A brand new 2015 GMC Yukon met an unfortunate fate Sunday when the redesigned full-size SUV burst into flames while a prospective customer was out on a test drive in Anaheim, CA.
According to the Los Angeles Times and KTLA, the occupants of the car were caught off guard when smoke suddenly began to fill the cabin. The driver could not fully control the vehicle, but managed to pull it to the side of the road in a residential neighborhood where they abandoned the SUV.
No one was injured as a result of the fire, which The Times reports could possibly be the result of an oil leak. The Anaheim Fire Department arrived on scene and put the blaze out within 15 minutes.
“We’re very lucky that no one got hurt, and it was in an area that was safe,” said Anaheim police Lt. Tim Schmidt. “If there was any place that was going to be safe, it would be this area. It’s very open. It worked out for us.”
General Motors said they are “working urgently” on the issue and have a “team of investigators traveling to Anaheim to learn what they can about the fire,” in an emailed statement to Jalopnik.
KTLA’s report on the incident is just below.
Comments
Oh God here we go. Any GM car breaking down now will be on the web.
Note I think the number was 157,000 on average catch fire every year including new cars. Just something to keep in mind.
How many Tesla’s have gone up of late?
A line came off on a new car it happens once in a great while just not as dramatic.
This is local news not national news.
Who said the media is not fail and balanced.
Cars catch on fire very frequently. I don’t think this anything other than an isolated incident with these vehicles, but I guess time will tell.
The tesla’s were involved in accidents..not driving down the road on a test drive GM fan!
There it goes with recall again…. Great
I knew it, the 5.3 fire problem wasn’t fixed. Reflash the watchamacallit didn’t work.
True somewhere in the world a car catches on fire all the time, but we have a pattern here with GM’s “gem” of a new engine, and 99.99999999% of cars go hundreds of thousands of miles without burning to the ground.
Only in gmauthority world would someone excuse a brand new $70k SUV catching on fire. Happens nowhere else, that’s what’s so entertaining. It’s like a train wreck, you want to look away but just can’t.
I would expect a recall on these sometime around 2024.
Bummer man, I hope they figure this out and that it’s not more than just a so called “isolated incident”.
Terrible. Perhaps not just the Silverado/Sierra are having trouble with the new 5.3L. Hope they find out what happens and it isn’t serious! I am already seeing hate comments towards GM online about things like this and this is adding fuel to the fire (no pun intended) which makes it hard for me to stand up for without looking like a butt kisser..
I think you’re right. Also, these anti-GM comments are generally made by the “Lowest Common Denominator” crowd, who have no idea how complex vehicles truly are. I would shake it off.
Why didn’t this problem arise in testing?
magirus God just issued a recall for you for a brain that was left out. LOL!
This will prove to be a isolated incident and nothing more. It is not the first new car to catch fire. If it were not for the media on the ignition deal you would not have heard of it outside the town in California it happened in.
As of now like Toyota every time GM sneezes the media will be all over it.
Scott, the Teslas caught on fire after crashing. Your mighty Yukon will do it just driving around. You see a difference there? Didn’t think so.
So if I run over a piece of metal my car should catch fire?
I guess if you are ok with that ,,,,,,,,
How unfortunate….. What looked to be a stellar year for GM has so far gone up in flames. (No pun intended). GM has released some of their best vehicles ever for the 2014 model year only to see all their progress destroyed by what began with an ignored ignition switch recall, that ballooned into a full fledged disaster for their reputation. And now this……
Sigh….I’m afraid GM can only expect to take a critical hit in brand perception, which will mean low profits.
Scotty: Really how deep does your throat go for GM? Remember not everyone likes the flavor.
One new GMC catches fire so what.
There are many other GM cars that have caught fire but where is the reporting on them? Where was your indignation on them?
If we see a string of these then it is news worthy but one fire does not make for a major national story. If it were not for the switch issue you would have never heard about this outside the California town.
You do not have to like or love GM the reality is one fire is not a major story. Show me more 2015 Yukon fires and I will join you but where are they?
