Heated Car Seats Could Pose Burn Danger

Burn specialists, a safety advocacy group and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating instances in which heated car seats allegedly burned drivers or passengers. Some concerns stem from malfunctioning seat heaters, but others arise with seats that function as the manufacturers intended, but are being used by people who lack sensation in their lower extremities.

During a six-year period, NHTSA received 138 complaints about malfunctioning seat heaters, with reports ranging from a burning smell to visible flames. Sixty-nine of the accounts involved some mention of fire, according to an Edmunds analysis of complaints made to ... Back to article