Seat Heater burn

[ecproductions85]

I have same issue, will eventually tackle it and fix

[JCL]

I have read that with the X5 it happens in the seat bolster (horizontal pad) on the door side, from entering and exiting by sliding over the bolster. As the failure is linked to wear, it isn't considered defective but rather worn out.

The 5 series recall was different, it was a defective pad from the start, it applied to a certain serial number range and date of production, and it was on the backrest as I recall. Although both problems relate to seat heaters, that is the limit of what they have in common.

[wrigh455]

Please explain to me, how this makes any sense:

"You lucked out. Mostly this happens due to people kneeling in the seat, and it puts too much stress on the filaments inside the seat. Sometimes it just happens for no reason. It's been discussed before, but it's not considered a recallable safety item since it's something that you opt to turn on or not, as opposed to say a wheel falling off due to bad lugnuts."

Who "kneels" in a car? Especially in the driver's seat, where most if these burns are occurring!?

I recently got burned this way. I've had many cars, from new to 20 years old, with heated leather seats. Never a problem. But my 2005 X5, which still looks like a new vehicle, just "flamed" my butt! A wire apparently shorted, and burnt right through the leather, through my long winter coat, through my trousers, and reddened my skin.

That should never happen. It was cold, a blizzard, and I had to pull off to the side of the highway and jump out because flames were literally right under my butt.

This needs to be a safety recall. It's clearly unacceptable for this to occur in a car under 10 years old, in pristine condition, and with absolutely only routine use.

[JCL]

The heater isn't a wire, it is a carbon pad that has a certain resistance. When it is damaged, usually by heavy use, it gets a hot spot. That is what you found. The driver's pad usually fails long before other seats because it gets far more use. The pad can be damaged by kneeling on it, by the way you sit down on it or shift into position, or any number of similar loadings that apply more of a point load and less of a distributed load. It can also be caused by heavier drivers, whether recently or at some point from new.

If it gets hot, turn it off. It isn't shorted, the switch still works fine. It is an inconvenience, and it is expensive to fix if you use OE parts, but it isn't like a heated version of unintended acceleration. That is why it hasn't been deemed a safety issue.

If you want all your worn out parts to be replaced by the manufacturer for an eight year old vehicle, suggest you buy an extended warranty/insurance policy that covers all mechanical failures.