Balsam Mahmoud of Mississauga had just picked up her eight-year-old son from school two weeks ago and was transporting her two-year old in the family’s 2015 Audi Q7. Minutes later, she heard a plaintive cry from the back seat.
“My son started screaming, ‘Smoke, mama, there’s smoke in the car,” she told Global News.
Mahmoud said she turned around and saw smoke filling the cabin. She said she pulled over quickly in fear of a larger fire.
“I thought it was going to blow up,” Mahmoud said, adding the stench of what smelled like burning rubber was intense.
She said an electrical fire in the rear console didn’t get worse and no one was injured.
Mahmoud said she brought the vehicle to an Audi dealership in Mississauga where it’s sat ever since. She said she has been told electrical components need to be replaced at a cost of about $1,800.
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But what caused the burning and smoke? Mahmoud said she was shocked to hear the Audi dealer’s explanation.
“Water and salt from (winter) boots,” Mahmoud was told.
She said she was told salty water likely came off the boots, went through a vent, corroded internal wiring and caused the electrical issue.
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However, Mahmoud said she isn’t buying the explanation or the manufacturer’s refusal to cover the cost of repairs.
“Every mother puts kids in winter boots … It shouldn’t be necessary to take off boots,” Mahmoud said.
Global News contacted the auto manufacturer to ask how wearing boots in the back of a luxury SUV in wintertime could be the cause of an electrical issue.
“The reason the dealership did not warranty the repair is because it was deemed an outside influence,” Audi Canada spokesperson Cort Nielsen said.
Mahmoud said she doesn’t allow her children to put their feet on top of the console in the back seat. But even if they did, she said it shouldn’t risk an electrical fire in a luxury SUV.
She said a service representative at the Audi dealership “pointed the finger” and told her shoe marks left by my kids in the car were an indication that this was “due to water and salt they dragged into the car and this was our fault.”
“Anyone who lives in Canada and has ever ridden in a car knows that dragging salt (on boots into a car) is absolutely normal,” Mahmoud said.
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Nielsen said he is “waiting for a report” on the damage, but reiterated the repairs are not covered by warranty.
“There is no way for water to get into the vent unless the boots were placed on top of it … This was not done just once,” he said.
Global News has reported on vehicle fires on other Audi models in the last two years, including a 2011 Q5 that burst into flames only minutes after leaving an Audi dealership where it underwent repairs. That vehicle was burned beyond repair.
READ MORE: Audi first ignores, then announces recall after Ontario woman’s car catches on fire
In April, Audi issued a recall for 576,000 vehicles due to fire and airbag rupture risks. The manufacturer acknowledged that the coolant pump posed a potential fire risk.
Mahmoud said she never would have purchased a new Audi Q7 had the manufacturer warned her of any fire risks associated with children wearing winter boots in the back seat. Audi didn’t tell Global News any such warning is made known to prospective buyers.
“I can’t feel safe letting my children wear their boots inside. This is not something any parent would take lightly,” Mahmoud wrote in a complaint.
“Why buy an Audi?”