Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - SEAT HEATER/COOLER
06091006/01/200910031384Volkswagen: revised expiration dates for seat heater customer satisfaction campaigns. affected vehicles may have a seat heater element than can malfunction when the ignition switch is on and the seat heater switch is on. models vv00 and01/05/2010
VV-VV0006/01/200910025926Customer satisfaction campaign circular: certain vehicles equipped with comfort seats: install driver's side seat heater repair kit. *pe updated 3/23/09. revision to customer satisfaction campaign. *pe updated 3/17/10. *09/16/2008
VZ-VZ0006/01/200910025927Volkswagen: certain vehicles equipped with comfort seats; install new passenger side seat heater switch. this include jetta wagon. *pe updated 3/23/09. revision to customer satisfaction campaigns for seat heaters. *pe up09/16/2008
VV06/01/200710022576Customer satisfaction campaign circular. install driver's side heater repair kit. seat heater may malfunction when the ignition switch is on. this could cause the heater mat to temporarily overheat and become inoperative. *kb08/21/2007
72070205/23/200710021951Seat heater is inoperative. *kb06/27/2007
060104/21/200610020719Heated seat bottom cover replacement. *kb01/03/2007
VZ10/10/2005VZ10018810Comfort seats may have a seat heater element that can malfunction when the ignition switch is on. customer satisfaction campaign vz. *tt01/18/2006
M306/01/2007VZ10018809Customer satisfaction campaign circular - seat heater element can malfunction when the ignition switch is on and the seat heater switch is on. the seat heater mat may temporarily overheat and become inoperative. install new passenger side01/18/2006
VV12/22/2005VV10014558Comfort seats may have a seat heater element that can malfunction when the ignition switch is on. customer satisfaction campaign vv. *tt05/04/2005

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
SEATS
09/21/2011900001
 Last year i was driving home from school one night it was cold out so i turned on my heated seat. my seat started to get very hot in an isolated area so i turned it remembering the recall i received in the mail. the recall stated that the heating element in the seat could be faulty and the seat could catch fire. i called my dealership and they expressed to me that the recall was expired! what how could some thing that could cause injury have an expiration date? well after that i no longer used the seat but one day my son who wanted the car to be warm for his mother started it and turned on both heated seats by the time i went out to the car it was filled with smoke and a hole burned through my seat. another issue i have is i got a recall on my sun roof saying it causes the drivers side back and front floor to flood. when it did i took it in to my dealer they fixed it, well last week it poured terrible the next day i went out to my vehicle to find 4 inches of water on the floor of my drivers side back seat. today 09/18/2012 i took it in to my dealer to be repaired and they wanted to charge me $100 for diagnostic fee. this is outrageous i have a child and to have water sit in between the metal of the car floor and the carpet i am disgusted!!! it smells so bad i had to sprinkle baking soda on the floor to keep the smell at bay. the water is still squishing between the carpet and the metal and it is supposed to storm again today!!! i am completely fed up with volkswagen! *tr
09/21/201190000
 Last year i was driving home from school one night it was cold out so i turned on my heated seat. my seat started to get very hot in an isolated area so i turned it remembering the recall i recieved in the mail. the recall stated that the heating element in the seat could be faulty and the seat could catch fire. i called my dealership and they expressed to me that the recall was expired! what how could some thing that could cause injury have an expiration date? well after that i no longer used the seat but one day my son who wanted the car to be warm for his mother started it and turned on both heated seats by the time i went out to the car it was filled with smoke and a hole burned through my seat. another issue i have is i got a recall on my sun roof saying it causes the drivers side back and front floor to flood. when it did i took it in to my dealer they fixed it, well last week it poured terrible the next day i went out to my vehicle to find 4 inches of water on the floor of my drivers side back seat. today 09/18/2012 i took it in to my dealer to be repaired and they wanted to charge me $100 for diagnostic fee. this is outrageous i have a child and to have water sit in between the metal of the car floor and the carpet i am disgusted!!! it smells so bad i had to sprinkle baking soda on the floor to keep the smell at bay. the water is still squishing between the carpet and the metal and it is supposed to storm again today!!! i am completely fed up with volkswagen!
01/06/201284000
 While driving home on friday january 6 at around 230pm, my vw jetta wagon's driver's side seat heater, set on 4, overheated and ignited the seat material, which burned through and began to burn my pants. smoke began to fill the cabin; luckily i was only a few blocks away from home. when the smoke began, i smelled a plastic burning smell, and veered sharply off the road, thinking the car might burn. i shut off the seat heater control, then drove to my home, one block away. i shut off the car, got a fire extinguisher from inside, then returned to the car. the smoke had just about stopped; a dime-sized burned hole was in my seat, as well as a slight browned area on my pants. i have made an appointment with the dealer to have it looked at, and have filed a case with vw of america case # 120003277.
02/05/2011150000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen jetta gls wagon. the contact stated while driving 25 mph the driver side heated seat caught on fire. she then turned the seat warmer off. the vehicle was taken in to the mechanic shop for a diagnostic test after running the test there was no codes that showed. the manufacturer was contacted who referred her to take the vehicle to the dealer for an inspection of the failure. a claim#110057401 was file with the volkswagen manufacturer. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage were 150,000...mw
01/25/201151000
 The driver's side heated seat in our 2004 vw jetta tdi became extremely hot near the driver's right thigh and there was a electrical burning smell in the car. my wife, who was driving at the time, had a minor surface burn as a result. fortunately, she was wearing jeans, which prevented it from being worse.
