Front Seat Heater/cooler Problems of BMW X3 - part 2

For some time we had to keep the driver side seat heater no higher than "1". At level 2 & 3 it burned you or felt like you were being stuck with something. On the date in question, I drove about 2 miles, went into a store, came back out, started the car, turned the heater on again (level 2 for about 2 seconds then back to level 1. I smelled a strong burning odor, then a smell almost like cigar smoke. Then immediately turned off the heater. The smell subsided within 3-4 minutes. However, it left a black burn mark on the leather seat about the size of a pencil eraser. Obviously, continued use will cause a full out fire rather than just burning the leather.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW X3 🔎.

The driver's side seat heater overheated causing discomfort to the driver's leg. Turning off the heater stopped the overheating. There was no apparent damage to the seat.

Was driving with seat heater on. The seat felt very hot on my legs at it smelled like something was burning. I immediately turned off the seat heater. I pulled into a parking lot and exited the car. I noticed a burn mark on the drivers side seat. There is a matching burn mark on the wool coat I was wearing. The coat is what prevented me from being injured. I have pictures of the damage if you need it.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW X3 🔎.

The driver's side seat has 2 burn holes where the heater has burned through. Often there has been a burning sensation where the holes are. Until it actually burned through we just thought that it was overly hot. We have an appointment to have it repaired. I am surprised that BMW has not recalled this item already.

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The contact owns a 2006 BMW X3. While driving approximately 10 mph with the front driver side heated seat activated, smoke appeared from the seat. As a result, a hole was burned through the front driver seat and the contact¿s coat. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 95,000.

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The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 mph with the driver side heated seat activated, the driver seat caught fire. The contact sustained a burn injury that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.

The driver's seat (bottom) contains a heating element. When on, even on the lowest setting, a hot spot develops near the left rear side that is so hot I have to shut off the heater out of fear of a fire.

The seat heater in my 2005 BMW X3 caught fire and melted a hole in the seat and burned my left butt cheek while I was driving. My left butt cheek was burned a little but I was otherwise uninjured. I read online that a ton of other people with the same/similar make and model car as me have had the same problem. The dealer said it would cost about $2000 to replace the entire seat. There is clearly a major flaw in the seat heater and it could pose a major safety issue should a fire occur and the driver is not able to leave the car right away. BMW should recall and/or pay for the replacement/repair of the seat.

I was driving home from work on I-90 in washington state and felt a sudden painful sharp pin point sensation in my left upper outer posterior thigh. I thought I was being stuck by a pin or something sharp. I put my hand down to pull out the sharp object and then felt a small spot in my seat that was burning hot. I almost lost control of my car from the severity of the pain in my fingers and thigh. I turned off the seat heater and the hot spot went away quickly. When I got home I turned the heater on again - and the same thing happened. I had a dime sized red burn mark on my thigh. This was only a minor injury, but I am lucky I did not receive a more serious burn, and that a fire did not start and that I was not in an accident. This is an extremely dangerous defect.

Approximately 1 year ago I purchased for my daughter a 2004 used BMW X3 2. 5i. The car has run fine so far but in the evening of the 26th of January 2014 something very dangerous happened with the front driver seat heating system. She was driving and she notice a smell of burnt material inside the car, and looked down to see that the seat heater had burned through the left bottom side and had singed her pants. She of course was very scared and all most went out of the road for this! there is burnt a hole in the front driver seat and for the moment I pulled the fuses of the seat heating system (fuses was still ok and did not shut the system off!!). I have been calling BMW north America for more than a month, they sent me to a BMW local dealer where they inspect and made picture of the seat. BMW n. A. (betsy h. 210-263-8259) finally told me that they would pay only 50% of the repair cost ($800 my part) and the offer is valid only for 20 days after this the offer would not be valid anymore. I feel that this is a very serious safety problem and saw in internet that this is a common problem for this year/model. I strongly believe that BMW not only should repair the seat for free but should also initiate a proper recall to avoid this very serious driving safety issue. Please help. Thank you best regards.

The heater element in the heated seats driver's side burned through the leather and my clothes.

