2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA — Complaint #566318
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER filed December 18, 2005
NHTSA complaint #566318 (ODI reference 10145557) concerns a 2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA and was filed on December 18, 2005. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 17, 2005. The report was geocoded to New York 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 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 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 2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
1) I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED, SEE #2 AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY. 2) TODAY I FOUND THAT THERE WAS SOME KIND OF SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT. IT LEFT A PEA-SIZED BURN IN THE UPHOLSTERY. LUCKILY, I USE A SMALL DRIVING PILLOW FOR MY LOWER BACK WHICH BORE THE BRUNT OF THE FIRE INSTEAD OF MY BUTT. I HAD FOUND THE PILLOW WAS STUCK TO THE SEAT, AND WHEN I PULLED IT OFF THE BURN WAS REVEALED. THE PILLOW WAS DAMAGED. 3) I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO CORRECT THE FAILURE AS OF YET. I AM RESEARCHING MY OPTIONS TO DETERMINE IF THE MANUFACTURER WILL REPLACE IT FOR ME. *NM
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 566318 |
| ODI Number | 10145557 |
| Date Filed | December 18, 2005 |
| Failure Date | December 17, 2005 |
| VIN | 3VWSE29M4YM |
Similar SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER Complaints for 2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
The contact owns a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving with the front driverâs side seat heater activated, the seat became extremely hot. The contact started smelling a burn
FOR TWO DAYS, I SMELLED AN ODOR SUCH AS A STARCHED IRON IN MY CAR. I TURNED THE HEATED SEATS OF FOR A FEW DAYS. TODAY I TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE SMELL CAME BACK. I TOOK MY JACKET OFF AND IN ONE PART
DRIVING CAR, USING SEAT HEATER, STARTED SMELLING BURNING SMELL. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO STOP, THE LEATHER SEAT HAD BURNED. I AM NOT SURE WHAT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED IF I HAD NOT TURNED THE SEAT HEATER OFF WH
(2) THE SEAT WARMER ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT FAILED AND BURNED THROUGH THE SEAT COVERING. THE HEATER LEFT A BURN ON MY PANTS THE SIZE OF A DIME. THIS ALSO CAUSED ME SOME DISCOMFORT. (3) I CONTACTED VW OF
I STARTED NOTICING A BURNING SMELL IN THE CAR WHEN I TURNED ON THE HEATED SEATS AND THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT WOULD GET VERY HOT, EVEN WHEN SET ON A LOW SETTING. ONE DAY I DECIDED TO TRY IT OUT TO SEE IF
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.