Front Seat Heater/cooler problems of the 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan

I was driving my vehicle on the highway going approximately 70mph. My seat heater had been on for about 10-15 minutes when my passenger and I began to smell a sweet, smokey odor. The smoke was not visible at the time, but over the next 5-10 minutes the smell became more intense and there was smoke visible inside the car. My passenger noticed thick smoke coming up from the back of my seat, causing me to jump forward and swerve the car slightly. I immediately turned off the seat heater and pulled over to the side of the highway. Upon examining the seat, I found the seat heater had burned a hole at base of the lower back where the upper seat meets the lower seat cusion (as seen in the attached photo). I turned off the seat heater and have not used it since. I am concerned around the safety of this feature and upon speaking to a vw representative, they stated I would need to purchase a new seat and have them replace it at full cost.

The front passenger seat heater burned through the seat fabric. The burn-through location is on the vertical surface of the seat, mid-line, at about the lumbar height. Please refer to the attached photograph. A passenger was seated in the aforementioned seat when the burn-through occurred. The vehicle was in motion at highway speed at the time of the burn-through, but the passenger was not injured.

The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan. The contact stated that the front passenger seat caught on fire. The contact stated that the seat warmer malfunctioned and caused the seat to catch on fire. The contact stated that the front passenger seat, her son's winter coat, his shirt, and his back were burned by the malfunctioning seat warmer. The contact's son, who was autistic and non-verbal, was unable to communicate to her that there was an issue. Medical attention was not sought. Herzog-meier Volkswagen (located at 4275 sw 139th way, beaverton or, 97005, tel: 503-644-9121) was contacted; however, the contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was called and the contact was referred back to the local dealer to have the vehicle diagnosed. The mechanic was able to diagnose and confirm the failure of the seat warmer, but the seat was not replaced due to the age of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Heated seats caught on fire and burned the upper portion of the passenger seat.

Bought a used 2002 Eurovan with seat warmer in Jan 2006. Seat warmers worked initially, but on passenger side it overheated and melted through the factory synthetic cloth seat cover causing about a 1 inch charred black spot as well as other discoloration nearby. Wife was sitting in the seat and noticed the extremely hot spot and turned it off before it did more damage or injury. I am making this complaint after finding others have had the seat warmer problems on their vw models, documented on a technical service bulletin on edmunds. Com for 2002-2003 vw jettas and vwvortex. Com internet sites.