While driving to work (approx. 2 mile trip) on a cold morning (outside temp 18 deg f) turned on driver's side heated car seat at maximum setting. Prior to this incident, the seat heater had functioned properly although left side of seat always seemed to somewhat hotter than rest of seat. Within 1. 5 mile, seat became extremely hot on left side of seat bottom 2/3 back from front and I began to smell a strong burning plastic odor in the car. I immediately turned off seat heater. Arrived at office and upon inspection, discovered a blackened burnt spot on the seat leather at the location where extreme heat had been.

While driving down the road the heated seat got hot enough to burn a hole in the seat. When I felt the hot spot I turned off the heater and there was no fire. I understand from the internet that this isn't that uncommon and I was hoping the NHTSA could work towards a recall so those that have had this problem could get it warranted and BMW would have an incentive to make sure they improve on this system. I have been a vol. Firefighter and I know first hand how quickly ( almost instantly) a vehicle will become fully engulfed. Thank you.

While riding in car, passenger (my wife) turned on seat heat and it got very hot, began to smoke and burned 2 holes in vinyl seat back near right bolster. It burned a hole in her sweater, but we realized what was happening, pulled over and turned off seat heat immediately avoiding a burn to her skin. Hoping it was a fluke, I attempted a vinyl upholstery repair with a kit, but it too melted away when I tested the seat heater. I will not run the seat heater again on either the driver or passenger side until this can be addressed by Bmwna. This is very clearly a serious and well documented issue that could result in fire and/or injury.

Seat heating system issue: without any earlier warning signs the driver seat overheated very quickly (within one minute of turning on the seat heaters) to the point of burning the drivers skin. A burning smell occurred at the same time. The driver had to get up from the seat rapidly to avoid any serious burns. This made bringing the vehicle to a controlled stop very difficult. The driver was halfway up from the seat with the seatbelt holding the driver back. This could have lead easily to an accident as it is very difficult to control a vehicle in that position. Fortunately, the vehicle was still at a slow speed and operated in a residential area. However, the risk of an accident or injuries at a higher speed and/or more populated area would have been much greater. I believe this is a serious safety related defect under the united states code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301). Internet research and multiple complains on the NHTSA website confirm that this is not an isolated incident.

My husband and I had just gotten in the car and turned on the seat heaters and not even 2 minutes later, he started smelling smoke. . . He turned the seat heater off and when we got out of the car, there was a pea sized burn in the driver's seat. He also had a burn mark on his jeans that went through to his wallet. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but we had our 3 dogs in the car headed to the vet and this could have caused major problems. I certainly hope this is a problem that BMW will accept responsibility for fixing. . .

As I was driving on the freeway with the driver's side heated seat on the low setting, I felt a sudden burning sensation on my back of my upper left thigh and shifted slightly, putting my hand under the area to see what was the matter. The rear area of the left side seat bolster had gotten so hot I had to turn off the seat heater immediately. I decided not to turn it on again until another time in late March when I again turned on the seat heater. The same sudden feeling of "overheating" was immediately felt in the same area, I turned off the seat heater, and I haven't used it since then. When my car was in for service for another issue, I mentioned it to my service advisor and asked whether he knew of other similar incidents or whether there was a BMW recall for the issue. He said no to both questions.

Upon driving my X3 I turned on my drivers side seat heater and within a few minutes it started getting so hot that it began to burn the top part of my left leg. I had to turn it off and and lift my leg off the surface of the seat a bit until it cooled off. It appears there is a problem on the left side of the seat (bolster). It happens now everytime I attempt to use it. . . I have owned this vehicle from day one and never had this problem before. I have not smelled any burning odors yet but there is a serious problem with the seat. My wife has experienced the same thing !. . . This needs to be addressed by BMW and corrected before there is a fire or bodily injury. So for safety reasons and preventing burns I am unable to use this feature I paid so dearly for. . . I will be contacting the dealership on Monday to advise them of this problem.

On Monday, February 25, 2013 my wife turned on the driver's-side seat heater and approximately one minute later she smelled smoke. She realized that her clothes were on fire and stopped and jumped out and the seat-heater had burned through the leather seat and was burning her coat.

