Hey all -

Need your opinion on my not-so-wonderful afternoon...

I was driving back to work this afternoon, stopped at a light, when my engine sputtered and died. A few seconds later I saw white smoke from under the hood. Upon popping the hood, I noticed...gee...my air filter is on fire!

Luckily a dump truck driver stopped behind me and had a fire extinguisher to quell the flames until we could get the filter out of the compartment and put the fire out. All things considered, there was minimal damage - looks like I need to replace the filter housing, plastic components in the vicinity, and maybe replace the oxygen sensor. (Oh yes, and it looks like I'll need a new filter!)

It was a fairly hot (~90 degree), humid day. The air filter was replaced with OEM parts just 3 months ago by a mechanic I trust. My driving style is normal to "spirited". Best guesses so far have been that the filter had absorbed some oil/fuel vapor/etc. and then somehow sparked. Another guess was I had sucked in a lit cigarette. Searched Google and the forums, haven't found any similar experiences.

Any opinions on what happened please?? The car will be towed to JBA Infiniti in Ellicott City, MD tomorrow morning.

Much appreciated,
Pranav


Car info:
2003 6MT G35 Coupe
Diamond Graphite, Premium Package
40,000 miles

 

Damn man thats a first!!!!

 

My face caught on fire while driving once, I think it was the same thing that happened to your air filter

 

LMFAO

 

i'd fine a "more trusted" person to figure out what started the fire. something was very wrong. they recall GM's for **** like that all the time!

 

It was definitely a mafia hit attempt. Must have been amateur night.

Name that movie!

 

Sounds to me like your filter did it's job, and gave its life for your car!
Makes sense that some sort of flammable object kicked up and somehow made its way to your filter...a cigarette would be small enough to make it...plus the intake of air going into your filter would be "stoking the fire" as it were.

Glad to hear the damage wasn't any worse

 

sorry to hear that, hopefully the damages wont kill your pockets

 

Was it a K & N type with oil on it? Sounds like you had a back fire of some sort and caught the filter on fire. Like someone else said, check for the remains of a cigarette.

 

Sounds like you had a backfire, and got off fairly easy. I've seen much worse damage than you described.
Check all the damage and make an insurance claim if above your deductible.

G/L
C.

 

No, the OP said it was the OEM filter.

 

I hate it when people in front of me throw their lit cigarettes out the window of their car and it bounces on the road and onto your car, along with ash and embers.

Get a ****in ashtray, or get outa my way.

 

Drivers using the world as their ashtray is really annoying when you are in the car but try dodging lit cigarettes on a motorcycle (usually at 60 MPH plus) or a bike (slower but absolutely no protection). Unfortunately, ashtrays are not the solution. I had someone empty their ashtray in front of me on the highway. About a packs worth of butts were shot out the window, started glowing again when they hit the airflow, and (luckily) shot past me. This explains why those who travel on 2 wheels often carry an old battery, rocks, or similar items to drop on windshields of offending cars/drivers. I'm certainly not condoning this response but I can understand it getting to this after a few close calls.

 

Ball bearings are nice too

 

Now thats a freak accident...shouldve let it burn and get an M3!!!! J/K