NHTSA complaint: 2008 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 — UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2008 MercedesE350 (W211) Driverâs seat heater, ~11:48am Location: Lidl Parking Lot, 2017 St. Josephâs Dr., Bowie/Upper Marlboro, MD While I was sitting in the driverâs seat with my back fully against it, the seat heater burned through the leather on the left side of the seat. The cabin immediately filled with smoke. The burning stopped only after I turned off the seatâheater button. I was inside the vehicle during the failure, and the situation created a direct fire hazard; the seat could have ignited, and I could have caught fire. I donât know if the passenger seat heater is also affected, so passengers cannot safely use their seat warmer. No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms pre failure. Evidence Available: Video/photo of the aftermath (burned seat leftâside damage), the vehicle and damaged seat are available for inspection. Smoke in video/photo. Has the Problem Been Reproduced or Confirmed?: Iâve not attempted to reproduce the problem for safety reasons, and it has not yet been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. However, publicly available information shows Mercedes previously settled a $54 million class action for the same seatâheater defect in model years prior to 2008. My 2008 model was not included despite experiencing the same dangerous failure. Mercedes is aware this is a known issue.Has the Vehicle Been Inspected?: A dealership inspection at MercedesâBenz of Alexandria scheduled 12/23/23 at 11:00 a.m. Warning Lamps or Prior Sym
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation