HELP: Heated Seats/Steering Wheel Short Circuit

[Wayne's World]

Hello - newbie to this forum here. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just picked up my '06 X5 3.0 w/80K miles from a BMW dealership in the area. The car was not CPO but did come with a 90-day powertrain warranty.

The problem I'm having is that there seems to be a short circuit or potential serious problem with the heated seat/steering wheel system. The other morning I was driving to work and before pulling out the driveway, turned the heated seats on to level II. Shortly after, I thought I'd put on the heated steering wheel with the outside temp below 30F. The green LED didn't light up. I thought nothing of it as I hadn't read the owner's manual yet so didn't want to play with it while driving.

About 3-4 minutes after turning on the heated seats, I started smelling something burning, almost like plastic burning. Then I saw smoke rising from the left side of the bottom seat cushion bolster. I turned off the heated seats and pulled over immediately. I found a burn mark about 1/8" in diameter in the seat. Feeling the seat cool down, I proceeded driving to work, not using the heated seats.

Later that evening on the way home, I turned on the heated seats to level II again to see if maybe this was a fluke. I didn't attempt to turn on the heated steering wheel. It worked fine all the way home!

This evening on the way home from work I turned on the heated seats, again to level II and attempted to turn on the heated steering wheel but to no avail as the LED didn't light on on the steering wheel. Within about the sme 3-4 minutes, I began smelling the burning smell again. I undid my seat belt while at a light and looked down and I could see an intermittent spark visible through the hole/burn mark that had developed a few days earlier.

My only conclusion is that something is definitely wrong and after reading the manual, there is nothing special about turning on the heated steering wheel as long as the key is in ignition position 2, or started. So i have to conclude that because the heated steering wheel is not coming on, it's shorting something out with the seats as well.

I have reported it to the NHTSA so far. I haven't contacted BMW NA yet or the dealer but I don't expect the dealer to do anything about it.

ANY IDEAS?

[Meiac09]

If it has been less than 90 days, call the service manager. YMMV, but get in touch with BMW NA too, whether it has been 90 days or not, as well as whoever sold you that car. A burning seat is absolutely a safety risk. gl and keep us posted!

[Wayne's World]

Well I've contacted the purchasing dealer (Princeton BMW) and they said they're going to set up an appointment for me to bring it in to have it looked at and they'll work with BMW. The client advisor I've been working with through the sale said that the Service Manager has seen BMW NA cover this but he can't guarantee it until they speak with BMW NA.

So at least it wasn't a 'sorry bud - can't help.' And so far Princeton BMW have been very good. The appointment process, negotiations and sales process was very smooth. I can't complain at all. Hopefully I'll get a damn loaner at least....

[Wayne's World]

Just dropped the car off at the dealer. Spoke to the service manager and he claimed since I've only had the car for a week, they'll cover the repair whether it be a new heater element in the seat or a whole new cushion. They're also going to look into the heated steering wheel issue. So far no cost to me at this point. They also set me up with a rental for as long as they need to keep the car.

[Wayne's World]

Picked the car up last Friday. Princeton BMW replaced the steering wheel, seat element and leather seat cover - no charge. Works fine now!