As i was driving at 75 mph, the indicator light said, engine overheated. i then noticed white smoke coming from the hood. the white smoke turned black. i pulled over to the side of the road and before i could shut the engine off, the engine shut off on its own. fire began coming up where the windshield wipers are located and proceeded through the dashboard. i tried to unlatch my seat belt but it would not release. after several tries it released. i attempted to open the door; however, i had the same problem. the door did not open. after bumping the door forcibly many times, it also came open. mind you, all the while the flames are coming inside the cab. i called 911 and the county fire department was dispatched, but not before it was fully engulfed in flames. the vehicle was well maintained. i want to know what steps to take to prevent this from ever happening again?
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. while driving approximately 75 mph, a message indicating that the engine overheated displayed and smoke appeared under the hood of the vehicle. the flames quickly spread to the cabin of the vehicle. while the flames were inside the cabin, the contact attempted to exit the vehicle but the driver side seat belt would not immediately unlock. the seat belt finally unlocked, but the driver side door would not unlock. the door eventually unlocked and the contact was able to exit the vehicle. the fire department was called to the scene to extinguish the flames. the vehicle was destroyed. there were no injuries. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 247,433.
While driving at 45-50 mph and upon coming to a three way stop sign brakes failed, and consumer collided head on into an embankment. the impact caused seat belts to become undone, and air bags did not deploy. consumer sustained a broken sternum and facial fractures. manufacturer and the dealer have been informed of the problem.*ak