engine on fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Fiero#Engine_fire_reputation

usually when the engine was low on oil the connecting rod had a tendency to fail which would lead to a fire. That problem was only common with 84 and below from 85-88 the threat of engine fire was much less. keep in mind Fieros will run very hot

It was actually the engine compartment that caught fire due to oil spraying on the hot exhaust components (most common complaint). Only .7% of all Fieros made ever had an issue or complaint of engine fires. There was a recall issued by GM to fix the problem by increasing the amount of oil available to the engine (they changed the oil filter size) to prevent failure of the connecting rod, as well as sheilding the exhaust and updating the dipstick with correct levels. The fires probably could have been prevented anyway if consumers checked their oil like they are supposed to normally.

it was actually broken connecting rods.gm couldnt make enough of them and got a bunch from an outside supplier but didnt check them.if the car ran low on oil the rods would break and crack the block causing oil to hit the catlytic converter causing the fires.since the motors only ran on 3 quarts of oil if you didnt check the oil regularly it could cause a problem.gm fixed the problem by recalling all fieros and installing some modifications to prevent the fires.even though only a small number of cars ever coaught fire thet recalled all of them.

Bad Connecting rods. They run hot and had cooling issues also. Neat looking car though.