2004 BMW 530I

About three years ago, we filed a complaint with BMW North America. A problem with the front passenger seat. There was smoke As a result, a hole burned through. after that an error message about the airbag came on. We also didn't know that there was a recall about this problem. we made several calls to the dealership and at the end, they offered to help with only 50% Quote to repair the seat was $2300.00. The car only had 142,000 miles. all the seats were in mint condition. Thank You.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 530I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, SMOKE STARTED TO EMERGE FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE UPPER CUSHION OF THE DRIVER SEAT. THE HEATER WAS TURNED OFF AND THE SMOKE STOPPED. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE DIAGNOSIS WAS THE HEATING ELEMENT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

STARTED CAR IN THE MORNING TO LET IT WARM UP AND TURNED ON SEAT HEATER. GOT IN CAR 5 MIN LATER TO HEAD TO WORK AND SMOKE WAS COMING THROUGH SEAT MATERIAL ON DRIVER SEAT. SEAT HEATER CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED THROUGH LEATHER AND BURNT ME AND MY CLOTHES. BURNT LEFT HAND THUMB AND INDEX FINGER TRYING TO PUT FIRE OUT. FROM SEARCHING ONLINE THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NO DEALERS OR MANUFACTURE OF CAR DOING ANYTHING TO PREVENT THIS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR, WITH MY WIFE AS A PASSENGER, I'VE NOTICED THAT THE "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" LIGHT IS STILL ON (EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT). I WENT TO THE STEVENS CREEK BMW DEALERSHIP TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND THEY SAID THAT THE REASON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON IS BECAUSE THE SENSOR IS NOT SENSING A PASSENGER DUE TO CABLE CORROSION. THAT SEEMS ODD, GIVEN I KEEP MY CAR IN THE GARAGE AND IT NEVER HAD ANY WATER DAMAGE. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT IT IS A POOR ENGINEERING ON BMW'S SIDE, SINCE IN CASE OF CORRODED CABLE OR FAULTY SENSOR THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE TO ALWAYS KEEP THE AIRBAG "ON". IT IS BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY AND (IN CASE OF ACCIDENT) DEPLOYING AN AIRBAG WHEN THERE IS NO PASSENGER IS BETTER THAN NOT DEPLOYING AN AIRBAG WHEN THERE IS A PASSENGER... THIS IS A CASE OF "POTENTIALLY SAVING SOMEONE'S LIFE" VS "POTENTIALLY SAVING A FEW DOLLARS"... *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY I NOTICED A SMELL OF BURNING MATTER RAPIDLY INCREASING IN THE CAR, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY A SHARP BURNING SENSATION IN MY RIGHT THIGH. WHILE HALF-STANDING I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER MY CAR TO THE HIGHWAY SHOULDER. (WHICH WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO DO SAFELY, GIVEN THE TRAFFIC WAS DENSE AND MOVING WITH HIGHWAY SPEEDS.) AFTER I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE CAR, CAME OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND LOOKED AT THE SEAT, I NOTICED A BURN MARK ON THE LEATHER, EXACTLY WHERE MY THIGH WAS WHEN IT GOT BURNED. IT SEEMED THAT THE SEAT WARMER OVERHEATED AND BURNED A HOLE IN THE LEATHER. I VENTILATED THE CAR FROM THE BURNING ODOR, WHICH GAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE SEAT TO COOL DOWN. AFTER GETTING TO A SAFER LOCATION I TESTED MY THEORY BY TURNING ON THE SEAT WARMER ? THE ISSUES WAS REPRODUCIBLE. I WENT TO STEVENS CREEK BMW DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND REPAIRS. THEY CHARGED ME $210.88 DIAGNOSTIC FEE AND QUOTED WITH AROUND $1,500 FOR THE REPAIRS, IMPLYING THAT THEY WILL NOT FIX THIS ISSUE AS ?A GOOD WILL? SINCE MY CAR IS TOO OLD AND HAS TOO MANY MILES ON IT AND THAT IT HAS NONE OF THE WARRANTIES LEFT. I STILL THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE FIXED IT AS "A GOOD WILL" SINCE THE DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED A SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE SEAT WARMER. THE SEAT WARMER SHOULD HAVE FAILED IN A FAIL-SAFE WAY BY NOT WARMING OR AT LEAST BLOWING A FUSE (AND AGE & MILES HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH POOR ENGINEERING). *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY GIRLFRIEND TO WORK WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE I SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS COMING FROM MY SURROUNDING AREA, NOT MY CAR. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE NOT THINKING TOO MUCH OF IT. AS I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE SMELL GOT STRONGER. I DECIDED TO PULL OVER AT A CONVENIENCE STORE JUST AS PRECAUTION. WHEN I STEPPED OUT OF THE CAR THERE WAS NO SMELL, I OPEN THE HOOD, EVERYTHING LOOKED NORMAL AND THERE WAS NO SMELL. I CONCLUDED THAT THE SMELL WAS COMING FROM THE VENTILATION SYSTEM. I TURN OF THE HEAT, IT WAS VERY COLD THAT MORNING, TURNED OFF THE HEATED SEATS, AND CONTINUED TO DRIVE. TEN MINUTES LATER, I ARRIVED AT MY GIRLFRIEND WORK PLACE, THAT'S WHEN WE REALIZE THE SMELL WAS COMING FROM THE PASSENGER HEAT. WE WHERE SHOCKED TO SEE THE RIGHT SIDE OF HER SEAT HAD A TWO INCH BURNT MARK IT. WHEN I GOT HOME I DECIDED TO DO AN INTERNET SEARCH ON THAT MATTER, AND FIND OUT THAT'S A COMMON OCCURRENCE ON THIS VEHICLE. LUCKY FOR US, MY GIRLFRIEND WAS WEARING JEAN, A COAT, AND HAD HER CELL PHONE IN HER BACK POCKET THAT MORNING. IF THAT WAS NOT THE CASE SOME SERIOUS INJURIOUS COULD HAVE OCCURRED. SHE HAD TO GET RID OF THE HER COAT, JEAN, AND CELL PHONE CASE, BUT THAT'S FAR BETTER THAN GOING TO THE HOSPITAL. I NO LONGER USE THE HEATED SEATS. *TR

