Hello,

Last weekend I was moving and my father was transporting my 2004 Nissan Maxima.

When he got on the highway he lost all power (1500 max RPM), couldn't accelerate, and then noticed some flames underneath the car. He quickly pulled over and put out the fire, but we are unsure what is the cause.


It was idling a little rough for the past few days before, and I'm wondering if this sounds like a clogged catalytic converter. Any suggestions for a bypass, or fix without replacing the whole cat?

Thank you

 

There's s good chance an ignition coil failed. All that unburned fuel destroyed the catalyst (melted or crumbled now) restricting exhaust flow.

You can remove the cat and drill it out and reinstall it. Check the ignition and fuel systems and fix any problems before installing a new cat if you want to be legal.