Air Filter caught on Fire
 

A cigarette got sucked into the air filter burnt half of the air filter ,melting the plastic on the air filter frame ,not the housing, which then is making the car seem staved of fuel,and a loud popping ,on idle ,I would estimate about 2 inches of plastic got sucked in
Any advice would be welcomed, I am a watchmaker and have some knowledge of cars , is it a drop the engine or 1st check air intake system, would the o2 sensors need to be replaced ,one was playing up before this new problem
Thanks Russ

First thing I would check is the MAF sensor to see if any of the plastic got on it.

That is terrible! I would take the engine cover off and start disconnecting and examining all the intake components.

This does happen. There is a screen between the air filter housing and the maf that smooths airflow to the maf. It is now probably loaded with plastic goo. Replace the air filter, screen, and MAF and test the car. Probably all it is.

Thank you so much for your input I will try those things first
should I replace the o2 sensors or wait system is burnt or cleaned out
Thanks

a bad MAF will give you o2 sensing fault codes, but it doesn't mean they need to be replaced. Check/change the MAF and other items first and see what happens. The o2's should be fine unless they were already bad

How did a ciggy get in there? Did you flick it or just "pick up something" while driving by?

May look at adding the plastic mesh on the intake side now. Thanks and sorry for your troubles.

Just like a watch, disassemble one piece at a time.

When I pulled the air cover off there was two butts in there ,my wife smokes but has not drven the car for weeks ,I was on the freeway ,took my exit then after a 12 mile trip, then trouble started

Thank you Eric I will do that