Caution using heated seats, rear heated seat fire, [Not an EV Fire]

[Nate977p]

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/ford/

Pinging at fordmotorcomany is useless and waste of time, the above has contactemail to Jim Farley and other leadership, I'd send your pictures and story to all of them

Thank you!

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[LightningShow]

It’s kind of sad to see how many early owners, who have been on this forum since before the trucks shipped, have had major issues. I usually don’t put a lot of weight in people’s accounts when they join a forum to bitch about a problem they had but in these cases it’s people who were here from the early days having battery failures, fires(!), and other issues.

i say this as i sit at the Ford dealer waiting to get my Lightning back after a battery module replacement.

i’m glad everyone is safe but i’m also shocked that there wasn’t a safety mechanism to prevent this.

@Ford Motor Company please support

 

[TaxmanHog]

A thorough investigation from ford and the manufacturer of the seat heater should point to the cause.

Exactly, a dealer, or regional service tech/engineer needs to be investigating the incident alongside the fire marshal in the area for documentation purposes.

 

[Nate977p]

Exactly, a dealer, or regional service tech/engineer needs to be investigating the incident alongside the fire marshal in the area for documentation purposes.

Sitting at a the closest dealer now.

 

[davehu]

wow. so thankful that you and your dogs are safe... question that occurred to me: were your dogs on the seat or did you have them folded up?

 

[Heliian]

It’s kind of sad to see how many early owners, who have been on this forum since before the trucks shipped, have had major issues. I usually don’t put a lot of weight in people’s accounts when they join a forum to bitch about a problem they had

That's what forums are for! That's why there's a bias of information, people don't post online that often how everything is going smoothly, nor do the majority of owners even visit online forums.
My problems have been unrelated to anything ev specific and a seat heater is definitely not vehicle specific.
Battery modules, sure, that's ev related but Ford has designed them to be modular and easily replaced. The parts were slow to start but that's picking up now too.

 

[frautumn]

Are rear heat seaters part of the Lariat ER package? I have the Lariat SR and don't think I have rear seat heaters.

 

[Nate977p]

Update:

We are at a loss right now…

Doctors: Went to Urgent care. They said any damage from breathing in toxins is what it is now, nothing that can be done, but current breathing sounds okay and the smokey/burnt plastic feeling in my mouth/throat and small cough should wear off quickly.

The wife brought the pups to the vet. The little one was good, but the big one (she was closer) has a cough and a fever of nearly 104 degrees, to which the vet said anything over 102 is worrisome. They did some tests and x-rays, not seeing any major lung damage in her lungs, which was a huge relief. Also, no burns on the paws! They think the fever is most likely the stress and anxiety (she is acting very weird) and hopefully should dissipate, but to watch her as that is a concerning fever. Also they want us to nebulizer her (this should be interesting…). And a $1,000 bill.

Dealer: We got to the local dealer early – who was very helpful and the Service Manager jumped right in. He took our info and made a bunch of calls. Mid-day, the dealer’s attitude turned to them saying there is nothing they can do. They were still very kind, and gave me rides to Urgent Care and vet, but clearly Ford put a wall up on them and they got worried about overstepping. End of day they said nothing they can do and this could go on some time with Ford. They told us there is no concern for reignition and were fine with us taking the truck to the hotel as it is loaded with all our stuff; they wanted the problem gone. Thus we limped it to hotel with windows open.

Ford Customer Service: I cannot express the depth of my disappointment. First call was with Dealer Service Manager and I calling CS - utterly useless – no case made and dealer told me to end the call as it was going nowhere. Then between ~1:30 and 3:00, we had 3 or so calls with customer support seeming to really care and stating they are escalating to help us. They really listened and I don’t want to go into details should this end up going down a different path, but I was very hopeful. At 4:15, we called as the day was ending and we have no plan with the weekend looming. 30 minute call of mostly hold had us talking to a different rep who said they were talking with the first rep, but refused to connect us directly. I asked to talk to escalation, was refused, and told they cannot promise response today. I asked for a case number and was told she didn’t have one and only the primary rep did – which makes no sense as we received multiple calls and she asked our names and VIN…. Call ended after me venting and asking for a call by EOD so we are not stuck the weekend.

Only resolution offered was offered on the last call with the rep-in-the-middle saying in similar situations, they have offered a rental for $45/day or $60/day per truck, but I have to find a Ford branded rental. I pushed more on this to better understand, but hit more walls being told I have to wait for the primary rep, who I was not allowed to talk to.

Afternoon hope has turned into weekend stress with no final plan yet. We hoped Ford would do something, anything at all, but nope. This could’ve been something much worse, so we are lucky there, but this is not okay. It was a terrifying experience and I am getting more and more worried on the level of damage.

The more I think about it I am also worried if this had something to do with charging. We drove nearly 4 hours straight no issue. Then we charge for 30 minutes and as we pull away from the charger, this all happens. I cannot speak to the how, but it is too close in timing to outright ignore.

We appreciate any help and thank the community for following along!

 

[Nate977p]

That's what forums are for! That's why there's a bias of information, people don't post online that often how everything is going smoothly, nor do the majority of owners even visit online forums.
My problems have been unrelated to anything ev specific and a seat heater is definitely not vehicle specific.
Battery modules, sure, that's ev related but Ford has designed them to be modular and easily replaced. The parts were slow to start but that's picking up now too.

Yup! Was so hopeful and have LOVED the truck up until now.

 

[flyct]

Man I hope you, your wife and the dogs recover physically and psychologically. Dogs can suffer emotionally. Our dog was reluctant to get into a car after we were t-boned by a meth head a few years ago. My wife and I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance and we left the dog with a stranger until a friend could come and pick her up.

Last week I pulled my back out, I took a Tizanidine muscle relaxant pill prescribed by the doctor. One hour later I pulled over and told my wife I didn’t feel alert enough to drive. She got into the driver seat and I got in back with the dogs In the seat behind the Drivers side. Immediately I said holy poop this seat is so hot. I looked and one of the dogs seemed to have hit the seat heater button with her paw.

Now after reading your saga I want to find a way to safely remove power to the rear seat heaters To prevent unanticipated activation. Here in Florida rear seat heaters aren't necessary. Hopefully a single fuse or relay that powers the heaters. .

 

[TaxmanHog]

. Hopefully a single fuse or relay that powers the heaters. .

 

[flyct]

THANK YOU!!!

 

[Henry Ford]

At 4:15, we called as the day was ending and we have no plan with the weekend looming. 30 minute call of mostly hold had us talking to a different rep who said they were talking with the first rep, but refused to connect us directly. I asked to talk to escalation, was refused, and told they cannot promise response today. I asked for a case number and was told she didn’t have one and only the primary rep did – which makes no sense as we received multiple calls and she asked our names and VIN…. Call ended after me venting and asking for a call by EOD so we are not stuck the weekend.

This was my experience with Ford Customer Service as well. My issue was less life threatening but nevertheless infuriating.

I'm guessing every bit of the interior of your truck smells like smoke. You can assess the situation yourself but if something still smells like smoke after it's been cleaned it should be replaced under warranty. Some examples of parts that might retain a smoke smell are seats, headliner, door panels, carpet, insulation, etc. I'm guessing whatever dealer does the work will be cognizant of this but I suggest pressing the issue if they aren't.

If you plan on continuing your journey in the truck I bet you can remove the burned seat without much trouble. Whether you want to occupy the smokey cabin is another matter.

Thanks for posting your experience. Hopefully it's helpful for you in some way. It has caused me to consider emergency situations and how I'd handle them. I still have a preschooler in a car seat who can't unbuckle herself.

 

[RickLightning]

Note the following warnings in the manual. Any apply?

 

[tls]

Exactly, a dealer, or regional service tech/engineer needs to be investigating the incident alongside the fire marshal in the area for documentation purposes.

Actually, this is probably an incident that should be reported to NHTSA, since it seems likely to have involved a defect in the seat heater, its safety mechanism, or the attached wiring (that would be my bet, personally - the heater should be inherently safe like an electric blanket element, but it draws a fair bit of current and a defective connector or pinched wire leading to it could have arced).

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