The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz ML350. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, she noticed a burning odor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and the contact stated that the seat warmer had overheated and burned a hole in the leather. As a result, the seat element warmer and the seat pad needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Hamilton, NJ, USA

Driver heated seat burning underside of left thigh on both low and high settings. On 12/26/11, it felt hotter than normal (even on a very short 6-7 minute journey) burning index finger when seat leather was being felt. There is also smell of burning. I switched heated seat off immediately. A "hot spot" is visible on the leather seat where the element seems to have overheated.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz ML350. While driving approximately 5 mph in reverse, the drivers side heated seat was activated and suddenly the contact experienced a severe burning sensation directly to the skin from the lower portion of the drivers seat. The contact exit the vehicle and observed smoke and flames emitting from the top of the drivers seat. Immediately, assistance was provided and the flames were smothered by and individual who used their hands to extinguish the fire. The contact suffered minor burns to his back and the other person sustained minor burns to both hands. The fire department was not notified. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was waiting for a response from the technician to determine the cause of failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.

- Flushing, NY, USA