VolkswagenJetta2003
  1. Volkswagen Jetta
  2. Problems
  3. 2003
  4. Seat Heater/Cooler

2003 Volkswagen Jetta Seat Heater/Cooler Problems

69
Owner complaint records in our dataset

Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.

Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.

Among these 69 stored complaint records:

  • 0 indicate a crash
  • 32 indicate injury
  • 41 indicate fire
  • 1 indicate a death

What owners report

  • seat heater · 32 records
  • caught fire · 15 records
  • burned through · 14 records
  • side seat · 13 records
  • through seat · 13 records
  • seat caught · 12 records

Mileage in stored records

BandRecords
30–60k mi31
1–30k mi13
60–100k mi7
100–150k mi2

Complaint records

Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.

  • November 14, 2004

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    2003 volkswagen jetta gls with cold weather package had seat heating element burn hole in seat. *jb

    ODI 10098835

  • November 10, 2004

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    2003 volkswagen jetta gls velour heated seat malfunction. Burned a hole in car seat, through my coat and scorched my pants. Also burned finger. Volkswagen is fixing the problem and has offered to reimburse for coat and pants. All is done at no charge.

    ODI 10114652

  • November 4, 2004 · 37,490 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    In december of 04 the drivers seat caught on fire in my 2003 volkswagen jetta glx. I had the heated seat on when i noticed the seat was getting extremly hot and started smoking. I was on a busy four lane road and unable to pull over at the time. Once i did pull over i jumped out of the car to survey the damage. I had managed to burn the tips of my fingers and my "rear end". Vw replaced the seat under warranty after…

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10110126

  • November 4, 2004 · 55,330 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    During first use in cold weather turned on heating seat on driver's side after about thirty seconds the car began to fill with smoke, i felt a sharp pain in my left rear butt cheek. Opened the door & got out of the car .reached in and turned off the seat heater. Noted a hole in the leather seat, found one in my trousers and a small burn mark on my butt. Took the car to the local dealer, and they ordered the parts.…

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10098577

  • October 25, 2004 · 38,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Upon turning on the drivers side heated seat element to strength 2 out of 5 a strong burning odor was released and a section of the heating element proceeded to burn through the seat cover and sligtly burned my leg. I turned off the heating element to stop the problem and am bringing the vehicle in to the dealers service department to inspect it.*ak

    1 injury

    ODI 10096421

  • October 15, 2004 · 37,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Heated seat warmer on drivers side front seat of my 2003 volkswagen jetta caught fire while i was driving, burning both the seat and my body. No repair as of yet.*ak

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10095840

  • October 10, 2004 · 24,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    I was driving my leased, 2003 volkswagen jetta, (equipped with cold weather package), on a very busy road in late afternoon on a cold autumn day just outside of boston. I turned my driver side seat warmer on the highest level, (5) and in about 5 minutes i felt a sharp pain on the backside of my left thigh and thought something had stung me at first. I repositioned myself in the seat, and could smell something…

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10098593

  • October 3, 2004 · 62,500 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    The driver's seat heater burned through the seat. The dealer was contacted. The dealer informed the consumer that problem was not covered under a recall. *jb. *ak

    ODI 10096630

  • September 20, 2004 · 53,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Heated seat (driver side) overheated to the point where it burned through the seat material, and burned the driver of the vehicle. Small hole visible in material of seat where it burned through, and smoke could be smelled. This occured within 10 minutes of the seat being turned on.*ak

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10092962

  • September 19, 2004 · 26,970 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    1- turned on the driver's side seat heater 2- felt hot spot, and saw smoke coming from left side of seat. A small hole was burned in leather, and padding inside seat was black. No fire, just smoke.*ak 3- turn off seat heater, put water on smoking hole in leather seat.

    ODI 10091294

  • March 26, 2004 · 29,400 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Driver seat heater overheated and caused damage to seat. *jb

    Fire reported

    ODI 10064398

  • February 17, 2004 · 51,300 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Drivers heated seat burned a hole in the seat and burned the driver.*ak

    1 injury

    ODI 10058754

  • December 16, 2003

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    My jetta's seat heater has shorted out and burned through the cover. Volkswagens reply is that there are no replacements seat covers anywhere in the country, and that they have no idea when they will get some. I have been in contact with them regularly since mid-december, and the hole with exposed electrical wiring has been there since then. The only response that vw gives, when told about smoke and sparks shooting…

    Fire reported

    ODI 10107848

  • December 8, 2003

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    We own a 2002 jetta tdi wagon and the driver seat heating device burned a hole in the seat and straight through my overcoat. This all happened within 1 mile of driving the vehicle. If i did not have a thick jacket on, i certainly would have been burned and if i did not catch it in time, a fire could have started. *ak

    ODI 10049434

  • December 2, 2003 · 25,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    2003 vw jetta 1.8t gls w/ leather has heated seats. Seats malfunctioned and burnt a hole through the leather. If i had been driving i would have been scorched, luckily i was still in my driveway. See here for similar incidents. *ak http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1113071&page=1

    ODI 10050611

  • November 20, 2003 · 15,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    I own a volkswagen 2003 jetta wagon. The drivers side seat warmer burned a hole through the seat cover. When brought in for service i asked them to check the passenger side for the defective part and they said there was no problem. One month later i started smelling the same synthetic burning smell, and noticed a discoloration on the seat where the hot section is. *ak

    ODI 10060404

  • October 30, 2003

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    On the evening of october 30, my 2003 volkswagen jetta vehicle driver seat and my coat caught on fire, beginning to melt my pants to my skin. Once i realized the problem, i moved through traffic to find a safe place to park my car. I turned off the seat heater and engine heater, and waited some time to reenter the car. On friday morning, i showed a mechanic the problem and he said i must take the car into the…

    Fire reported · 1 injury

    ODI 10045713

  • October 5, 2003 · 9,000 miles

    Seat Heater/Cooler

    Driver's side heated seat became extremely hot, burning the leather, and burning through the consumers pants, slightly burning consumer's leg. Dealer and the manufacturer have been notified.*ak *ph *nlm

    1 injury

    ODI 10042595

  • Seat Heater/Cooler

    While driving with the seat heater engaged, the consumer smelled a burning odor along with rear end getting excessively hot. Consumer pulled the vehicle over, and noticed the leather seat had burn holes. Both the manufacturer and dealership were contacted.*ak

    Fire reported

    ODI 10068596