Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEATS | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | 1 | |
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 99000 | 1 | |
| I had just started the car and the airbag light came on in the instrument cluster. the passenger air bag on/off light was also illuminated. from that time on both lights are on and i'm concerned that we don't have a passenger airbag. i'm guessing it has something to do with that sensor that tells if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | 1 | |
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 99000 | ||
| I had just started the car and the airbag light came on in the insrument cluster. the passenger air bag on/off light was also illuminated. from that time on both lights are on and i'm concerned that we don't have a passenger airbag. i'm guessing it has something to do with that sensor that tells if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | ||
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. | |||
| 12/25/2012 | 1 | ||
| On christmas morning, december 25, 2012, the driver of the vehicle started the car, activated the seat warmer, and we immediately detected a burning odor in the car. we drove less than approx. 1/2 block and pulled over to determine the problem. the seat warmer was so hot that it had begun to burn a hole in the bottom seat cushion. the burn hole stopped because we identified the defect quickly and immediately turned off the warmer. i have reported the defective seat warmer to bmw. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 99000 | ||
| I had just started the car and the airbag light came on in the insrument cluster. the passenger air bag on/off light was also illuminated. from that time on both lights are on and i'm concerned that we don't have a passenger airbag. i'm guessing it has something to do with that sensor that tells if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | ||
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. | |||
| 12/25/2012 | |||
| On christmas morning, december 25, 2012, the driver of the vehicle started the car, activated the seat warmer, and we immediately detected a burning odor in the car. we drove less than approx. 1/2 block and pulled over to determine the problem. the seat warmer was so hot that it had begun to burn a hole in the bottom seat cushion. the burn hole stopped because we identified the defect quickly and immediately turned off the warmer. i have reported the defective seat warmer to bmw. | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 99000 | ||
| I had just started the car and the airbag light came on in the insrument cluster. the passenger air bag on/off light was also illuminated. from that time on both lights are on and i'm concerned that we don't have a passenger airbag. i'm guessing it has something to do with that sensor that tells if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | ||
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. | |||
| 12/25/2012 | |||
| On christmas morning, december 25, 2012, the driver of the vehicle started the car, activated the seat warmer, and we immediately detected a burning odor in the car. we drove less than approx. 1/2 block and pulled over to determine the problem. the seat warmer was so hot that it had begun to burn a hole in the bottom seat cushion. the burn hole stopped because we identified the defect quickly and immediately turned off the warmer. i have reported the defective seat warmer to bmw. | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 99000 | ||
| I had just started the car and the airbag light came on in the insrument cluster. the passenger air bag on/off light was also illuminated. from that time on both lights are on and i'm concerned that we don't have a passenger airbag. i'm guessing it has something to do with that sensor that tells if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. | |||
| 01/14/2013 | 100000 | ||
| I was driving the vehicle and turned on the driver side heated seat. i turned it on to the first setting which is the highest. after about 2 minutes i started to smell something burning. then i also felt my leg burning. the heated seat had heated up so much that it melted a small hole in the leather where my left outside thigh would touch the seat. i am unable to use the heated seat anymore because i am afraid of getting burned worse. | |||
| 12/25/2012 | |||
| On christmas morning, december 25, 2012, the driver of the vehicle started the car, activated the seat warmer, and we immediately detected a burning odor in the car. we drove less than approx. 1/2 block and pulled over to determine the problem. the seat warmer was so hot that it had begun to burn a hole in the bottom seat cushion. the burn hole stopped because we identified the defect quickly and immediately turned off the warmer. i have reported the defective seat warmer to bmw. | |||
| 01/16/2013 | 95680 | ||
| The drivers seat warmer caught fire and burned on the left hand side of the seat. the seat warmer wires were exposed and burned the seat and through my pants. | |||
| 01/03/2013 | 55000 | ||
| I used the heated seat function for the drivers seat in my 2005 bmw x3 and it rapidly heated up becoming unbearable to sit on. i immediately turned it off and stopped the car and got out because the seat was too hot to sit on and because there was a burning smell coming from under the seat. after a while the smell dissipated and the seat was cool enough to use. i have not used the heat function since and am waiting for my bmw dealer to check it and get back to me. | |||
