The images are now repeated alarmingly often. A car normally moves on a highway or main highway, smoke appears from its front or bottom and within minutes the entire vehicle wraps itself in flames.
The driver and passengers, if they realize what is going on in time, can be removed. But behind them, they close traffic lanes, they form mileage queues, and fire, traffic, ambulances, and removal crews are mobilised. In several cases the fire is transmitted to the dry grasses of the prane, turning a mechanical failure into a possible agro-forest fire.
This is not just about the impression that social media videos create. The analysis of the Fire Department data shows that in 2025 1,616 urban fires were recorded in the category «Cars». This is the largest performance in the available data series from 2014 to 2025, against 1,165 incidents in 2024 and 1.110 in 2023.
The increase from 2024 to 2025 reaches 38.7%, while compared to 2014, when 759 incidents had been recorded, the number has more than doubled. The summer season is particularly burdened. From June to August 2025 504 car fires were recorded, compared to 352 in the respective quarter of 2024. There were 183 incidents in July alone. An increase is recorded in the first 7 months of 2026, but no details have yet to be made public yet.
The explosive mix of the Greek fleet
The car with an internal combustion engine gathers in the same limited mechanical set all the elements a fire needs: flammable liquids, oxygen and many possible sources of ignition.
Gas or oil are released under pressure from the tank to the engine. Lubricants, transmission fluids and other flammable materials are located a few centimeters away from the exhaust manifold, supercharger, catalyst, and microparticle filter, components operating at temperatures of hundreds of degrees Celsius.
As a car grows old, rubber tubes harden, ligaments weaken, cements wear out and small cracks are created. A pressure fuel leak does not necessarily form an apparent lake. It can spray the fuel like a very thin cloud on a hot metal surface. Even the diesel, which ignites harder than gasoline in normal conditions, becomes very dangerous when leaking in cloud form near the exhaust or turbo.
The same can happen with engine oil falling on the exhaust manifold. In severe mechanical failure it is possible for an internal component to cause a fault in the engine block, releasing hot oil into the engine space. A small initial focus is sufficient to melt plastic covers and pipes, releasing more fuel and turning fire into uncontrollable within minutes.
The second major risk category is the electric circuit of conventional cars. Even a 12 Volt system can give power to hundreds of Ampere. Damaged insulation, cables rubbed on metal, loose connections or roughly mounted accessories without proper safety can cause short circuiting, electric arc and very high temperature. Alarms, sound systems, additional lights and other interventions installed without the manufacturer's specifications are a factor that is often underestimated.
The damage to the cooling circuit follows. A damaged refrigerator, a defective thermostat, a water pump that does not work properly or an electric fan that is not activated can abruptly raise the engine temperature. Overheating does not always cause fire in itself, but it can destroy insulation, cements, cables and pipes, opening the way for ignition.
In diesel, a problematic microparticle filter or a prolonged regeneration process significantly increases the temperature of the exhaust. If heat shields are missing, if oil has accumulated, or if wrong conversions have been made, the risk increases. On trucks and buses, blocked brake claws, worn bearings and overheated tires are additional possible hobs.
The high temperatures of the heat wave function as an accelerator, not usually as the original cause. At 40 degrees, the cooling system starts from a more unfavourable temperature base, air conditioning charges more the engine and slow motion limits air flow. After the stop appears and the heat of the heat soak: the engine is extinguished, the air and fluids cease to circulate normally, but the heat from the exhaust continues to be transmitted to neighbouring components.
A properly maintained car is made to operate in these conditions. The heat isn't an alibi for a fire. It just removes the last security margins from a malfunction that already exists.
International British DVSA survey of bus fires concluded that normal engine space temperatures do not in themselves cause fire when the vehicle is properly maintained. Instead, incorrect repairs were detected, rubbing cables, parts failures, drivers who ignored warning signs and cases where, after overheating, only the initial damage was repaired without considering the damage it had caused to the other systems. Of the 242 cases studied, 155 concerned vehicles at least ten years of age.
The car is a society.
Greece now has the oldest passenger car fleet in the European Union. According to ACEA's 2026 report, the average age of IX in our country has reached 17.8 years when the European average is 12.7 years. On Greek roads there are 5.74 million passenger cars, many of which have spent most of the life they were originally designed for.
Old age does not automatically mean danger. An old car that is meticulously maintained can remain perfectly safe. But the more time, kilometers, rough repairs, cheap spare parts and neglected service accumulate, the more potential failure points increase.
The problem is not only that several vehicles are not maintained. It is also that some are wrongly maintained. A fuel pipe placed on the wrong route, a heat shield that was not repositioned, an improvised electrical connection, a link that was fixed roughly or a leak that was surfaced can evolve into fire many months later.
KTEO cannot replace regular maintenance. It is a periodic control of the condition of the vehicle at this time. It does not open the engine, cannot predict any future failure and does not exempt the owner from the obligation to follow the manufacturer's schedule and address a properly trained technician.
In the public debate, every burning vehicle is almost automatically baptized «electric». The incidents identified in Greek highways in recent times concern conventional thermal vehicles. To date there has been no evidence in Greece of a purely electric car ignited in motion due to a battery failure. There has been an incident in a vehicle during charging, without the fire expanding into the battery, but this is a different case.
That doesn't mean an electric car is invulnerable. If a high-voltage battery suffers severe damage or mechanical stress, fire can be difficult to deal with. It means, however, that no fire is allowed in an old petrol or diesel vehicle to be used as «proof» anti-electricity.
The car is a society. The decision of an owner to postpone the replacement of a damaged pipe or ignore a smell of fuel does not ultimately concern him alone. It can close a highway, lock thousands of people in traffic, delay an ambulance, cause a car accident or carry the fire to the surrounding vegetation.
The renewal of the Greek fleet is therefore not just an environmental or economic issue. It's a matter of daily security. Essential incentives are needed to replace particularly old vehicles, more effective technical checks, inform drivers, and especially maintenance by workshops with the necessary expertise.
Gas, burnt plastic or oil smell, unusual smoke and evidence of warming should never be ignored. The driver must stop safely, turn off the engine, immediately remove all passengers and call 112 or 199. If a fire has already occurred in the engine compartment, the hood must not be completely opened, as the sharp oxygen supply can cause resurgence.
Cars don't sparkle without cause. Before the first flame appears, warnings, corruption, and omissions have usually been preceded. The heat just makes the bill of poor maintenance come faster — And we all pay him anyway.
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