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BMW - Flaming Seats

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Ellen of Monroe NY (10/11/03): I purchased a 2003 M-3 convertible at Orange County BMW in Poughkeepsie NY in May of 2003. The car is black outside with black leather inside. My daughter and I were visiting my sick aunt in Washingtonviell NY and I left the convertible top down. This is the 3rd or 4th BMW convertible I have owned so that is not unsuual for me to do.

I drink a lot of water and I had finished the water, there was approximately 1/4" of water in the bottle and I threw it onto the back seat. After the visit that lasted around 1 to 2 hours my daughter noticed the car smoking and ran to the back. She immediately picked up the bottle and underneath was a depression in the seat that was smoking very extensively.

As we picked up the bottle, flames engulfed the seat. My husband brought the car to BMW in Ramsey and three service mechanics looked at the car. Our question was, "has there been any recalls of any convertibles on BMW's starting up on fire in the heat with any kinds of bottles laying on the back seat?" Their answer was that they had "never seen anything like it." They had no answers for us, but said do get in touch with your insurance company because the seat is going to cost you $1,500.00. (on top of the $64,000 we just paid for the vehicle.)

Our answer was that the water bottle acted like a magnifying glass and set the leather seat on fire; which tells me that the leather seats are combustible at certain temperatures. I then brought it to BMW in Woodcliff Lake to Mr. Brian Babcock and told him of the situation. He said he would get back to us. He wrote us a letter and his response was - I will give you a few quotes - "Since the damage to your seat appears to have been caused by an outside source and is not a defect in material or workmanship the repair cannot be covered by your new vehicle warranty."

My question is, Is this a safe vehicle to drive? What if you're stuck in traffic or at the beach? And if it is the case to keep water out of the back seat then their should be a warning telling you that fires could be a hazard if left with the convertible top down. If there is any help you can give me, I would appreciate it.

For now I am left with a 5 month old $64,000 car with a burnt up back seat that BMW is telling me they are not responsible for. If I knew the sun would do such damage I wouldn't have gotten a convertible, actually to tell you the truth, I will change my brand of cars!

The sun is very hot, Ellen. Also, leather, cloth and other materials used in upholstery will burn if they get hot enough (as will just about everything else). The lesson to be learned from this is that nothing should be left on the seats of a car, convertible or otherwise, that's parked in bright sunlight. We agree with the BMW dealer that Ellen should contact her insurance company.

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