Front Seat Heater/cooler problems of the 2004 Mercedes Benz ML350

May 2010 I have problem in my 2004 Ml350. My wife turned on the drivers side seat heater to the high setting. Within a short time the heater had burned through the leather seat. The seat caught fire in a small spot ( like a cigarette burn) while my wife was driving and almost caused her to have an accident. This issue is repeated several times in online searches I did for the 03 and 04 Ml350. I spoke to a benz roadside assistance mechanic and he said he has seen this happen before and that it is a short in the seat wiring. He said he would look into it but I have not heard back from him. I am going to call the dealer today.

The driver seat heater over-heated and caused a minor burn when I took the car to the dealer. The dealer agreed to pay for half the cost of replacement but would not give the defective part back to me even when I specifically asked for it. While searching for more information, I came across other incidents with this car with the exact same problem.

I have a 2004 mercedes Ml350 SUV and I turned on the seat heater and it got so hot that I had to turn it off. The left side of the seat burned so hot that I had to move my body and weight to my right side because it felt like you were sitting on coals - even through the leather interior. I did not use it again because the weather was not that cold. The next person to use it was my mother. She was driving my car and I was next to her and she turned on her seat heater and after a few minutes she screamed because the heat of the seat heater was so piercing. I turned off the heater immediately and she looked and saw smoke and smelled smoke as well. This is a huge hazard that I have heard other ml's have had as well and the manufacturer of the seat heater should be held accountable, as should mercedes!!! she swerved off the road and almost hit a car because of the intensity of heat.