My buddy and I have the same car, a white 97. And before I tell you guys what happened I apologize for not having any pictures since the fire fighters would not let me get close enough for a clear shot, plus I did not want to stand there taking pictures of some poor guy's burning car.

Anyways, my friend arrived at the Boeing parking lot and went inside. Ten minutes later I arrive and saw lots of brownish smoke waaayyyy down the lot and thought it was someone with a leaf blower cleaning the parking lot. As I got closer, the smoke turned white and heavier. I was starting to wonder what was going on so I got parked and walked towards the bellowing smoke to see what happened. There was a really strong burning wire and plastic smell too.

That was when I saw it was a white 4th gen on fire with flames coming out of the sides of the hood and underneath. And the smoke then turned black and got really heavy, almost like a runaway diesel. At this point the emergency crews were already on the way as I could hear the sirens, and of all the things I had in my car a fire extinguisher was not one of them. I was seriously kicking myself for not buying one when I had the chance a few days ago, so all I could do was watch.

A few minutes later, my buddy who owned the car ran out, only to see the firefighters break all the windows and hose the whole thing down. The car was completely charred by the time the fire was extinguished. It seriously looked like someone poured gasoline over the entire car and lit it up.

I have never seen a car go up in flames like that before, maybe in movies but in real life? Never. I asked him what the heck did he do to his car to make it burn like that, and said the car was perfectly fine. No overheating, no modifications, nothing went wrong on the way to work. It was a mystery for him also; maybe someone wanted to teach him a lesson and destroyed his car, or maybe they were looking for my car but got his by mistake. No one is really sure.

So what do you guys think happened? I suspect something electrical might have started it since I smelt that strong burning wire smell, but I don't see how an electrical problem can make a car go up like that. But either way, I know for sure I am putting a fire extinguisher in my car. Either for myself someday or for someone else.

 

It's very possible the alternator was the cause.

 

Leaking valve cover + alternator x leaking fuel line? Personally I'm amazed more cars dont catch fire.

 

The alternator was the cause as I am pretty sure your friend had his original OEM alternator still in there. This should be a wake up call for those with 97-98 models. If you still have your original OEM alternator, time to go to the dealer and get it swapped.

 

I don't know much about 4th gens, but was there a design flaw with the 97-98's alternator to cause this?

 

recall as well

 

Yupp alternator. That's why they do recalls... To keep cars from burning alive But I guaruntee this is not the first 97 to go up in flames because of that..

 

Oh wow...

How long ago did Nissan do this recall?

 

So is this something nissan will do at no cost?

 

Call the service department with your vin ready and they will tell you over the phone.

 

your talking more than 10 years ago... I had two aternators replaced around 97 or 98 when I bought the car. all part of the recall.

 

That's crazy to know that they're still might be cars out there that haven't had this recall done yet, after all these years.

 

I believe it...

 

I see that gif I posted the other day is getting put to good use.

 

That's some serious negligence since that recall was many years ago (2001-02?). I could see if the car was running and it caught fire but not just parked. You said no modifications, are you sure he did not have amps in the back? I'm thinking power wire run without a grommet, possibly fuse bypass, positive short to ground and poof. But I guess it is possible the alty+valve cover leak+fuel.

 

I had 98 Ran fine for many years. Have never heard of the recall. All well.

 

A alternator and leaking valve cover? Insane!

I would have never guess it! I originally thought some wiring some where shorted out got a fuel line or something.

Good thing my OEM alternator died years ago, and this is truly a wake up call for those with the original parts. Your car might catch fire suddenly and randomly after a drive.

I am the only one left with a 4th gen in my building, now.

 

Yeah it was parked, and it happened while sitting for a bit too, that was the weird thing. Thats why there were rumors of sabotage or it was staged. As for AMPS, I do not know I'm sorry. All i know was that the car was in good running condition, the engine bay was on fire and there was a strong electrical burning smell. Kind of ironic considering whats happening with all the 787s.

For me, I am just glad no one was inside.

 

I have a '99 and '97 and I'm going to replace my alternator on the '97 because of this. Just wondering if any of you guys know if I can have the dealership swap the new one for my old one without working on my car?