My wife drives an '06 3.0, and a couple of weeks ago I was driving with the driver side seat heater on high, and got burned right through the seat, with a cigarette sized hole in the leather. I almost crashed it was so hot, and not to mention I had my 3 month old daughter in the car with us. Well we called BMW North America and they are repairing the seat bottom with heating element for free, and I have no warranty coverage on the X5 anymore. So it may be worth it for some of you to call and make a stink, to see if you can get this covered as well.