Heated Seat BURNT Leather

squarehed · 12-17-2010, 04:00 PM

My 2004 X3 2.5i driver seat heater element is out of control! It left a penny sized scorch mark on my left driver seat bolster and a welt on my wife's leg last month. She was driving on 401 and had to pull over b/c it got that hot

Anyone else have this problem? I contacted BMW N/America and opened a profile/case about this concern. They told me I would have to go to a dealer and get the service manager to decide... Maranello is the closest to me.

Is this type of work done as "Goodwill" or is BMW generally do something in regards to cases like this. There is nothing registered with NHSTA about it either, nor is there a recall. SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S WINTER!

fitter527 · 12-17-2010, 07:15 PM

ive turned the seatheat on before to keep takeout food warm til i got home.

my drivers seat gets too warm and the heat is uneven(hotspots)especially under my right cheek.

Smitty · 12-17-2010, 08:15 PM

I have read that seat heaters increase your risk of testicular cancer.

calegrant · 12-17-2010, 08:20 PM

Get pictures of the burn? That's not just goodwill warranty work, that's something faulty in the car causing injury. I'd be livid.

squarehed · 12-17-2010, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calegrant

Get pictures of the burn? That's not just goodwill warranty work, that's something faulty in the car causing injury. I'd be livid.

I am pissed sure, but the I want the service manager to sit in it and see if he agrees it's too hot (it scalded her through her jeans)... Then maybe they can do something. I bought it from a personal sale used, so should that make a difference?

Will post pics tomorrow probably. When the car comes back into the garage i'll post.

Ceeker · 12-17-2010, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squarehed

My 2004 X3 2.5i driver seat heater element is out of control! It left a penny sized scorch mark on my left driver seat bolster and a welt on my wife's leg last month. She was driving on 401 and had to pull over b/c it got that hot

Anyone else have this problem? I contacted BMW N/America and opened a profile/case about this concern. They told me I would have to go to a dealer and get the service manager to decide... Maranello is the closest to me.

Is this type of work done as "Goodwill" or is BMW generally do something in regards to cases like this. There is nothing registered with NHSTA about it either, nor is there a recall. SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S WINTER!

take it back to Maranello; I recall this being a problem back in the day; they had faulty seat heaters. The were crappy on the first gen X3. problematic indeed. Maranello are pretty decent about customer service. Word of advice; be nice first. They recognize MAX customers have given them HUGE business so you'll catch more bees with honey. You might even get the leather repaired too. I don't know what they could do with your wife's thigh however..lol. Seriously..take it back. I'm sure they honor it. If not then go to your 2nd line of defense..lol.

335sky · 12-18-2010, 01:53 AM

Had 2005 X3 3.0i...Had exact same problem...It never burnt the seats however it would get ridiculously hot so we wouldn't use it. Took it to BMW Mississauga and they wanted around a $1000 to replace seat.. In the end we got rid of that vehicle shortly after. It handled like a car which was something I enjoyed but it had its share of problems.

Ceeker · 12-18-2010, 08:28 AM

Spoke with my tech buddy and he told me the e60s (5 series) had major problems with this when they first came out but not to many X3s.

Dysantic · 12-18-2010, 02:16 PM

Yeah, the element in the seat is probably faulty. In my mom's old VW passat the element screwed up at one time and it did the same thing. I took her car out for something and had the seat heater on and it went from nothing to boiling hot in about 10 seconds. Almost made me jump out of the seat. When she brought it in they fixed it free of charge. I don't remember if they replaced the element or just replaced the seat but there was never a problem with it again.

squarehed · 12-19-2010, 09:50 AM

I didn't buy the vehicle from Maranello, but I have spent my share of $$ there on parts and will continue to do so b/c of there accommodating service. I just wonder if they won't want to deal with it b/c I didn't buy the product from them?

The passenger seat works great and gets stupid hot as well, but no one ever has it on level three for too long and the user ends up putting it on level 1 within minutes.

I have read of tons of complaint from 5 series and Gen 1 E83 owners who have the same problem as well... Weird that its not enough of a concern for NHTSA to recall?

squarehed · 12-21-2010, 05:12 PM

Here's the seat AS IS guys:

What do you think?

mclovin · 12-21-2010, 07:22 PM

weird, i dont thikn i have heat on those sides of my seat, its mainly in the middle and the lower back

BmW1819 · 12-21-2010, 10:20 PM

yea i don't think the sides have heat in them that looks like a e39 seat

squarehed · 12-21-2010, 11:48 PM

That's what I am wondering. Do the X3 Gen 1 seats have heat that is even emitted to this area or has something up? Is the seating element a solid base item or multiple heating coils?

squarehed · 05-08-2011, 10:15 PM

UPDATE: Finally, now that winter has come and gone and life has come to a manageable crawl in our household the seats parts are on the way, the work order has been started and now we wait for the GOODWILL repair to go through. Hoping everything works out! Andre from Maranello has been great and the service has been helpful in solving a small problem with our air intake boot (pretty common from what I hear). Damn 90 degreee elbow in just prone to cracking... Go figure.