NHTSA Complaint #11463054 — 2000 BUICK LESABRE

I started my car in the morning, per my usual routine. After a few seconds, I heard a very loud bang and the car stalled. A few seconds later, there was a large amount of smoke coming from under the hood. I opened the hood to see a large fire had started. My son, who heard the loud bang, came outside and saw the flames from under the hood. He ran into the house, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and attempted to put out the fire. He got the fire out but it was difficult. I had the car looked at by a mechanic and told me that the intake manifold had literally exploded. He has stated that he has never seen anything like this. It appears that the exploding manifold ruptured a fuel line. He told me there was a recall on this vehicle relating to a rupturing manifold and leaking fuel but that my vehicle had already had the recall performed. He thought that the new parts may be defective which is why I am reporting this incident.