SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20180105-F6E78-1723431. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: John Deere Gator� John Deere Gator� RSX850i (Trail model recreational utility vehicles). Incident: The submitter said the unit was repaired sometime in April 2013 under the recall # 13-725 and the repair was conducted by the retailer. The unit was used for about an hour or two, the submitter said it was only driven a few miles when it backfired. The unit was then turned off and pulled to his friends nearby home. Shortly after they noticed smoke coming from underneath the seat, near the utility bed and when the opened it flames began. The local fire department was contacted and when they arrived at the scene the unit was in flames. The unit was put out and the submitter was given a report which was filed by Chief [REDACTED]. The submitter said he contacted the firm a few days later and spoke with [REDACTED] ([REDACTED]) and sent pictures of the unit (case # [REDACTED]). The submitter was told that the information was reviewed and at this time they could not identify what caused the fire so they would not assist with a refund or replacement. The submitter was also told that if he decided to hire his own fire investigator to examine the unit and got back to them then they would review the information again. The submitter indicated that the unit has 135 hours.