BMW 1 Series Seat Heater Failure, Fix and Solutions

Some experience with cars here. I had a very similar issue with my 2020 BMW 2 Series last winter. The symptoms were exactly the same, seat heaters would turn on for a few seconds and then just quit. It drove me crazy! Took it to my regular workshop and they diagnosed a defective heating mat in the seat. Total repair cost was 390 Euro, which included labor and the new mat. The mechanic showed me the old mat and you could actually see where it was damaged. The repair took about 3 hours but fixed the problem completely. Haven't had any issues since then. Can you tell me if both front seats are affected or just one side? Also, does it happen on all heat settings or just the highest one? This might help narrow down if you're dealing with the same problem I had.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Mine's just hit 172577 KM and had its service last month. In my case, it's only happening on the driver's side and across all heat settings, low, medium, and high. The passenger seat works perfectly fine. Your repair cost seems reasonable compared to what I was worried I might have to pay. Definitely helps to know what I might be dealing with before heading to the shop. Did your mechanic mention anything about warranty coverage for this kind of issue?

Hey again! Yeah, that's exactly how mine started too, just the driver's side acting up while the passenger side was working fine. Since yours is showing the same pattern across all heat settings, it's almost certainly the same heating mat issue I had. As for warranty, my BMW was just out of warranty when this happened (mine had about 165,000 KM at the time), so I had to pay out of pocket. But since your car is a 2022 model, you should definitely check if you're still under warranty! My mechanic mentioned these heating mats are usually covered under the basic warranty. The fact that your car just had service last month and they didn't catch this is a bit surprising though. Mine started acting up right after winter began, and the service team caught it during a routine check. Maybe bring that up when you take it in, they might be more accommodating with the costs since they missed it during your recent service. Trust me, it's worth getting it fixed. Driving without a working seat heater in winter is no fun at all! Let me know how it goes when you get it checked out.

Thanks for all the detailed info! That definitely gives me more confidence about what I'm dealing with. You're right about the warranty, I just checked and I should still be covered since my car is only about a year old. Just called the dealership and they said they can take a look at it tomorrow morning. Really appreciate you sharing your repair costs too, at least I know what I might be looking at if warranty doesn't cover it for some reason. Pretty annoyed they missed this during the service last month, but I'll definitely bring that up when I go in. And yeah, you're spot on about needing it fixed before winter really kicks in, already missing that warm seat on my morning drives! I'll probably ask them to check both seats while they're at it, even though the passenger side is working fine now. Better safe than sorry, right? Will let you know what they say after I get it checked out. Thanks again for all your help!