in flames following a fire which reportedly started from the engine. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Verna-Chennai
   
   
7. Bangalore, November 2013 – A couple had a narrow escape when their Hyundai i20 caught fire. http://tinyurl.com/Bangalore-Hyundai-i20
   
   
8. Mumbai, October 2013 – In two separate incidents, two new Hyundai Eon cars caught fire. http://tinyurl.com/Two-Hyundai-Eon-Mumbai
   
   
9. October 2012 – Hyundai Santro car burst into flames after it hit the rear of a truck in Faridabad. All six occupants were burnt to death. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Santro-Faridabad
    
10. Jharkhand, September 2012 – Hyundai i20 developed a fireball under its bonnet while on the road. The occupants narrowly escaped. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i20-Jharkhand
    
    
11. New Delhi, April 2012 – Hyundai Accent caught fire on Ghazipur flyover. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Accent-Delhi
    
    
12. Hyderabad, March 2012 – Hyundai i10 caught fire while being taken out of parking. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i10-Hyderabad
    
    
13. Amritsar, November 2011: A youth had a narrow escape when his new Hyundai i-10 car caught fire on Elevated Road in Amritsar while he was driving it. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i10-Amritsar
     
14. Mumbai, August 2011: A Hyundai Santro car caught fire, reportedly due to a short circuit near the fuel tank on Link road, Dahisar West, Mumbai. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Santro-Mumbai
     
15. April 2011 – A brand-new Hyundai Verna burst into flames on a highway. The family managed to escape, but lost all their cash, luggage, mobile phones, etc. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-Verna-highway
    
    
16. Kolkata, November 2010 – A Hyundai i20 burst into flames. See video. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i20-Kolkata
    
    
17. New Delhi – A Hyundai i20 burned in a busy road near ITO in New Delhi. See video http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-i20-New-Delhi
    
    
18. Bangalore, June 2009 – A 10-month-old Hyundai i10 caught fire upon ignition. http://tinyurl.com/Hyundai-10-ignition

Needless to say, many more Hyundai cars are burning up in India, but not being reported. Mainstream media is reluctant to report the full extent of this problem, because the full-page advertisements released by dealerships help to hush up the issue! So, the only hope is  social media.

Are you a victim of Hyundai Motors' profiteering practices? Don't suffer in silence. Please speak out publicly against this criminal multinational which refuses to take responsibility and acts deaf-mute and blind when informed about such accidents. Also, please complain to the Union Ministry of Road Transport, as this gentleman did: http://tinyurl.com/Nitin-Gadkari-Open-Letter

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