BMW owner claims his bum was burned when his X3’s heated seat caught fire
A DRIVER has told how the heated seat in his BMW burned his bottom.
Ben Peeler, 24, was driving to Burger King in his BMW X3 when he suddenly felt a hot burning sensation coming from the driver seat.
As the car filled with smoke the crane company employee realised his beloved work fleece was on fire and leaped out of the vehicle.
The dad-of-one doused the flames with a bottle of mineral water he luckily had in the 2006 motor he had bought just weeks earlier for £1,900.
Fuming Ben called BMW, who collected the out-of-warranty X3 and took it for checking – before bizarrely claiming the non-smoker had started the fire with a cigarette.
Ben, whose bum was burned in January, said: “It was within about a minute of the heated seat being switched on.
‘INTENSE’
“I could smell something and then all of a sudden there was smoke coming from underneath me.
“I could feel the burning at the bottom of my back – the heat was so intense.
“Luckily I had a bottle of water and stopped it in its tracks.
“When I looked down I could see the hole in the seat and the element was glowing bright red.
“Imagine if my daughter had been in the car with me when it happened. It could have been much worse.”
Electrical engineering graduate Ben of Stourbridge, West Midlands, says the car was his fifth BMW and he found other X3 owners who also claimed to have burned bums online.
Ben who has a daughter, one, with partner Alanya Eley-McEvoy, 23, added: “I have always loved BMW, but would I buy another? I am not sure – this is a big health and safety worry for me.”
BMW was contacted for a comment
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