Pump seals recalled: A Nissan family SUV caught fire in their driveway

A Maryland family's Nissan SUV, parked in their driveway, caught fire on May 14 while everyone else was sleeping.

Fox News reported that the sound of “airbags” exploding woke up Vicki and Phillip Hill and their three children.

The couple consider themselves lucky, but had the vehicle been parked in a garage near the gas lines, the entire house could have exploded, the couple said.

According to videos from the doorbell set up by the family, the vehicle started smoking around 6 a.m. and then burst into flames.

“At first we thought someone had broken in and we were scared,” Vicki Hill told FOX 5. “When my husband told me the vehicle was on fire and I called 911, my priority was to get our kids out of the house.”

After completing the first response, the car was left with charred pieces and scattered glass from the explosion.

The cause of the event is yet to be determined by the investigation, but the couple blamed the ABS actuator pump seal in the vehicle's braking system that they had previously worked on.

Nissan recalled the pump seal on some vehicles between 2015 and 2019 because the leak could cause electrical problems and, in rare cases, fires.

“The safety of our customers is very important to Nissan. We have started an investigation into this incident. Our team will be contacting Mr. and Mrs. Hill,” Nissan said in a statement sent to FOX 5.