I have a 2003 530i. The other day while driving with the seat heaters on in mid range the seat heater got so hot it left a burn mark on the seat I turned it off . I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else, if theres been a recall on this or where I can take the car to be fixed. I live in mid Md.
There may be a SIB on the problem.. AFAIK there is no "recall:. I do expect BMW might be cooperative in fixing this since it could cause a federally mandated recall if enough people reported it to NHTSA (it happened to Volvo - same symptoms.) There is a thermal switch in the heater that is supposed to prevent this happening - sounds like it shorted closed. Worth talking to your friendly local dealer's service department, ask them to open a PUMA case with BMW-NA to see if they'll "help" in the cost of repair.
Whatever happened? I've read about this happening to other models as well and it turned out to be a defective part. Did you ever contact BMWNA about the issue? It sounds to me like it could be a serious enough hazard to prompt a reaction from them...
