2007 BMW X3

I was driving my daughter to school this morning and turned on the seat warmers/heaters. After a few minutes on the road, I started to smell something burning. I couldn’t identify the smell and wondered if it was coming from the heater. I touched the left edge of the driver seat and was immediately burned on my hand. I quickly turned off the seat heaters and noticed that the left edge of the seat was burning. Yes, the safety of me and my daughter was at risk. I swerved when it burned me. No accident, fortunately. This is a known issue from what I’ve researched and it seems a recall was issued in 2006. So why not for this year. Same seat. Very dangerous. Could have been much worse.No, it has not been inspected. The damage is obvious and the only solution is to disable/not use it until a recall is issued. There were no warning lamps, etc. And the fuse didn’t blow, either. Problem has been reproduced.

The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that while the heated seat was in the on position the driver's side seat became extremely hot and caught fire. The fire burnt through the seat and left a hole. There were no reported injuries. The driver was able to extinguish the fire. The contact called the local dealer and left a message but, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

I CALL THE BROOKLYNBMW DEALER TO SCHEDULE A RECALL REPAIR ON THREE ITEMS FOR MY TRUCK AND I WAS TOLD IT WOULD TAKES DAYS FOR THE REPAIRS AND I WOULD HAVE TO GET MY OWN MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION DURING THIS TIME EVEN AFTER I STATED I HAVE AN ELDERLY MOTHER WHOM LIVES WITH ME AND THAT I WOULD NEED SOME TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION DURING THAT TIME AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO LOANER CAR TO OFFER ME AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY $40 A DAY FOR A RENTAL CAR. THIS IS AN INCONVIENCE SINCE I SHOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE FOR THE COMPANYS NEGLIGENCE OF DEFECTIVE/CHEAP/RECALLED AUTO PARTS. MY CAR IS DRIVABLE AND THE INCONVIENCE IS NOT OF MY FAULT.

THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT HEATER GOT EXCESSIVLY HOT AND ALMOST BURNT MY SIDE. I COULD SMELL A BURNING SMELL SO I TURNED IT OFF. NOW YOU CAN SEE THE IMPRINT OF THE COIL THROUGH THE LEATHER SEAT. I'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH MICHAEL PIGONCELLI AT BMW NORTH AMERICA AND HE SUGGESTED I FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA. YOU ISSUED A RECALL FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM IN 2004 WITH THE BMW 5 & 7 SERIES. I FEEL THE ISSUE NEVER GOT RESOLVED AND IT IS STILL A PROBLEM. THERE SHOULD NEVER BE AN INTERIOR PART OF A CAR THAT COULD CATCH ON FIRE AND BURN SOMEONE REGARLESS OF THE AGE OF THE CAR. I TRIED TO GET UNITED BMW TO DO A "GOODWILL" FIX, BUT THEY WOULDN'T. MR. PIGONCELLI IS REACHING OUT TO UNITED BMW TO HAVE A FREE DIAGNOSTIC TEST RUN ON THE SEAT HEATER TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM AND ESTIMATE TO FIX IT, BUT I DON'T FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE ENTIRE REPAIR COST.

VEHICLE WAS PARKED AT SKI RESORT SINCE ABOUT NOON/12PM. OUTSIDE TEMPURATURE BETWEEN 24F & 35F. STARTED VEHICLE ABOUT 4:20PM. WARMED UP ENGINE TO JUST UNDER NORMAL OPERATING TEMPURATURE. PROCEEDED TO PUT VEHICLE IN GEAR & TURNED ON VEHICLE HEATER TO 91F FULL SPEED (AUTO)CIRCULATE, FOLLOWED BY BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT HEATERS (TO LEVEL 3 OF 3 GREEN LIGHTS ON BUTTON). DROVE 15MPH SPEED LIMIT & AFTER ABOUT 3 MINUTES, LESS THAN 1/4 OF A MILE. SMOKE BEGAN FILLING THE CABIN, MEANWHILE PASSENGER PANICED SCREAMING I'M BURNING, I'M ON FIRE. IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER & TURNED OFF VEHICLE, AIRED OUT VEHICLE BY OPENING DOORS, & INVESTED CAUSE. FOUND BURN ON RIGHT SIDE OF PASSENGER SEAT. PASSENGER RIGHT LEG THIGH WAS BURNED THROUGH SEAT & CLOTHING. VEHICLE HAS 230K ACTUAL OEM MILES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 BMW X3. WHEN THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT HEATER WAS ACTIVATED, THE CONTACT NOTICED A SMOKE ODOR AND IMMEDIATELY SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE SIDE OF THE SEAT. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF THE SEAT HEATER AND OPENED THE WINDOW. THERE WAS NO INJURY. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT PART OF THE SEAT WAS BURNED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 124,000.

THE HEATING ELEMENT IN THE DRIVERS HEATED SEAT BURNED THROUGH THE LEATHER SEAT AND AND BURNED ME. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME THIS INCIDENT HAS HAPPENED WITH THIS CAR. IT ALSO HAPPENED 4 YEARS AGO. THE SEAT WAS REPLACED WITH ANOTHER FAULTY SEAT, OBVIOUSLY. THERE IS AN OBVIOUS BURN MARK ON THE SEAT. VEHICLE WAS MOVING, I WAS 2 BLOCKS FROM MY SUBURBAN HOUSE, FIRST TIME USING IT THIS FALL

RECALL NO. 17V-605 - PERILLO BMW CLAIMS NOT A 'RECALL' I HAVE A 'IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL - FINAL REMEDY AVAILABLE' NOTICE FOR RECALL CAMPAIGN NO. 17V-605 FOR MY 2007 X3 VIN: [XXX] THE NOTICE STATES THAT BMW 'WILL REPLACE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR MAT'. I CONTACTED PERILLO BMW IN CHICAGO, IL (WWW.PERILLOBMW.COM) TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THIS RECALL REPAIR. THE SERVICE ADVISOR (AT 312-981-5200) STATED TO ME THAT THIS WAS NOT A RECALL, THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL, AND THAT BMW SENDS THIS KIND OF NOTICE OUT FOR ALL CARS LIKE THIS EVEN IF THERE WERE NO RECALL. BUT, APPARENTLY, THERE IS A 'WARRANTY ISSUE' AND THEY WERE WILLING TO 'INSPECT' MY BMW TO SEE IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM. I'M HESITANT TO ACCEPT THAT A 'WARRANTY CHECK' REPRESENTS THAT THE REQUIRED RECALL REPAIR WAS CARRIED OUT. COULD YOU PLEASE DETERMINE WHY PERILLO BMW WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO HONOR THE RECALL NOTICE THAT I RECEIVED, AND PERHAPS PROVIDE ADVICE ABOUT HOW BEST TO PROCEED? THANKS, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR