This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
In 2005 a recall was issued for the front seat heating elements. The car was brought into brandow Chrysler and the elements were supposedly changed. 9/30/07 the replacement elements failed and the driver front seat caught fire. The car was towed to brandow Chrysler and the heating elements were replaced again. Chrysler has denied any responsibility. I will not put anyone back into that car.
While driving my car with the seat heater on, it suddenly got very hot, so I turned the heater off. When I got to my destination I saw a hole about the size of a pencil eraser had burned through the leather. I later realized that there was a hole in my pants and the back of my leg was burnt. When I contacted Chrysler, I was told that I would have to pay for all repairs since my 3 year warranty was up. By the way, the heater no longer functions, although the light on the switch still activates when depressed, meaning any fuse in the system never blew.
The second row passenger side seat has a box under it that gets hot when turning the rear heater on. Consumer has a child that sits in that seat, and the seat overheats. This was discovered when the child dropped an article and the consumer reached to pick it up.
9/4/02 Chrysler replaced heated seat element due to not functioning properly. 12/17/04 heated seat burnt hole in seat cushion Chrysler first refused to cover due to vehicle being over warranty period, I called Chrysler and they have offered to pay 50%.
The vehicle has a seat heater. While the consumer was driving, the passenger's seat heater caught on fire, burning a hole in the seat. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, who said they would repair it. However, the consumer wanted to inform NHTSA that this defect occurred, and wanted to know if the manufacturer had reported this defect.
While driving and turning on the seat warmer within fifteen seconds consumer's skin burned. It didn't matter if it was on high or low. Consumer was concerned with electrical problems or a possible fire.
The consumer notice an unusual smell inside the vehicle. Upon further inspection the consumer noticed that the seat warmer was on and a jacket was in the seat. When the consumer removed the jacket from seat she saw burn holes in the seat and jacket.
The passenger front seat caught on fire. The owner presumed that the wiring in the seat was defected. The vehicle is equipped with heated seats. Please provide any additional information.
I have a year 2000 Chrysler Town & Country van the seat heater set fire to the leather on the seat. The dealer would not fix the seat due to the van being under extended warranty not the factory warranty. From the information on the net Chrysler knew about this problem in 1999 and it looks like they didn't bother to fix it in the vans built for the year 2000. Having to put out a fire while driving is not something I bargained for when I bought the van. What would have happened if no one saw the fire and left the van next to the house?
On September 30, 2003, while my wife was driving around town on errands with our four children, she noticed smoke coming from the front passenger seat. Ultimately, a hole burned through the leather seat as a result of a malfunction/failure in the heated seat system. Luckily, my wife had the presence of mind to shut off the seat and get everyone out of the car in time to avoid a full blown fire. However, this situation was extremely dangerous and a tragedy was averted only by her quick reaction. A seat heating system that does not have a mechanism to shut itself off before it gets this hot is unreasonably dangerous and should be recalled immediately at the manufacturer's expense.
2000 Chrysler town& country (limited) owed for 2 years 11 months, 57300 miles -I went to my vehicle to run an errand. While sitting in my driveway, I turned on the seat heater to warm it up due to the severe cold. The seat began to smoke and burned through the leather seat. I immediately turned off the seat heater and saw glowing embers around the hole that was created from a high heat source. I turned seat heater back on to confirm the source of the glowing embers. Sparks began to shot out of hole in burnt leather seat. My thoughts are that something in the heater caused the smoke and glowing embers. Although, this car has high mileage, the leather seats are in excellent condition. I would expect that the seat heater would be reasonably durable. This car has the Chrysler basic warranty, but the issue of safety/hazard cannot be denied. If this had been the passengers seat with a child, instead of an adult, the outcome may have been completely different. Also, if I had been driving in heavy traffic on the interstate (my route to work is va interstate 66 and is usually very heavily traveled) I might not have been able to get to the side of the road safely. Note, during this event, no fuses burned out to my knowledge.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Holland, PA, USA