2016 Ford Everest Bursts into Flames During Journalist Test Drive

The incident took place on Redhead Road near Newcastle, about 175 km north of Sydney, when Peter Barnwel from News Corp Australia noticed the warning lights brighten up on the instrument panel as it then went blank suddenly while the engine shut down. Soon the engine bay was covered in flames before the fire brigade could arrive. It took them more than 20 minutes to extinguish the flames. 

“As I rolled to a stop it just burst into flames,” Barnwell commented. “There were flames licking out from under the bonnet. They couldn’t put the fire out for ages. Some of the material wouldn’t extinguish. There were explosions and bits of shrapnel firing 50m down the road. I got as far away from the thing as I could.”

A spokesman for Ford Australia confirmed this is the first registered incident of that type. He told news.com.au that the company is “not aware of similar reports regarding the new Everest, the new Ranger or the previous Ranger.” The automaker is currently investigating into what caused the accident involving the new Ford Everest, which is designed and engineered in Australia while it is manufactured in Thailand.