Their Nissan SUV was parked in the driveway. Then it caught fire and exploded

In the early morning of May 14, Vicki Hill was startled awake by the sound of explosions outside her home in Bethesda, Md. The loud bangs, she learned later, had come from the airbags of the family’s SUV, a 2015 Nissan Murano that was parked in the driveway. It was on fire.

In the early morning of May 14, Vicki Hill was startled awake by the sound of explosions outside her home in Bethesda, Md. The loud bangs, she learned later, had come from the airbags of the family’s SUV, a 2015 Nissan Murano that was parked in the driveway. It was on fire.

“I thought someone was trying to get into our house with a sledgehammer and I woke my husband up and I said something’s wrong,” she told CNN. “And he ran downstairs and shouted up, ‘Call 911, the car’s on fire!’”

Video from the home’s doorbell camera, which the family provided to CNN, shows smoke before the fire erupts and then engulfs the car.

The cause of the fire in the Murano remains unknown. The fire is under investigation by Nissan. The National Highway Traffic Administration is gathering information on the fire, as well.

“The safety and security of our customers is our primary concern,” a Nissan spokesperson said in a statement in response to an email asking about the fire. “We have opened an investigation into this incident.”

The Hills’ Murano was recalled by Nissan in 2016 and 2019, to fix a problem that could allow brake fluid to leak and start a fire, even while the vehicle is parked. At the time, owners were warned to park their vehicles outside and away from buildings until the issue was repaired because of fire risks.

A search on NHTSA’s website indicated there was an outstanding unrepaired recall on the Hills’ Murano. The couple said a local fire investigator suggested the unrepaired recall could have caused the fire. But the Hills remember getting the work done and provided CNN with a photograph of the receipt from a local Nissan dealership that showed the repair was made. CNN has not confirmed whether the receipt is authentic.