Nissan North America 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA CATCHES FIRE UNDER THE HOOD Franklin Tennessee

 My 18 year old daughter borrowed my 2009 Nissan Altima, with the 2.5 4 cylinder engine.  As she was driving down the highway, at 55 mph., she heard a "pop" noise from under the hood, and the car jerked.  She pulled over to the side of the road immediately.  Her friend, that was following her in another car, also pulled over.  Her friend walked up to my car and told my daughter to get out of the car, as she could see flames and smoke coming from under the hood.  My daughter then got out, leaving everything in the car, and ran back to the other car.  She called 911, and then called me.

Within 4 to 5 minutes, the entire car was up in flames.  The police, fire, and ambulance came, and put the fire out.  They had to block the road in both directions for over an hour, as the put it out and cleaned up the charred mess.  There was a police report written and sent in to the Sheriffs office.  Fortunately for my family, no one was hurt in this sudden accident.

I was still paying on the car, and therefore had full comprehensive insurance.  The insurance company paid off the remainder of the loan, and helped get me another automobile.  I did some research online about the Altima's catching fire, and found many stories dating as far back as 2006.  In 2007, Nissan had a recall on the 2.5 Altima's, because the air intake could suck up something hot, and catch the air filter on fire.  It was some design flaw.  There has also been a death from the spontaneous fire, as the person couldn't get out fast enought, and the fire was in the passenger compartment within minutes.

I emailed Nissan North America, and the opened a case file.  After a few days, they called me back and informed me that my car burning up was not a manufacturers issue.  That because I had close to 100,000 miles on the car, that it was not there problem.  They informed me that ALL manufacturer issues will arise within the first 50 to 60,000 miles.  If all is good till then, it is no longer their problem.  I asked if the age of the car has anything to do with manufacturer defects, as opposed to mileage, and they said no.

I am now out over $18,000 worth of car payments, and have nothing to show for it.  Yes, the loan was taken care of, but what about the money I spent the last 4 years.  I think Nissan needs to take responsibility and look into the chance that their design flaws have been fixed.  There are far too many car fires that I have read about for this to be just a fluke.