Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 140,000 of it’s popular Altima sedans because the air filter in the car is potentially a fire hazard. The voluntary recall affects model year 2007 Altimas with four-cylinder, 2.5-litre engines produced between September 2006 and May 2007 at Nissan’s Smyrna plant and between October 2006 and May 2007 at its Canton, Miss., plant.

North America Inc. spokeswoman Frederique Le Greves said flammable objects, such as cigarettes, could enter the filter and catch fire.”There is little chance this can happen, but we had a couple of cases of this happening, so we don’t want to take any risk,” Le Greves said.  Le Greves said the company determined the cause of the defect June 11 and began sending letters to consumers July 3.

Four engine compartment fires in February and March prompted Nissan to launch an investigation, according to Nissan’s report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This seems to be a serious cause for a recall as Nissan has the responsibility to notify it’s customers, even if it looks bad for them.

Go to any Nissan dealer and they will install a replacement filter made of less flammable material at no charge. Also an air deflector to keep debris from entering the air filter will be installed at no extra charge.

If you drive a Nissan Altima with a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine, head on over to your Nissan Dealer ASAP!