MY 2004 BMW 530I HAS BOTH THE SEATBELT AND AIRBAG LIGHT ON DISPLAY AT ALL TIMES ON MY DASHBOARD. THESE LIGHTS ON ARE CAUSED BY A FAULTY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT WHICH BMW HAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON. AFTER DROPPING MY CAR TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP TO GET THIS REPAIRED, I WAS INFORMED MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED ROUGHLY 2 MONTHS PRIOR AND I CANNOT HAVE THIS WORK PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY. THEY CHARGED ME $140 FOR THE DIAGNOSTICS AND SAID I WOULD HAVE TO PAY $1050 OUT OF POCKET TO GET REPAIRED. I IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO BMW OF NORTH AMERICA AND INFORMED THEM OF MY SITUATION AS THIS OCCURRED WHILE MY VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I WAS HOPING THEY COULD FIX MY CAR IN GOOD FAITH AS THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE OR EVEN PROVIDE ME WITH A DISCOUNTED REPAIR. UNFORTUNATELY TWO MONTHS WENT BY WITH NO RESPONSE. WHEN I REACHED OUT AGAIN THEY SAID NO THIS IS NOT THEIR HEADACHE AND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COSTS AND REPAIRS RELATED TO THIS. THIS IS A SERIOUS MALFUNCTION WHICH I AM SURPRISED IS NOT CONSIDERED A RECALL. IN THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICE IT SPECIFICALLY STATES IF BOTH WARNING LAMPS ARE ILLUMINATED SIMULTANEOUSLY, BMW RECOMMENDS NOT TO USE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SERVICED. ALSO, THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICE SAYS THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE WHICH BMW NEEDS TO ADDRESS. AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON SUCH A SENSITIVE MATTER IS NOT SUFFICIENT AND A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED. *TR