The contact owns a 2023 Arctic Cat Snowmobile. The contact stated that while starting the snowmobile on the trailer in the driveway, the snowmobile ran for approximately 3-5 seconds and then backfired and caught on fire. The snowmobile was removed from the trailer to prevent the trailer from also catching on fire. The contact stated that before attempting to restart the snowmobile, there was grayish black smoke coming from under the engine cover and there were flames under the snowmobile. The fire was extinguished with snow, and a handheld fire extinguisher because the water hose was frozen. The contact stated that the plastic wind screen and the instrument cluster was melted. There was no other fire damages outside the engine compartment. The contact believed that the snowmobile was a total loss; however, the Insurance Provider had not yet deemed the snowmobile a total loss. The snowmobile was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,002.
- NHTSA ID
- 11713430
- Incident
- Jan 24, 2026
- Mileage
- 1,002 mi