Tl*the contact owns 2003 volkswagen passat. The buttons used to adjust the heated seats have malfunctioned and feel as if they are shocking the driver when they are engaged. The leather around the coils has melted a hole in the drivers seat. Although, the contact has not turned the heated seats on the coil continued to smoke and become heated while driving. The failure mileage was 79000 and the current mileage was 79200.
2003 Volkswagen Passat seats complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 97, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The driver's side seat heater in my 2003 vw passat is a potential fire hazard. I noticed what looked like a cigarette burn on the left seat bolster (I do not smoke). The following day, I smelled something burning in the cabin. When I got out of the car, there was a second burn hole about a half inch from the first hole. I have stopped using the heater, but it is a potential fire hazard.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen passat. While driving at an unknown speed with the heated seat feature activated, the contact noticed that the heater burned through the seat and through his clothing. His leg was burned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the heated seat motor needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 102,500.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 45 MPH on normal road conditions, the driver's heated seat control module was activated. A high voltage of heat penetrated through the bottom of the seat and smoke suddenly appeared. The driver deactivated the heated seat control module. He burned his finger on the seat. The authorized dealer was notified of the malfunction. The manufacturer's customer satisfaction campaign m2 was referenced. The free remedy consisted of installing a repair kit for the heated seat. The remedy was performed on the vehicle in 2005; however, it was insufficient and did not prevent future failure. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 76,900 and current mileage was 77,000.
Vehicle was hit from the rear by another vehicle. Drivers seat slid all the way forward in its tracks and the seat back collapsed all the way flat. Seat integrity should be maintained in this type of incident.
Turned on driver side heater to level 3. Felt a burning on the left side of the seat and smelled a burning odor aprox 30 seconds after starting car. Stopped car and found a small hole burned through the seat on the left rear side. M2 recall had already been checked at the dealer.
The car seat heater (driver's side) burned through the fabric, leaving 1 inch hole in the seat. There was no injury. This happened with normal use of the heater.
2003 volkswagen passat with coolant system and heated seat recall. Consumer states that the coolant system was under warranty. The heated seats were repaired but now don't work at all. She also states that the gas has been burning out very fast. *kb the consumer stated she was smelling fumes inside the vehicle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen passat. While driving 35 MPH, the contact smelled smoke and felt a tingling feeling on her back. She exited the vehicle and noticed small holes and smoke coming from the driver's seat. The manufacturer advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. The contact sent the receipt for her damaged fur coat and blue jeans to the manufacturer, but she has not received any reimbursement. The failure mileage was 61,949.
2003 volkswagen gls passat with several problems. Consumer states that they have had problems with the fuel pump, cam shaft sensor and more. *kb the vehicle stalled on 2 occasions due to a faulty fuel pump. The consumer soon discovered there was a recall on the fuel pump, however the consumers vehicle identification number was not included in the recall. The front cv boot and timing belt were replaced. The vehicle also had a transmission leak. The drivers heated seat malfunctioned.
The seat heater in my 2003 passat gls burnt my leg on the lowest setting. It also melting a hole in the cloth interior and discolored other spots. At this point it has not been replaced so the seat is available to look at.
Defect with the driver side heating coil in the seat - today during a 5 minute drive I began to smell something burning on the interior of my car and felt a burning sensation on my leg. I immediately stopped the car and turned it off to investigate. Upon existing the vehicle I saw burning embers on the seat and a 1/4" hole. I was forced to smother out the fire. I have since turned off the heaters and refuse to use them until the problem is rectified.
At approximately 9:35 pm, november 29, 2007, I entered my 2003 vw passat and started the engine. The air temperature showed 39 degreesf so I switched on the control for the heated seat on the driver's side to high. Approximately 10 minutes after starting the car it smelled like something was burning. I am a non-smoker. It became apparent that the smell was from inside the car and I began to evaluate possible sources for a fire since the smell seemed too close to be coming from the engine compartment. I began to feel around the seat since I knew the seat warmer was on and suddenly realized that an area under my left thigh was hot. Further investigation, with my hand, revealed that my coat felt burned or melted and the seat was extremely hot to the touch. I immediately turned off the seat heater. The area seemed to cool off slightly so I continued home - about a 10 minute drive. After arriving home I checked the seat and my coat. The seat was still warm to the touch 25 minutes after the switch had been turned off. There is a hole in the leather seat approximately 0.5 inches in diameter, with flecks of black soot around the edges, about 4.75 inches from the back of the seat and 2.5 inches in from the left side of the seat. My coat has an area approximately 0.5 inches in diameter that is either melted or the seat is melted onto my coat. The incident will be reported to the local volkswagen dealer on 30 november 2007.
Normal operation of automobile, drivers side seat heater placed on setting level 2. Fire began within the drivers side seat and burnt a quarter size hole through the fabric of the seat.
I had taken my car to the dealer to replace a fuel pump. When the car was returned to me there was a hole burned into the driver side seat. The rep at the dealer said the seat warmer in the driver side seat had burned completely through the seat. He had seen it happen before. But my seat warmer was not on at the time. I don't need to use it in southern california weather. The problem will need to be fixed but the manufacturer should be made to cover the cost.
