Consumer Complaint Detail

LEXUS / ES300 / 1998

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
Yes Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 003282844 Incident Date: Oct, 14 2003
Consumer's City: PALMER Consumer's State: MA
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Toyota Motor Corporation
Model Name: ES300 Model Year: 1998
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Yes Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: JT8BF28G0W5 Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jun, 02 2004 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Apr, 01 2003
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 6 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: I have a 1998 lexus es300. the driver's heated seat stopped working. balise lexus, of west springfield, ma, explained there was a broken wire in heating grid and wanted to charge me $500.00, for parts and labor. my mechanic disassembled the seat and found the wire had frayed and shorted out when it started on fire. it had burnt part of the heating grid, the foam it was attached to and the inside of the leather upholstery. i showed this heating grid to the lexus dealer, who replied, " the heating grids are only good for 3-5 years." i would think that a fuse would short out, or a light on the dash would alert you to a malfunction. i definetely wouldn't expect a fire. this could have caused serious damage and even severe bodily injury. in the meantime, i have ordered the replacement heating grid for $204.80. i feel this is a manufacturer's defect and should be reinbursed and a sefety feature of some sort should be installed in future models. what can i do? thank you for any advise. *jb