I was driving down the highway when I smelled something funny. A minute later I felt an extremely hot sensation on my left leg. I reached down and the seat was so hot that it burnt my hand from the brief contact. I pulled over to find that the heated seat element had burnt a hole in the leather seat as well as burnt a hole in my wool coat. Ironically, this occurred in my last BMW as well, a 2004 3-series, just to a lesser extent. I did not receive burns from that incident, it just melted the left side of my seat.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

Passenger seatbelt/airbag warning as follows: "pass. Restraint system - fault on passenger restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt-force limiter. Continue to wear the safety belt." Note: The vehicle is currently with a mechanic who has confirmed this is the "passenger seat mat sensor." I called BMW of North America today to report the problem and check for recalls. I was informed I should go to a BMW dealership to get a "formal diagnosis from the dealer" and to "confirm if the issue could've been included in prior recall." Note: I searched the NHTSA website for my year, make and model vehicle and found this exact same issue was under "investigation" from Jan. 4, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2008. The investigation subject is "BMW airbag light illumination". the summary states that it was for BMW models from 2004 to 2006 and states the 2006 models were recalled for the X3 series and 3-series with sport seats. It further states "BMW will extend the warranty coverage of the passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat to 10-year/unlimited mileage on approximately 120,000 remaining MY04-06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05." Therefore, I believe my vehicle should be included based on the later statement. My incident first occurred on thanksgiving day, Nov. 24, 2016. The warning light has not turned off since then. The vehicle is currently with the mechanic for a large unrelated to this sensor mat issue. I expect I will have the vehicle back in 1-2 weeks, at which time I will take it to a dealer to further investigate BMW's responsibility for this safety issue. Specifically, the issue occurred while my mom was trying to put on her seatbelt while sitting in the front passenger seat on thanksgiving day. The warning has continued since then whether or not someone is sitting there.

- Altadena, CA, USA

I started my car turned on both heated seats and begin seeing smoke and smelled distinct burning.... I pulled out of my garage and immediately pulled to the curve. My left side drivers seat was smoking and I realized my pants had a hole burned in them along with a hole in my seat. I have contacted BMW but to date no response back from them. This is a dangerous flaw in the BMW and needs further action taken. I could have been burned or this could have caused me to have a serious accident. Further my very low mileage car could have been consumed in flames.

- Aurora, CO, USA

The passenger seat mat sensor is defective and cannot tell when a passenger is seated, therefore, not allowing a passenger air bag to deploy. The SRS air bag warning light appears. The passenger seat has not been tampered with, rarely been sat in, and the defect cannot be attributed to any error on my part.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

2006 BMW 650I, March 2006 passenger seat would lock, airbag system malfunctioned, engine began backfiring. May 2006 the seat locked and the airbag malfunctioned again. In June the engine overheated and was repaired. *****

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA