Recently we purchased the Wagan heated seat cushion through Amazon.com and initially I was very pleased with it. Especially my wife who drives the Xb pretty much daily and it gets pretty cold here in Michigan. (I have a Jeep with heated seats in them and she would love those on the Xb) So we thought this a good and inexpensive (25 bucks) alternative.

It's a cover that simply goes over the seatback and cusion, and ties to the back and bottom with elastic bands. It is powered by the 12V cigarette plug and has a hi and low setting.

Today, after about 2 weeks of use, we were driving in the highway when my wife suddenly said something was wrong with the heated seat, because it got way too hot. I quickly checked with my hand behind her back, and sure enough it was really really hot. I actually burned my fingers! I told her to lean forward and get off the side of the highway immediately, and when we screeched to a halt I ripped the damned thing from the seat.

Thankfully, my wife's not hurt too much (she burned part of her back, but it did not leave any marks), but the seatback of the Xb has a melted dime size 'hole' in it (like a cigarette burn kind of). The rear part of the heated seat pad is burned through the back part of it!

So, first off, DO NOT buy that dangerous product! But secondly, does anybody know how to handle this? I have no experience with such a defective and dangerous item. It was pretty damn scary (not to mention stinky!) and the seat of our beloved car is damaged!!

Thanks for your help in advance!


Peter & Jacky

 

Dang! Good call on doing something about it quick and saving the wife more pain!

Thanks for having us keep an eye on such products. Did reviews on amazon say this thing was good before you bought it?

 

wow, that really sux. sry to hear that! id give the company a call and if they arent willing to do anything about it, make a call to bbb and have them handle it for you

 

I'd probably call the BBB first, and whatever group handles recalls and see if they know anything

 

i would also call the company and let them know what happened and see if they plan on doing anything about it...and i would also call the BBB and let them know...

i think the company should replace the seat atleast

 

i'll handle it. I'm a pro when it comes to complaining. I have had to complain to just about every damn thing i have ever ordered online. And i just argued with a guy over the phone today at work about our policies, and man! it was exhilerating! lol.

 

sorry to hear..

 

call the compainy and complain.

glag you got it out of the car fast enough.
i worked in a salvage yard for some time and we would (by mistake, i sware) burn a car about twice a year.
i remember one..... it was a earyl 90s crown vic.
the car go so hot so fast you couldn't stand close enough with a hose to get water on it. by the time we got it put out it had only been on fire for under 3 minets.
anything that could burn was gone.

 

pictures pictures pictures ( not for posting here) to document it all for the case against the company

 

^ Yes. Pictures are a must, and I hope that you saved the cushion. Call the company and if they give you a hard time, get the BBB on the phone. Hell, even a threat to call might be enough for them to fix it.

 

I'm curious..why you wouldnt have pulled the plug from the lighter socket to remove the power source...the second you felt it was too hot??
call complain...perhaps talk to a lawyer..
at the very least this company should be liable to replace your seat..that their product burned

 

That's not cool!!

 

Report the product to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission

https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

Main site: http://www.recalls.gov/cpsc.html

 

It literally happened in a few seconds!!

Thanks for all the tips! Any advice on how to approach a lawyer on this? Noob when it comes to that!


P

 

was it on the high or low setting when that happened? that's crazy!

 

BBB tracks complaints and resolutions on transactions with local firms. It's a commerce organization.
1. Which local BBB would handle a complaint against an Internet vendor like Amazon.com?
2. If you did find the right BBB, you have no commercial complaint unless you have asked Amazon for a refund and they failed to make the refund.
3. After the refund, the BBB considers the complaint resolved.

Certainly you want Amazon to know of a safety problem with one of their items, and you want a refund. Amazon can stop buying and selling the Wagan heated seat, but a report needs to be made to the safety authorities, maybe NHTSA because a car is involved, or maybe some Consumer Product Safety organization. And only you, as the owner of the defective product, and as the person who was harmed, have the "standing" and first-hand knowledge of the problem to file that report.

 

You say no one was hurt, and you are looking for an upholstery repair, a new seat cover, or a new seat. I would get an estimate and talk to your insurance company. They may say to send it to Amazon, and let Amazon work the issue with their Wagan supplier.
A lawyer is a last resort. There is no case here unless the insurance company or Amazon or Wagan refuse to reimburse you. And if such a case does develop, there is no money in it for the lawyer except what you pay him.

 

dang.....that's crazy

 

What is crazy? The heater burning the seat, or the procedure to get it fixed?

 

Manufacturer has contacted me and we're working on resolving this.