Front Seat Heater/cooler problems of the 2003 Ford Focus

I was using my passenger seat heater while I was driving to pick something up from the mall when I started smelling a burning smell. When I got to the mall,I looked over to find a large scorch mark on the passenger side front seat.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was left unattended for approximately fifteen minutes with the engine running and the defroster activated. When the contact arrived back to the vehicle and opened the front drivers door, smoke began pouring from the drivers seat. The contact stated that she did not realize the heated seat was activated as well. The contact burned two of her fingers as a result of attempting to extinguish the fire. The contact then poured water on the seat and was able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was advised that there were no recalls on the vehicle pertaining to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The vehicle was left with the dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The failure mileage was 54,677. Updated 3/8/11 updated 03/14/11.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph with the passenger side heated seat activated, she noticed smoke. She cut out the foam in the seat and removed the entire passenger side seat. The contact called the dealer who referred her to the manufacturer. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

The driver's seat 2003 Ford Focus wagon ztw (purchased new in 7/2003, currently 55k miles) seems to have had a seat heater malfunction and burned through the seat cover, and the clothes of the driver at the time. The seat heater button would not turn the heater off. The fuse had to pulled to get it to turn off. There was never a problem with the seat heater before this event. The dealer (quirk Ford in quincy MA) says it's only an out-of-warranty repair and wants to charge $600 to fix it. I think this is a major safety hazard that could have caused a significant fire and personal injury.

: the contact stated the seat heater burned through the fabric on the driver seat. The contact noticed burn marks on wife's white winter coat. Recently, while doing spring cleaning on the interior of the vehicle noticed a burn mark on the driver's sidce seat that matchedc the very same location of contact's wife coat. Will be making an appointment with the dealership for replacement of seat heater.

The heat warmer burned through the fabric burning the seat and causing a fire. The consumer will take the vehicle to the dealer to determine the cause.