02/05/2011150000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen jetta gls wagon. the contact stated while driving 25 mph the driver side heated seat caught on fire. she then turned the seat warmer off. the vehicle was taken in to the mechanic shop for a diagnostic test after running the test there was no codes that showed. the manufacturer was contacted who referred her to take the vehicle to the dealer for an inspection of the failure. a claim#110057401 was file with the volkswagen manufacturer. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage were 150,000...mw
01/25/201151000
 The driver's side heated seat in our 2004 vw jetta tdi became extremely hot near the driver's right thigh and there was a electrical burning smell in the car. my wife, who was driving at the time, had a minor surface burn as a result. fortunately, she was wearing jeans, which prevented it from being worse.
02/05/2011150000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen jetta gls wagon. the contact stated while driving 25 mph the driver side heated seat caught on fire. she then turned the seat warmer off. the vehicle was taken in to the mechanic shop for a diagnostic test after running the test there was no codes that showed. the manufacturer was contacted who referred her to take the vehicle to the dealer for an inspection of the failure. a claim#110057401 was file with the volkswagen manufacturer. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage were 150,000...mw
01/25/201151000
 The driver's side heated seat in our 2004 vw jetta tdi became extremely hot near the driver's right thigh and there was a electrical burning smell in the car. my wife, who was driving at the time, had a minor surface burn as a result. fortunately, she was wearing jeans, which prevented it from being worse.
01/01/201165000
 Noticed drivers heated seat was very hot on left thigh. yesterday i smelled smoke, and put my hand under my leg. burned hand. turned off heated seat and pulled over. noticed a burn on fabric.
11/27/2010120000
 Heated seat burned. electrical burning smell and extreme hot spot on upper right thigh.
12/16/2008610001
 I smelled a burning or foul-smelling chemical odor after driving for 01 minute and noticed that my seat was so hot that it burned my hand when i touched it. i then smelled smoke and i immediately switched off the driver side seat heater. after stopping, i noticed that the seat appeared burned in a roughly circular patch that looked similar to a cigarette burn. the foul odor has persisted even with the seat heater off after the incident. the incident happened on 16 dec 2008. this is the first time the incident has occurred. *tr
SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - SEAT HEATER/COOLER
02/11/200852000105/31/2004
 About two months ago i had a dealer replace the switch for the heated seat in my 2004 vw jetta which had become inoperable. the seat is not used that much, let alone the heated portion. this past sunday i was driving home with my wife in the passenger seat with the heated seat turned on. after about two minutes my wife noticed what felt like a pinching sensation on her leg. she put her hand under her leg and was quickly burned on her hand, and at that time we could smell something burning. the burning stopped after turning the switch off, but a clear burn mark was left in the seat. i have taken the car to the dealer and was told that they did infact have a recall for the replacement of the switch but not for a short in the seat which is what this was. the total estimate that i have received to repair the seat was about $900. *tr
11/18/200753000406/18/2004
 Seat warmer on driver's seat in 2004 vw jetta wagon overheated until it felt like it was going to catch on fire. velour seats show impression of heating element. i noticed for about a month that it was very hot and the last time i used it i noticed a smell. i turned it off immediately and had it disconnected by a mechanic to prevent a fire. *tr
05/13/20051500012/09/2004
 Our 2004 vw jetta 1.8t has had numerous problems from a clicking/popping noise in the front end at approxmiately 10,000 miles, to the transmission locking up while operating vehicle. the clutch/disc went completely out at 15,000 miles. all the interior and exterior lights went out as my wife was driving in the dark on a non lit back road to work, transmission locked up between 3rd and 4th gears, transmission still slipping, back door locks do not un-lock when remote is activated, service department has re-torqued everything on vehicle but this has not made problems go away. since may 2005, the service department at local vw dealership has had my car fora total of 62 days for service and it is still not fixed. problems continue to mount and the dealership for the most part states that they cannot replicate the problem. the dealership replaced all the wheel bearings in the front of the vehicle and this did not stop the clicking/popping noise, they replaced the clutch disc this did not clear up the problem, the electrical problem could not be replicated per dealership, the engine continues to have a whistling noise, transmission continues to slip. the driver's side leather seat has the seams pooping loose and a part of the frame is pushing through the leather. trunk latch has been replaced 2 times. dealership states car is safe to operate, i beg to differ!
08/02/200528000112/12/2003
 My wife just pulled into the garage after a short trip to the store. when she backed in smoke and flames came from the seat heater control (seat heater was off at the time). this could have been very serious if we had been driving at the time!*jb
03/02/20051
 2004 vw jetta wagon, tdi: velour heated turned on, after driving less than 1/2 mile,heated seat burned approx 1 hole from the inside out. smoke, flames observed. seat turned off to contain fire. car taken to vw dealer to assess. parts on back order. waiting for parts to be available. should be factory recall because of concern of other heated seat possible malfunction and potentially a life threatening situation if occurred at high speeds.
11/04/200416800102/15/2002
 While driving my 2003 1.8t volkswagen jetta, the seat heater on the driver side malfunctioned. i felt a very small point of pain in my leg, but didn't really notice it until i started to smell smoke. i immediately shut off the seat heater (which was on a setting of 3 out of 5 initially), pulled the car over to a parking lot, got out, and fortunately nothing caught fire. i brought the car in to my dealer (trend motors in rockaway, nj), who promptly fixed the problem, and have ordered a new seat cover to replace the one damaged by the malfunction. the car was covered under warranty at the time of the problem, which occured on november 4, 2004.*ak