VW Jetta seat warmer activated
Photo Credit: Lisa M. Rickard
According to CBC News, Lisa Cunnian, of British Columbia, Canada, was driving out of her neighborhood with her young son in the backseat when she started to notice signs of a fire in the car. Her jeans felt hot and she could smell smoke, leading her to believe that there might be a fire in her driver’s seat. Scared and trying to take proper action, Cunnian worked her way to the side of the road to examine the issue and discovered that her seat warmer had malfunctioned.
The defect Cunnian experience is actually a known issue and was even part of a previous recall. When Cunnian called Volkswagen to discuss the issue, they informed her of this, and that her own vehicle had already been taken in for the recall by a previous owner. 94,000 VW’s had been taken in during the recall, including the 2002-2004 Jettas, Golfs and GIs. The recall was concluded in 2007.
Cunnian is now pushing for VW, and other manufacturers for all intents and purposes, to look beyond warranties and car age when it comes to safety defects. After repairing her VW seat warmers she was denied any reimbursement as the vehicle was past it’s warrantied years and had already been treated for the recall.
While this case ended with a $600 repair cost and a frightful driving experience, other seat warmer defects have caused major issues in the past. According to CBC News, in the US alone 287 people have been injured by seat warmer defects and there have been 500 fires caused by the same issue in the last 20 years.