Well it has just happened to me yesterday. While driving home from work on the expressway, there was this horrible burning smell and then I realized my pants were on fire (not really) there was a burn mark on my pocket. But, I did realize that I was the victim of the heated seats recall . There is a burn hole on the left side bolster after inspecting the seat.

After going through my mail when I got home, low and behold, the recall notice for this issue. How funny is that.

I called my BMW service dept this morning and explained to them what happened. They basically apologized up and down and told me that I can bring in my 545 whenever I want in order to get this remedied and they will give me a loaner from Enterprise that will be a BMW since there service appointments were booked until the end of the month. I guess they realized that this is a major issue and they do not want a law suit on their hands. This dealership is owned by BMWNA.

 

Sorry to hear that, will they be replacing the entire seat or just a section?

 

Just the heater, and, if necessary, the leather.

 

Exactly what Iceman said, they will replace the burned portion of the side bolster including all heating elements in both front seats. I will keep everyone filled in when I get it back from service. It will be about 2 to 3 days.

 

What I'd like to know is if folks who have the malfunction run the seat heater on high only? Has any one had the burn come from medium or low setting?

 

I always ran my heater at the medium level and it still burned right through the leather.

I wonder if I should present the bill to BMW for my ruined $250 shirt that got discoloured from the spot on the seat where the leather burnt through.

 

Absolutely!

 

Are the confort seats afected too?

 

. Hope not.

 

The recall is for the seat heater, it doesn't matter in which kind of seat it is. That's a yes, regarding the comfort seats.