2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450 — Complaint #1159123
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER filed February 20, 2015
NHTSA complaint #1159123 (ODI reference 10689643) concerns a 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450 and was filed on February 20, 2015. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 26, 2015. The vehicle had 60,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Illinois based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same MERCEDES-BENZ GL450 cohort independently describe similar seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES BENZ GL450. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT STARTED TO SMOKE AND BURNED THROUGH THE SEAT AND THE CONTACT'S CLOTHING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A SHORTAGE IN THE HEATED SEAT ELEMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1159123 |
| ODI Number | 10689643 |
| Date Filed | February 20, 2015 |
| Failure Date | January 26, 2015 |
| VIN | 4JGBF71E77A |
Similar SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER Complaints for 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, he felt a sharp pinch coming from the driverâs side seat. Upon further ins
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT HEATER BURNED THROUGH THE SEAT AND HER COAT. AN ABNORMAL BURNING ODOR WAS DETECTED AND FLAMES APPEARED. THE C
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES BENZ GL450. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED A HOLE IN THE SIDE OF THE SEAT WHILE THE HEATED SEAT FEATURE W
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES BENZ GL450. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE SEAT HEATER WAS ACTIVATED AND THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE CONTACT SUSTAIN
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES BENZ GL450. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE SEAT HEATERS OVER HEATED CAUSING THE DRIVER'S SEAT TO CATCH ON FIRE. THE CONTACT SUFFERED FRO
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.