The seat heater that comes with this model car, shorted out while I driving the car. It burnt through the leather seat, my trousers and burnt my wallet. At no time was there an open flame. If it wasn't for my wallet, I probably would have been burnt. If my pants were flamable, I would have had a major problem. The volkswagen dealer will replace the defective, driver side , heated seat at no charge.
Driver's side seat heater burned hole through seat cover. Burn through could have resulted in personal burn, however, I stopped prior to any injury. Dealer is considering replacement of all damaged parts.
Tl*- while the contact was driving the vehicle with the seat warmer on, in a 2003 volkswagon passat, it burned a hole on the front driver seat. The contact had a slight burn on her coat and had to shut the vehicle off completely and kept the seat warmer on zero in order for the seat not to continue to burn. The contact currently has vehicle at dealership. The current and failure mileage were both 60543 miles.
While pulling out of my garage this morning, I smelled something burning. I exited my vehicle and noticed my front heated seat burned through the fabric and caught fire (small flame). I had to put it out with my hand. Afterwards, I noticed the seat sparking. I called the dealership and they said to bring it in for review by the service manager. It was on the 2nd setting and also burned on my jacket.
2003 volkswagen passat v6 (heated seats)- heating element burned hole in leather seats while driving vehicle! Had to pull over to side of road as the seat became very hot and started to scorch my pants. Despite a number of recalls (and complaints filed by others- many listed on the federal safety agency site) for both passats and jettas, volkswagen of north america refuses to pick up the cost of the $1100. Repair (or any of the cost for that matter) because they insist my VIN is outside of the range of vehicles affected and my vehicle is out of warranty. There is clearly a safety problem here and vw knows it. They say a different heating element was used in my car so it isn't part of the recall. Who cares which element was used? It still resulted in the same problem- a burned seat.
Drivers side seat heater shorted out and burned a hole in seat cover. Seat was dry and tempeture set at low.
Was using the heated drivers seat as I was driving down the highway in cold weather. The seat began to overheat, caught on fire, burned a hole in my pants, and burned through the padding and seat fabric in my 2003 vw passat. I quickly turned off the seat and pulled off the highway as soon as possible, and put out the smoldering seat. The seat, padding, heating elements, and my pants are completely ruined.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 35 MPH, a burning smell was noticed and the driver seat was hot. The contact noticed two holes were burned in the seat. The dealer was notified.
My driver seat started on fire while driving. I was lucky to have had a can of soda on hand to pour on it because the flames were coming from deep inside the interior of the foam padding inside the seat. I was not injured, but based on the size of the flames, could have easily lost my entire car if I had not been on a slow road (able to stop quickly) and douse it with something wet. I noticed that the seat warmer was on so immediately shut it off. Several days later I turned the warmer back on to see what would happen - within 60 seconds smoke and sparks were visible from the hole caused by the original fire. There were real flames and my car was full of smoke. Had I not been able to put them out quickly and had my children strapped into their car seats at the time this complaint would probably be a death notice.
2003 vw passat driver leather seat caught on fire while operating car. It burned through the seat & scorched/damaged my coat. Fortunately, I was only driving a few blocks & had pulled into a parking lot. I contacted vw consumer relations & was shocked at the response. It seemed routine to the manager. They "may give me the replacement value of my coat if it needs to be replaced". I was told that a car would be given to me to drive at no charge while mine is being repaired. I explained that I do not feel safe to drive my car with an electrical malfunction under me and I was told that a tow would be provided at no charge. I will hold vw responsible the repair/replacement of the front seats & warmer electrical system, the costs of a rental or loaner car while mine is in repair, the cost to replace any damaged clothing, & any other costs associated with the incident yet to be determined. It is very upsetting to me to think that I was sitting on a fire while operating my car. What if my coat caught on fire??? I drive a very busy interstate to & from work. It was fortunate that I was on my lunch break driving a very short distance & not driving home.
Driver's side car seat started smoldering then flames appeared. Turned off car seat heater and extinguished with water.
I had just began leaving a supermarket parking lot when I felt a burning sensation on my left upper thigh. I reached down to determine why and then smelled something burning. Looking down, I saw a burn hole in the driver seat, left side, toward the back of the seat. It looked like a cigarette burn. I immediately turned the seat heater off, which was on 3, pulled over and extinguished the smoldering with my hand. The dealers initial response was that my car was out of warranty but they would see if it could still be covered at no charge. I'm waiting on a response. This seems to be a relatively common failure based on the complaints that have been filed and is definitely a safety issue.
Dt*: the contact stated after 15 minutes with the driver side seat heater on, the seat began to smoke and then smoldered. The vehicle was driven home and was turned off. The driver sustained minor injuries. The vehicle had not been seen by a mechanic.
Dt*: the contact stated the front driver seat's heater element burned through the seat and caught the contacts clothes on fire. The contact sustained burns to the legs. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer. Updated 12/01/06.
The heated drivers leather seat element burned through the leather and burned a hole in my pants. I felt the burn and got out of the car, and turned off the seat heater. I was parked in my driveway waiting for the windows to defrost. The car is a 2003 vw passat 1.8t. I called a vw dealer, and they said to bring it in for inspection.
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