general problems of the 2006 BMW X3

I turned on my heated seat and within about a minute and a half I smelled a burning smell. Pulled over as I started to feel a burn on my leg because the seat heater has burnt through the leather in my car. This is a known problem at BMW and they have not issued a recall for this.

While driving, with driver's heated seat set on high (3 lights for heated seat control), driver noted a burning smell. Driver turned off cabin heat, heated seat and pulled off the road to identify the source of the strong burning smell. Heated seat had burned through the leather seat and the external layer of the driver's down filled wool coat. Vehicle was in motion on a residential street, manual transmission in 3rd gear, straight road. Occurred on 12/16/19. Included 2 pictures of the burnt leather seat and 1 picture of the driver's burnt coat. Seat and coat were burned, no live flame.

Heated seat getting too hot too fast. Burning smell.

Within two minutes of driving, on a city street, the car with the heated seats on, I smelled a burning smell and thought it was coming from another car. But the smell got stronger and it didn't smell like a car-related smell. Eventually, the smell got so strong and pungent and I suddenly had a sharp pain on my left hip and I realized it the heated seat was burning me. The pain was so acute I had to lift myself off of the seat, which was dangerous and could've resulted in an accident, and I immediately pulled over and turned off the heated seats. Once I turned the heated seat off the pain and smell dissipated. I got out of the car and there was a clear burn hole both on the seat and on my pants. The smell of burnt fabric lasted in the car for several days and for the rest of the day I experienced sharp pains on my left hip as if it was getting burned again.

Heated seats gets too hot and burnt me on the left butt cheek. Definitely a fire hazard as I could also smell something burning in the car.

Problem with the driver's seat heating mat. Problem with determining the cause of errors posted on the photo.

Heated seat malfunctions causing "hot spot" that burns skin on rear upper leg.

My heated driver side seat shorted out and burned a hole in the leather seat, and luckily being in the auto industry and having a knowledge of seat construction I immediately turned the seat off. There are numerous reports of this issue on various BMW forums. , including fires! I think this is a serious safety defect that BMW should be held accountable to fix and repair.

Head protection system was deactivated the air bag warning lamp illuminated and the air bag "on-off" lamp illuminated as well. After purchase there was no illumination of these lights and then about 2 years later while driving in the city at about 45 mph, both lamps illuminated when my son and I were heading to the store. I called BMW and they told me then that it was probably due to a cracked seat mat sensor and a recall on those sensors was being extended for 2006 X3 models. I called our local BMW today to schedule a repair of the seat and have the car parked in the garage since August 2017 due to a possible vehicle safety issue with a system failure of airbag deployment. My son has been unable to use the car for college which is 4 hours away. Now I would like to understand why this vehicle is not considered under the extended warranty notices of 08v384000 or 17v605000.

Heated seat malfunctioned when turned on the seat got so hot it burned the back of my thigh, strong smell of something burning. Turned it off right away. I had just turned th car on it happened within seconds of turning the heated seat button on.

Was driving down my BMW X3 down the road with my seat warmers on and the inside of my car started to smell like something was burning I figured something was wrong with my seat warmer so I turned it off a little ways down the road I pulled over to check and make sure my seat was okay and noticed a small burn on the bottom left on the back of my seat and I checked my sweater and there was a burn mark on it too.

I'm filing this complaint on behalf of my wife. She was driving down the highway utilizing the heated seat function of the vehicle today when she smelled burning and the seat became dangerously hot. She pulled over and turned the heating function off which temporarily resolved the the problem. A little research on the internet reveals that this is a common problem with 2006 model BMW X3s. Some cases being so severe that people's seats have burned them and even caught fire. This is extremely dangerous.

I was driving when I smelled smoke and realized that the driver's side seat had caught fire. I stopped the car, jumped out, and saw that a hole had burned through the car seat and I could see flames. I don't understand how this has not triggered a recall as it is obviously extremely dangerous to have your car catch on fire while driving.

Driver side heated seat caught on fire.

When testing the heated seats in this vehicle, after 5-10 secs, I felt a strong heat sensation on my left thigh. The there was a burn hole in the driver's seat on the left side. Switched off heat warmer right away.

I felt a burning sensation under my left leg and pulled the car over. Noticed that the seat had cracked and there was a discoloration indicating a burn. I switched off the heated seat and continued. I have felt this burning sensation a few other times and would turn down the heat or switch it off altogether. The dealer suggested a change of the seat cover which costs upwards of 1000 $s.

Driver seat caught fire when seat warmer was engaged. Leather seat has visible burn mark. Fire burned driver. When seat warmer was disengaged, smoke began billowing from seat, filling the vehicle with smoke. Seat warmer was engaged upon vehicle start in owner's garage. Vehicle was moving approximately 10 mps (1-2 mins later) when fire began.

After my 2006 BMW X3 had been running for about 10 minutes, with the heated seat on, I began to feel a burn in my bottom as well as smell smoke. I pulled over, got out, and noticed that the left cushion of my drivers seat was smoking and had melted about a quarter size hole in the leather upholstery. This is a common and know issue to BMW. However, they have not issued a recall. Very dangerous!!!.

The heated seat device in the passenger seat becomes hot enough to burn your leg, primarily on the left side. A burning sensation and intense heat is felt when the heated seat is turned on, making it impossible to use, for fear of burns or fire. Appears to be a common issue with these seat elements, and could cause serious burns or fire. Why is there not a recall on a serious bodily injury, safety and fire issue?.

The contact owns a 2006 BMW X3. The contact stated the passenger side air bag light would illuminate on a consistent basis. The vehicle was then inspected by a dealer who advised her that they would replace the seat upholstery. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

Heating element for front driver seat shorted, causing it to burn through the leather. Fortunately, I caught it in time before fire or injury. Searching the internet reveals that this has occurred for many others as well, sometimes with more damaging results.

2006 BMW X3 . Heated seats burned a hole on the left side of the driver seat causing burns to my left thigh.