Turning into a driveway with a boulder on the edge/corner. With the drivers side seat heater on, the seat burned a hole thru the leather and made me turn abruptly and bumped the boulder. Damage to the fr. Bumper, inner fender and wheel. Left side (drivers) seat bolster has a burn-through hole.

Driving on freeway and driver's side seat heater overheated burning seat and creating abundant smoke inside car's cabin. This was a very dangerous situation on the freeway and I have no doubt that the seat would have caught fire if I hadn't felt the burning sensation early enough. Dealer stated that they had never heard of this happening and quoted $1200+ repair. Researched online and found many similar occurrences. Decided not to repair and chance the same happening again. Disconnected wiring to seat heater.

I was driving to work early in the morning and since it was a bit chilly, turned on the seat warmer. Within seconds I felt a painful burning in my left rear "cheek" and smelled smoke and something burning. I immediately turned off the seat warmer and the smoke and smell cleared. When I was finally able to stop and assess the damage, there is a burned spot on my leather seat and I have a burn on my backside. I took the car in to my mechanic and he states that I was lucky it didn't start a fire because the damage to the heating element/wiring is so extensive. I was advised not to use it until it could be repaired. I bought this vehicle used and I did purchase a warranty with it, but it doesn't look like this item is covered. However, BMW needs to step up and fix this. I almost got into an accident because of the pain and I actually thought the car was on fire. I was very lucky that turning off the seat warmer stopped any further damage. I've already noted 7 other seat warmer issues for the 2007 X3 model, I've read numerous other complaints on various other internet blogs (which would definitely increase the number of complaints if those individuals knew where & how to file a complaint like this), and I also know that there have been other BMW models with similar issues where there has been a recall (04v575000 recall date : Nov 24, 2004 ). What are you waiting for? for someone to get seriously hurt or worse, die? this is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed by an immediate recall. This issue nearly caused a fire while I was driving on the freeway and could have caused an accident!!!.

The contact owns a 2005 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving, the driver side heated seat overheated. The seat became severely hot and burned through the leather seats as well as burning a hole through the contact's pants. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 75,000. Updated 02/22/12 updated 03/01/12.

The contact owns a 2005 BMW X3. The contact stated that the driver and passenger side heated seat function overheated. In addition, the air bag warning light remained illuminated and the key became difficult to release from the ignition. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the wiring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Front seat heaters become too hot on outside bolster ( left side on driver's seat, right side on passenger seat), burning hole in seat cover and burning person sitting in seat.

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Driver's seat back heater grid shorted causing damage to the insulation and leather seat cover. It was hot enough to cause physical burns.

The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact was driving approximately 25 mph when a burning smell was exhibited from the inside of the vehicle and smoke was seen coming from the driver's side seat. The contact's coat caught on fire but the contact was able to exit the vehicle without any injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised that the electric heater failed and the entire seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000. The VIN was unavailable.

A driver side seat heater overheated the seat and burned through leaving a hole. This happened while I was driving and caused me to step accelerator mistakenly. This is a serious safety issue and BMW needs to recall all defected parts.

Driver side seat heater overheated, burned through the leather seat and into coat of driver, leaving dime-sized burn hole approximately 12 inches up on the left "wing" of the seat back. Can no longer use heated seat on driver side, as the same spot begins to smolder when the seat heater is turned on, even on low.

I had just started driving, had turned the driver front seat heater to low, and only went about half a mile when I felt a burning sensation under left buttock/thigh area. Turned off seat heater quickly and pulled over - leather was puckered and discolored in one concentrated spot. It is apparent if it was left on for any length of time it would have burned right through and possibly caused a fire or injury.

While driving down the road in the morning, I had the driver seat heater on and felt it get very hot on one spot on the left side of the seat. It was so hot that it hurt and I turned it right off. I noticed this a week before also. The next night we went out and I looked down at the driver seat and there was an actual hole that was burned right through the leather!.

Drivers side seat heater got way too hot. Need to turn off to avoid burn of both seat and driver's leg.

Driver's seat at left leg bolster area heats up when seat heater element is activated. Shocking or burning sensation is felt due to overheat problem.

2006 BMW X3 heater on the drivers seat malfunctioned and burned a hole in the seat and my coat.