This is about fair and this is not a fair national story.
IF this becomes a trend, i think everyone in GM that was involved in designing and okaying, the culprit that’s causing this, should be lined up and be given 60-70 (msrp ÷ 1,000) lashes on their backs, so that they learn to stop effing around. Jk.
It’s ALL about Perception!!!
And negative media piling on!!!
Anyone who WAS in the market for one of these new SUVs n sees this fire video will STOP n rethink their purchase decision n probably delay if not avoid these SUVs.
Can’t blame them.
True or false about what n why this fire happened does NOT matter as its out now n Perception over rules reality
My Theory:
L.A. Times is notoriously biased towards GM and Californians in general don’t care for domestic vehicles. Also, Tesla is now the car of California and tree huggers are all jumping on board. Thus, my theory is that it was a setup and that the vehicle was sabotaged before the test drive. The reason I say this, other than above is that out of all of the testing with the Silverado and Sierra, and similar vehicle GMC Yukon, that this one is the one that catches fire. The probability of this is absolutely remote. You’d have better luck playing the lottery, IMHO.
For some reason I’m finding that joe’s theory kind of sounds legit. I mean think about it, even if there was a defective part in the car I doubt it would start leaking and cause a fire so early in this vehicle’s life. At this oping really the only thing I want to know is, what kind of crap is the media going to come up with to hurt GM’s image?
I think there is a politic’s and media’s plot: Oddly, these scandals happens in a good timing with the “switchgate”. Clearly, it’s for destructing the fragile gm’s reputation. In addition, I wonder whether all GM’s enginneers are truely loyal towards their company and maybe, few of them are republican and antibailout! If I was instead of GM’s responsable, I should probe! Futhermore, ford recalls 1,6 million vehicles but only two articles pertaining to this case! If peoples believe that GM should not have tested more their cars… they will believe everything!!
can you buy a new car in CA on a Sunday?
I am not a big conspiracy guy but I do know there is a lot of sway in the media.
Advertising dollars do buy a lot of coverage that can favor one company and hurt others. Papers do it all the time. I did not believe it till I heard it from a writer for a national paper.
In magazines advertising buys you much favor. I see it with my own place of employment. You spend the money and your name will be used often and shown regularly outside of your advertising.
The pint media is in trouble and they will take money for about anything and those who want sway no matter if it is products or politics can buy the print media.
I do not think the TV media took this as a condemnation of GM as to them it was just a truck fires. Now all the web and published reports it is just more piling on of GM. If it is due to advertisers or more hits on a web site they will use it since GM has been a hot topic. This happens often with other MFG too.
I probably should wear my tin foil hat while reading your statement…
Might get a reality hat if you think all media has no bias.
To be honest they don’t even try to hide it much anymore.
It was so bad at the Toronto Star that many forum sites used to call it the Toyota Star.
But then again some media has gone over the edge. The CNN anchor the other night suggested a black hole is where the missing airliner went. I almost busted a gut when I heard him say that one as he was dead serious. Some guy name Lemon I am sure someone has it posted on the web. The woman who answered him kept a straight face in her reply and also ruled out the Bermuda triangle.
Thanks scott, I for one appreciate your common sense and knowledge.
Come on now guys!!! How long have we been manufacturing cars? If I spend 45 to 55 thousand dollars of my hard earned money on a new car and it catches fire…….SOMETHING IS MAJORLY WRONG!!!!! Where is the accountability of doing a good job with pride!!!!
GM has known for years the 5.3 engines in trucks and SUV’s have several areas of oil leaks from the oil pan area, all the way from the timing cover seal, oil pan gasket and rear engine seal. There are several “tech bulletins” out on the problems. IF you let the leaks go, allowing oil to build up under the vehicle, you are asking for a fire. But yet GM does nothing. Don’t know if it was the leak on the new Yukon that caused the fire, but I know my Silverado with 20,000 miles has leaks that Chevy expects me to pay for due to being out of warranty, it is a 2007 model. Been buying new GM products for over 20 years, this is my last.