BMW Driver Burns His Bum After Heated Seat Catches Fire

Apr. 08, 2021 11:26 AM ET byMartin Bigg Sports Cars /18 Comments

BMW refuses to do anything about it.

Heated seats are adesirable comfort featurein cars on cold winter days, but they aren't immune to faults. Back in 2018, the Cadillac CTS was recalled tofix a faulty seat heaterthat could potentially cause the seat to catch on fire. Now, the owner of aBMW 6 Series Convertibleis demanding BMW to issue a recall after he was burned by the heated seat.

According to The Sun, David Murch was waiting for his wife outside a supermarket in his 650i when he started to feel a burning sensation as the heater began to burn through the leather seat. As you can imagine, sitting on a scorching seat caused some severe discomfort. "I was suddenly conscious my back was getting very hot," Murch told the publication.

"It was just a little bit above my right buttock. I got out of the car and wondered what the hell was going on. All of sudden there was all this smoke and a pain in my behind. I couldn't believe it." The electrical element burned a hole through the leather seat and Murch's jumper.

"There was a bit of smoke and a hole so I turned off the engine. I haven't switched the heated seat on since." After taking the car to a BMW dealership, Murch was told the fire was caused by a short circuit. Since the car was more than 14 years old and not covered by warranty, BMW refused to replace the seat.

"BMW offers a comprehensive, full three-year warranty on all new cars sold in the UK," a BMW spokesperson said. "

"The vehicle in this case is well outside its warranty period," said a BMW spokesperson. "There is no known manufacturing defect and the vehicle warranty does not cover wear and tear, which is the likely cause of this fault due to the age of the vehicle. However, we recognize this must have been an unpleasant experience and as a gesture of goodwill, BMW UK has offered to cover the initial diagnosis fee in full via the customer's chosen BMW retailer."

But Murch wasn't satisfied with BMW's response, as the owner of a BMW X3 also recently experienced a similar issue with the heated seats, and wants the company to investigate further. "This has happened withBMW carsbefore," he said. "They told the owner of one that it was a cigarette burn. He told them he didn't smoke - just like me - but they have done nothing about it. There is obviously some sort of design fault."