Toyota Innova self-combusts amid heating scandal

Thursday morning, a Toyota Innova car suddenly caught fire in Khanh Hoa province. This happened in the context of some 73,000 Toyota vehicles assembled in Vietnam having been recalled since April including over 6,000 Innova Js.

Giang Quoc Thanh, 30, took the Innova to a maintenance center on Le Hong Phong Street in Nha Trang City where the staff drove it into a slot and took some photos (normal procedures for maintenance purposes).

Suddenly, Thanh spotted a small fire coming from the lock that is used to open the hood.

This happened when the Innova was standing still with its engine turned off.

Thanh and staff from the center had to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flame. Police were called in.

Thanh and Le Cao Tuan, sales manager at the maintenance center confirmed in writing that the car “self-combusts”.

Toyota Vietnam is now in the midst of a scandal when it had to recall 73,000 cars for technical problems related to bolts, seats and pressures. But the story did not stop there.

The insider who exposed the flaws in the first place recently said his company was hiding two other technical errors and that the actual number of cars needed to be recalled was way higher.

Le Van Tach, the whistle-blowing engineer, has been suspended from working for 3 months on the grounds that he baselessly accused his colleagues of threatening and insulting him.

Tach said he was often targeted and discriminated after exposing the flaws.

But the company denied punishing Tach out of revenge. It said the suspension is in line with labor laws and company"s regulations.