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2003 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT WAGON — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire1 injured · 1261533 · 2016-02-17

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
PASSAT WAGON
Year
2003
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Miles at failure
165,459
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

MY FRONT DRIVER SEAT WARMER WAS TURNED ON LOW. I COULD FEEL THE SEAT GETTING WARMER AND CHECKED TO BE SURE THE SETTING WAS NOT ON HIGH WHICH IT WASN'T. I THOUGHT MAYBE I WAS BEING SENSITIVE AND STUCK MY MITTEN UNDER MY THIGH. I THEN NOTICED A FUNNY SMELL AND SUDDENLY THINGS GOT VERY HOT AND STARTED TO BURN MY LEG AS I WAS DRIVING. I LOOKED DOWN AND ACTUALLY STARTED TO SEE SMOKE. I WAS NOT ABLE TO JUST PULL OVER BUT QUICKLY TURNED THE SEAT OFF. I PULLED OUT MY MITTEN AND FLEECE WAS ACTUALLY MELTED. I WAS A BLOCK OR TWO FROM WORK AND TRIED TO KEEP FROM SITTING COMPLETELY DOWN AS IT BURNED. I ARRIVED AND JUMPED OUT TO SEE A BLACKENED AREA AND HOLE IN MY SEAT!! THE CAR WAS SMELLING AND I AM STILL IN SHOCK OVER THIS. I HAVE LOOKED AND CAN'T FIND A RECALL ON THE SEAT. THIS IS VERY DISTURBING AND DANGEROUS. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN NO MATTER HOW OLD THE CAR IS.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10836594
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown