Woman speaks out after Audi catches fire twice in two days

Naomi Bannister, of Shelf, said her 2021 Audi A3 electric/hybrid car, which she bought only four months ago, caught fire twice last week - once in the early hours of last Wednesday morning and again on Thursday evening.

Smoke rises from an Audi 3 electric/hybrid car which caught on fire (Image: UGC)

Ms Bannister said: “A neighbour heard pops and bangs and the whole street was covered in black smoke.

“We woke up to noises from the sirens when the fire service turned up."

Smoke rises into the air as an Audi A3 electric/hybrid car catches fire (Image: UGC)

“The fire was hard to put out. The fire service put a cover over it."

A special cover is put over an electric / hybrid car on fire (Image: UGC)

She said it was lucky the fire did not reach the full tank of petrol, adding that if it did “it could have been a whole lot worse”.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) said: “We were called to the street in Bradford at 4.28am on August 14 to a report of a small vehicle fire - electric/hybrid.

Firefighters put a special cover on an electric / hybrid car on fire (Image: UGC)

“We used a water blanket and an EV blanket. WYFRS sent fire appliances from Odsal and Fairweather Green.

“The Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water were contacted. A revisit was arranged for later in the day.

The Audi A3 car as it was before the fire (Image: UGC)

“We arrived at 2.14pm on August 14, and the temperature of the battery had dropped below 30 degrees.”

Ms Bannister said when she arrived home the following day, the car was "making a funny noise and started hissing". 

She said she smelt fuel and the car caught fire again.  ​

The fire service confirmed crews were called to the street again, just before 7pm on August 15 to the vehicle fire.

“The battery system was the problem on the first visit, and on the second visit, it appears to be the 12-volt system," said a spokesperson. 

"The owner has been told to call back if it happens again.”

Ms Bannister said: “The night before the first fire started the car had a mind of its own. The electrical systems (screen and sound system) were playing up.

"It was having a hissing fit."

Naomi Bannister with her 'dream car', an Audi A3 electric / hybrid (Image: UGC)

“I never had any problems before then. It was my dream car and everything I ever wanted. It was my first electric car," she added.

Ms Bannister has, however, taken her concerns about the car to her dealer and Audi UK to “look at what happened". 

A spokesperson for Audi UK said: “Customer safety is Audi’s number one priority.

"A detailed vehicle investigation will need to be undertaken in order to fully understand the root cause of the fire, during this time, customer support will be offered by local Audi partners."