The heaters in both the driver's and front passenger seats overheated to the point that it was too hot to touch and melted the leather seats. We are not sure if the heaters were even engaged at the time. We brought the car to the local bmw service department and were denied any assistance or warranty coverage. We then called the national bmw customer service number and were also turned down. The costs to fix this very dangerous issue would be close to the value of the vehicle. We are still pursuing this with local management but at this time, despite recalls in previous years for this same safety problem, we have been denied any assistance or relief.
2006 BMW X5 seats complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 25 of 25, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Drivers side heated seat burned through leather seats on right side of seat at rib cage. Slightly burned driver. Had a electrical burning smell. Left about a 6 inch burn line in the seat. Very unattractive!
Started x5 up and turned on driver 's seat warmer. Let car warm up for 5 minutes and commenced to drive away. One minute down the road I smell smoke like an electrical fire. I feel my left hip getting hot at the same time. I stop car and look down and see a dull red glow from the seat. Immediately turn off heater and get out of car. The driver seat warmer had shorted and burned a hole through the leather seat along the left side of the seat. How hot was it! My pants had been burnt and had a small red mark on my skin. Think goodness I was not severely burned due to the area of my pants that was burnt was also the left back pocket area so the interior pocket fabric help protect me. Wow! Will bmw fix this?????
Driver's side heated seat turned on and thereafter became dangerously hot and burned through the driver's coat.
Passenger occupancy sensor fails, causing air bag to become inoperative and airbag light to appear on dash. In case of accident, the airbag will not deploy. Dealer wants nearly 2000 dollars to fix, though they say it had "already been repaired in 2008" when the vehicle was two years old; dealer confirmed that they hear this complaint all of the time. Recall campaign 08v384000 addresses this issue for some bmw models/seats, but does not adequately address all models and years that have the problem. For the x5 model, for example, the "comfort seat" is covered, but the standard seat, which has the very same problem (not related to the comfort system) is not. Please widen the coverage of the campaign to include all models and years affected by this widespread problem.
After experiencing the same issue for which bmw issued this recall the federal safety agency action number: ea08001 I learned that because my 2006 x5 was manufactured after november 30, 2005, bmw is not covering under warranty the very same defect that vehicles manufactured prior to november 30, 2005 are under warranty for (extended to 10 years with no mileage restrictions). The explanation is "that is the recall policy. We manage this via VIN numbers".
Driver's side heated seat shorted while driving. It caused a small fire and burned a hole through the leather seat when heated seat was turned on.
Just purchased the certified pre owned bmw x5. 2006 model and had it 1 day and the passenger side airbag light came on and would not go off. Returned car to bmw of dallas to have repaired. Approximately 40000 miles later at 68000 miles same light is on and will not go out.
Heated seats were getting hotter the past couple of uses...until today when I warmed up the car (approximately 3 minutes). I was putting my daughter in her safety seat in the rear passenger side. When I opened the door, the cabin of the vehicle was filled with thick white smoke. I removed my daughter and proceed to ascertain where the smoke was coming from. There was a swirling funnel of smoke coming from the front driver side. I opened the driver side door and observed the driver seat leather burning (fizzling amber fire). I looked over to the seat warmer light and it was on. I turned it off and had to put out the fire by batting my hands against the fire while holding my daughter in the other. The fire left my hands charred and the entire interior of the car smelling like smoke.
Driver's side seat heating element electrical short, burned hole through leather seat when heated seat is turned on.
Danger! Fire hazard on 2006 bmw x5. Heated seats get extremely hot on driver side left side under the drivers buttocks and thigh. Smell of burnt plastic and fumes in cabin.
I have a 2006 bmw x5 with approximately 60,000 miles. While sitting in the drivers seat, I turned on the heated seat. Minutes later, I felt a burning on my left leg halfway between my knee and hip and began to smell smoke. I pulled over and exited the vehicle immediately. When I looked at the seat, the leather was visibly burnt and was extremely hot to the touch. Had I stayed in the vehicle any longer, I would have been burned by the seat and injured. We are currently teaching my daughter to drive, this could have been a serious safety issue if she had been behind the wheel, distracting her from driving and injuring her leg possibly causing an accident. The burning now happens every time I turn on the heated seat. After looking on the internet about this issue, many people have been having this problem and there is currently no recall for this vehicle. The local bmw dealer quoted me a price of around $700 to fix the heating element. I have not fixed the problem yet and do have the old malfunctioning part. Thank you for your time and keep up the great work! *tr updated 12/20/10 *bf received invoices. Updated 12/21/10
We own a 2006 bmw x5. Within the last week when the driver's seat warmer was turned on, the left side of he seat heated up almost instantly, and burns the left thigh and buttocks area of the driver. My husband received a 3 inch burn on may 15,2010. Five days prior to this I was aware that an area of the driver's seat was burning me, and I immediately turned the warmer off. The warranty expired on our car in december.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 bmw x5. While driving approximately 60 MPH on normal road conditions, the passenger seat occupancy sensor and air bag warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The indicators remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. In addition, the seat belt system chime sensor was inoperative. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing and the technician stated that the failure was contributed to the passenger seat sensor. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer has been notified of the malfunctions. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 66,000 and current mileage was 67,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 bmw x5. The contact stated that the electric seat heater on the driver's side caught fire. While at a stop light, he noticed that the seat was smoking and his leg was burned. The seat heater was activated prior to noticing the failure. He took the vehicle to the dealer, where it currently remains. The manufacturer stated that they were aware of the issue; however, the failure was a result of the risk of having seat heaters. They also stated that they would repair the vehicle for free. The current and failure mileages were approximately 27,000.
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