Gas explodes in Prius

The explosion has sparked a warning for motorists to avoid putting old barbecue gas bottles in their cars. A 47-year-old woman driver was injured when a can of butane exploded in her Toyota Prius, showering a suburban street in Sydney's north with debris.

Society of Automotive Engineers, Australasia executive director Max Chanter said he had not heard of a butane container exploding but suggested any volatile gas or liquid should not be transported in the confines of a vehicle. 

He also advised that people should not carry barbecue gas bottles in their car for too long and to make sure they had not passed their use-by date.

``When you top up your gas at a service station and they swap your cylinder, they will only do it if it is still under the use-by date as they may be dangerous if they get old and rusty.

`Some people keep a butane container in their glovebox to top up their cigarette lighter and I don't think that is advisable either.”

There have been few reported incidents of gas containers exploding in cars, but there were two in 2009. One involved an LPG tank exoploding in a car near Toowoomba and the other was a leaking barbecue gas bottle which exploded on the seat beside a Cessnock driver when he lit a cigarette. Last month, a gas bottle in a caravan exploded in a crash on the Sunshine Coast.