Wade Kerley, hailing from Daingerfield, TX, alleges that he was harmed when the heated seat in his 2015 Buick Lacrosse burst into flames.
“After starting the car, about five minutes later, I began to smell something burning, and I realized there was a fire on my back,” said Kerley in an interview with KLTV. “When I reached behind to check, I burnt my hand instantly due to the extreme heat of the seat.”
He promptly exited the vehicle and managed to extinguish the fire. While no significant injuries were sustained, his attire, along with the seat in flames, suffered damage. Kerley tried to seek compensation for the heated seat fire from both a Buick dealership and General Motors, but both entities turned him down, citing the warranty expiration and the absence of an active recall on the car or its components.
Another incident was reported last Wednesday involving a 2015 Cadillac CTS, also engulfed in flames. The owner, Lauren Rummell, attributed the incident to the heated seat system. Rummell mentioned that she had activated the car’s remote start before leaving her sister’s residence, returning to a vehicle much warmer than expected.
“I just stood there watching the car go up in flames and took my son inside,” detailed Rummell in an interview with Fox 59.
The Drive sought comments from Buick regarding Kerley’s case, and from Cadillac concerning Rummell’s incident. GM’s Communications Manager for Cybersecurity and Safety, Tom Wilkinson, assured that investigations are underway for both incidents, though no examination of the vehicles has been conducted yet.
“We were informed of the situation by the customer earlier this week, and we are currently looking into it,” stated Wilkinson in The Drive. “The fire is believed to have originated near the seat, but until our investigators can examine the vehicle, the exact cause remains unknown. […] At this point, we do not see a recurring issue based on the reports related to the CTS and LaCrosse.”
Wilkinson did mention a recall of 42,984 units for the Buick Regal due to fire risk. Owners with unrepaired Regals were advised to take action promptly. Although the Regal’s recall was related to a power seat harness, rather than a heated seat element, any fire hazards are treated seriously by manufacturers. In a similar vein, Hyundai recalled 88,000 vehicles in January, with Maserati recalling 1,500.
Whether these heated seat issues will arise in more GM vehicles will become clear over time, either through the company’s investigations or additional customer complaints about sizzling seat experiences.