| 09/10/2012 | 83000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 bmw x3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph with the heated seat warmer in activation when suddenly the heating element began to penetrate the contact's clothing with an excessive amount of heat. the contact immediately deactivated the heated seat warmer. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who advised that the driver's seat would need to be replaced in order for the heated seat warmer to operate properly. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 83,000. | |||
| 09/10/2012 | 83000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 bmw x3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph with the heated seat warmer in activation when suddenly the heating element began to penetrate the contact's clothing with an excessive amount of heat. the contact immediately deactivated the heated seat warmer. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who advised that the driver's seat would need to be replaced in order for the heated seat warmer to operate properly. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 83,000. kmj | |||
| 09/10/2012 | 83000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 bmw x3. the contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph, the heated seat warmer was in activation and suddenly the heating element began to penetrate an excessive amount of heat. the contact immediately deactivated the heated seat warmer. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the driver's seat would need to be replaced in order for the heated seat warmer to operate properly. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 83,000. js | |||
| 12/04/2011 | 85000 | ||
| My wife's heated driver seat burned a hole in the vinyl sat cover and through her sweater. dealer says this is not covered by warranty, but it appears to be a common problem for the x3. an internet search reveals several complaints. additionally, a recall was announced for the bmw 5 and 3 series for the same issue. i hope the ntsb conducts a quick response. thanks. | |||
| 12/26/2011 | 78000 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 12/04/2011 | 85000 | ||
| My wife's heated driver seat burned a hole in the vinyl sat cover and through her sweater. dealer says this is not covered by warranty, but it appears to be a common problem for the x3. an internet search reveals several complaints. additionally, a recall was announced for the bmw 5 and 3 series for the same issue. i hope the ntsb conducts a quick response. thanks. | |||
| 12/26/2011 | 78000 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 12/11/2011 | 70500 | ||
| I have a 2005 x3! this morning my driver side seat nearly went up in flames!! so scary!! lucky i wasn't in traffic or on the highway, i was able to jump out and address the problem. is there a recall number for the heated seats yet? i have seen allot of issues with the bmw 04-08 x3 heated seats. most people are getting burnt and this could be very dangerous for us owner while driving. something need to be done, lucky it was me driving and not my wife. thank you | |||
| 12/05/2011 | 83869 | ||
| Seat warmer caught on fire! while parked in the driveway with the engine running, i turned on both manufacturer-installed front seat warmers (outside temp. 36 degrees farenheit) for my son and i. i felt a pinching on upper left thigh / buttock. thought it was a bug. shifted in the seat, and felt it again, more painful this time. lifted myself from the seat a bit to look at the seat and see what was poking or pinching me, saw smoke coming out of a new hole on the left side of the seat. looked through the hole, and saw flames and smelled burning. immediately, turned off the seat warmer, got out of the vehicle, reached over and turned off the vehicle. the seat smoldered for another couple of minutes. called my spouse to check if it was still smoldering, but it had stopped. took the vehicle to the dealer to get it checked out. | |||
| 11/19/2011 | 68000 | ||
| Heated drivers seat burned through leather and scorched drivers pants. | |||
| 01/05/2011 | 90000 | ||
| 2005 bmx x3 seat warmer on the driver's side burnt through the seat and burnt my leg. the dealer refuses to recognize this is a product defect and will replace the seat. | |||
| 01/10/2011 | 67000 | ||
| Bmw driver heated seat causes severe burnes | |||
| 12/31/2009 | 103204 | 1 | |
| My drivers seat burned a hole through the leather and singed my pants. almost caught on fire and i almost lost control of my vehicle. the car filled with smoke and i now have a pea sized hole in my seat. the heating element apparently has shorted out inside the seat. i read there have been other occurrences of this on these vehicles on some of the websites but there is no recall out, but there should be. this is extremely dangerous. occurred on 12/31/2009 on my bmx x3 2005. i called the dealer and they said the seat would need to be replaced at my cost of $1500. *tr | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - SEAT HEATER/COOLER | |||
| 01/04/2010 | 31000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 bmw x3. the contact was driving approximately 25 mph on normal road conditions. the driver side heated seat was activated. suddenly, an unexpected excessive high voltage of heat penetrated through the bottom of the seat. the driver pulled over to the side of the road and deactivated the heated seat system. the driver sustained a minor burn to the left leg and the driver seat cover exhibited a burn mark. the vehicle was able to resume normal operation. the dealer was notified of the malfunction. there was concern of the safety risk involved. the failure mileage was 31,000. | |||
| 11/02/2007 | 32000 | 1 | 08/31/2005 |
| Drivers seat warmer burned through vinyl seat causing a hole in seat and burn to driver. car is currently at dealer being repaired. car was at dealer day before because of ignition not working properly. they were unable to determine problem. next day incident occurs. *tr | |||