“@nissan can you tell me why?”
Heated seats are supposed to make a cold drive more comfortable. But one woman thinks that leaving the heated seats on in her husband’s Nissan totaled their vehicle and could’ve cost him his life.
She says that the SUV was engulfed in flames within minutes. Now she’s warning others.
In a trending video with more than 67,000 views, content creator Lindsay (@linruss0) showed what happened to her husband’s car.
“Have you ever worried about your heated seats in your car? You should,” she says.
Lindsay explains that the 2013 Nissan Armada used a flip switch for its heated seats. The last time she rode in the vehicle, she left her seat heater switched on, which she usually does in her own car too.
When her husband was driving home from Indiana with a pillow resting on the front passenger seat, he didn’t realize the heater was still on.
“He kept smelling something burning,” Lindsay says.
According to Lindsay, the pillow caught fire.
“And then when he moved the pillow, out of nowhere, like, flames. They were small little flames at first, and then it engulfed into this within minutes, minutes of him calling me. So just be careful with your heated seats because this is wild,” she says.
In the video you can see an image of the car stopped along the road, flames cover much of its front passenger side, and thick smoke rises above it.
While Lindsay thinks the heated seat is to blame, an inspection would be necessary to confirm the cause of the fire.
In the caption she asked: “@nissan can you tell me why a 2013 Armada would do this?”
In a TikTok direct message she told Motor1, “He was driving and smelled smoke. He thought it was his radiator but couldn’t find the problem. Then he saw smoke coming from the seat and that’s when he found out the seat was on fire. He got him and our dog out of the car he had called me after he called 911.”
“The seat had a small flame and then out of nowhere. The car went up in flames just from the seat. The heated seat malfunctioned and got overheated and did not cool down, which started the fire.”
Edmunds reports that safety protections vary by manufacturer and even by model. Some heated seats shut off after a set amount of time or have a temperature limit. Others stay on until someone turns them off.
Mercedes also told the publication that years of people getting into and out of a vehicle can put stress on the seat. Over time, that pressure can break an electrical wire in the heating mat.
The issue is not limited to seats feeling uncomfortably hot. In a review published by Edmunds, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received 138 complaints about malfunctioning seat heaters between Jan. 1, 2005, and March 31, 2011. Sixty-nine of those complaints mentioned fire, with drivers reporting burning odors, smoke, or visible flames.
Cars.com interviewed a burn specialist who says heated seats shouldn’t reach temperatures higher than 105 degrees Fahrenheit. At 120 degrees a person can suffer a third-degree burn in as little as 10 minutes.
The risk is greater for people who may not immediately feel that a seat has become dangerously hot. That includes some people with diabetes, neuropathy, paralysis or other conditions that reduce sensation in the lower body.
Advance Auto Parts also warns that prolonged exposure can cause toasted skin syndrome, a rash caused by repeated contact with heat.
There were a lot of mixed opinions about whether heated seats could’ve caused Lindsay’s husband’s car to catch fire.
“Fun fact, heating pads are one of the leading causes of winter time house fires. Heat and fabric doesn’t mix,” a top comment read.
“I fear this is user error,” a person said.
“Mine turn off when the car turns off and I have to turn them back on when I start the car so I am not buying this story,” another wrote.
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– The Motor1.com Team