A Spanish family of four narrowly escaped a life-threatening ordeal Tuesday afternoon when their rental vehicle burst into flames on a winding mountain road in northern Thailand.

 

a Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid—began to malfunction. The driver, identified as the father of the family, told investigators he noticed thick smoke billowing from the engine compartment. He managed to pull the car over to the shoulder of the road and immediately evacuated his wife and two children....

 

อ่านข่าวต้นฉบับได้ที่ : https://www.khaosodenglish.com/tourism/2025/12/25/spanish-family-escapes-as-rental-car-explodes-in-mae-hong-son.

 

 

Thanks, enjoyed reading that.

Pulled over on the road shoulder? The driver side wheels are totally destroyed. It would appear this car was involved in an accident.The driver

4 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Pulled over on the road shoulder? The driver side wheels are totally destroyed. It would appear this car was involved in an accident.The driver

 

More likely they melted.

 

Off topic post removed @Lacrimas discuss the topic and stop trolling other posters.

"While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the incident comes amid recent global recalls for certain Toyota hybrid models involving potential fire risks related to inverter components."

 

Recalls? I think I will dig deeper. Would be a hard hit for Toyotas bestseller here.

 

I decided against last year. Granddaughter wants to buy one in February.

 

11 hours ago, DavisH said:

Pulled over on the road shoulder? The driver side wheels are totally destroyed. It would appear this car was involved in an accident

 

From the story.....

 

"The fire rapidly engulfed the entire car, causing it to slide off the road and down an embankment"

 

Apparently.

31 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

"While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the incident comes amid recent global recalls for certain Toyota hybrid models involving potential fire risks related to inverter components."

 

Recalls? I think I will dig deeper. Would be a hard hit for Toyotas bestseller here.

 

I decided against last year. Granddaughter wants to buy one in February.

 

The recall affects 2025-2026 Toyota Camry and 2026 Corolla Cross Hybrid, the company announced in a statement. A bolt inside the inverter in the powertrain could become loose and may result in a loss of motive power or a fire when the vehicle is on, increasing the risk of a crash or injury, the automaker said. News from 27th December 2025

i personally wouldn’t buy a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid for several reasons, not just because of the higher fire risk ... 

8 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

"While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the incident comes amid recent global recalls for certain Toyota hybrid models involving potential fire risks related to inverter components."

 

Recalls? I think I will dig deeper. Would be a hard hit for Toyotas bestseller here.

 

I decided against last year. Granddaughter wants to buy one in February.

 

The recall is not global — it applies to the US and Canada, and it affects Corolla Cross Hybrid and Camry Hybrid vehicles.

The Toyota Corolla Cross is not the Toyota passenger car best seller in Thailand.
 

Are you getting confused with the Thailand ASEAN Yaris Cross, which is not sold in the US and outsells all vehicles in its class together, including EVs?

10 hours ago, LosLobo said:

Are you getting confused with the Thailand ASEAN Yaris Cross, which is not sold in the US and outsells all vehicles in its class together, including EVs?

The quote is from the linked article. So I assumed it is related to that fire.

Thanks for the clarification.