The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz GL450. The contact stated that after starting the ignition, the front driver's side heated seat was activated and suddenly there was a burning odor with smoke emitting from the seat. A small flame was also visible. The contact personally extinguished the fire. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 106,366.

- Brandon, MS, USA

Drivers side seat heater burned through seat causing smoke and hole.

- Shawnee, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes GL450. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the freeway, the vehicle emitted a strong burning odor from the driver's seat. The contact then felt her skin burning. The contact coasted onto the shoulder and discovered that her clothing was burned and the driver's seat was emitting smoke. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer did not inspect the vehicle and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 80,000.

- Lynwood , CA, USA

Driver side seat caught fire after heated seat button depressed on the dash. Approximately three minutes had elapsed when seat began to smoke. The smoke continued as the seat caught fire on the front left panel of the back portion of the seat. The fire projected through the seat, burning a hole through the seat about two inches in diameter. Driver's sweater was singed by the flame.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz GL450. The contact stated while driving the interior of the vehicle exhibit a strong plastic odor and the drivers seat released smoke. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 57,000.

- Stamford, CT, USA

I was driving in my neighborhood with my gl 450 seat warmer turned on in the drivers seat. I started smelling smoke & thought it was from outside. I opened my window, and smoke started swirling inside my car and started getting thicker within minutes. I pulled the car over to the street curb, turned my ignition off and discovered a melted hole about the size of a quarter burning & smoking. The sweater I was wearing also had a melted hole in it. The hole in the car is on the left side of the drivers seat. We contacted Mercedes Benz service here in san diego, and were just told to bring it in on Monday - it happened on thurs. Morning. So we are waiting for Monday, but in the meantime I am afraid to drive my car and want to report this incident, due to the extreme safety factor of the situation, but don't know what agencies to contact. This could potentially been a more dangerous situation as it was a burning electrical fire. Thank goodness I could safely pull over and turn off the power to the car. Thank you

- La Jolla, CA, USA

I turned on my ignition and the driver's side heated seat and immediately started to drive. I traveled about 500 feet and started to smell something burning. I thought it was my neighbor's fireplace, so drove less than 1 mile before I felt intense heat on my left side and saw smoke coming out of the seat. Upon exiting the car, I saw that my seat was on fire. I turned off the heated seat button and the smoke and flame dissipated and then drove right to the dealer, who acted like it was no big deal whatsoever and said this happens because of the design of the wiring and is caused from wear and tear on the wiring from getting in and out of the vehicle. While at the dealership, I encountered an mb S320 owner who came in at the same time I did with the exact same issue. My car is out of warranty so the dealer wanted to charge us for the repair but we told him to talk to his manager because we were calling the newspapers or they were going to cover it. They agreed to replace the heat element and the seat back but refused to deal with the passenger seat. They have ordered the part and are supposed to call us in 3-4 days when the part comes in but we'll see if that happens. The fire originated on the left side of the seat. I'm shocked that the dealer didn't disable the heating mechanism before we left the dealership. I googled this issue and this is a very common problem. I'm now afraid to drive the car, especially with my kids and dog who may have trouble escaping a fire that may very likely happen. Also, once the repair is made (using the same protocol as the current defective wiring), since the cause of the short has not been corrected, this will happen again in another 2 or so years.

- Oak Ridge, NJ, USA

I was on my way to drop off my daughter for school. I started to smell something burning then I started feeling a burn on my seating area. I pulled over lucky I was next fire department, my daughter and I got off the car as we got off the drivers side seat was on fire. Every one from the fire department came out, they disabled the seat electrical system.

- La Habra Heights, CA, USA

Driving on hwy with my 3 children in car, I felt as if I had a sticker in my pants. Something was poking me. Then we all smelt something burning, which cdf was parked on the side of hwy so we didn't think anything about it. Then my oldest said "mom there's smoke in the car" I looked back in my review mirror and saw the back of the car full of smoke. I immediately pulled off the side of the hwy and we all exited the car. Upon doing so, I grabbed my personal and important belongings. Noticed the drivers seat had a hole about the size of a nickel in the back portion. Then my kids told me my pants had a hole, and then we noticed my skin had a blister. I had the car towed to the dealer(60 miles) rented a car that held 7 passengers, since I was on my way to pick my parents up from the airport 2 1/2 hours away from our home. Mercedes declines to pay for rental car, took them 20 days to get parts and have it fixed. I am very unhappy with this vehicle and the dealer. They have never been any help since we purchased the car.

- Palo Cedro, CA, USA

2007 Mercedes GL450- turned on seat heaters and within a couple minutes smelt burning material. Discovered the seat heater was burning a hole in the left side of the driver seat back. Turned off the seat heater but it had already burned a hole about the size of a dime. Took it immediately to the dealer where they stated they have seen the same problem before. They are ordering a replacement seat back, but are not willing to address my concerns about the other seat.

- Renton, WA, USA

2007 Mercedes GL450 on Dec 11 2009 I noticed the smell of something burning while driving my SUV. Shortly thereafter I felt an intense burning along my left lower back. I immediately pulled over and exited the vehicle. Along the left side back of the drivers seat was a 1.5 X 0.5inch hole burnt through the fabric. I was using the seat heater at the time. The incident damaged my pants and leather jacket.

- Deer Park, NY, USA

2007 Mercedes gl. Turned on seat warmer, minutes later, both people in car started coughing because of fumes. Driver felt something burning, seat heater burned a hole in leather seat, driver's shirt and on body.

- Tustin, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz GL450. While driving 15 mph for approximately five minutes, the contact activated the heated seats. Minutes later, she felt pain on her rear. She noticed that the leather on the front driver's seat was melting and on fire. She safely pulled over and exited the vehicle. She called the dealer and is in the process of having the vehicle inspected. The failure and current mileages were 27,088.

- Waterloo, IL, USA