Cadillac Recalls More Than 50,000 Cars For Seat Heater Fire Risk

General Motors recently notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a recall on their 2014-2016 Cadillac CTS sedans due to a malfunctioning seat heater that could potentially cause a fire.

An NHTSA release from September 7 stated that damaged seat heating elements can put out excessive heat. Seat heaters in the affected vehicles can activate automatically in cold weather when the remote start feature is used. If a damaged seat heater is turned on while no one is in the vehicle, the heater can become too warm and overheat, risking setting the vehicle on fire.

The manufacturer believes a total of 53,586 sedans from the years 2014 through 2016 are at risk. Currently, the NHTSA says that GM’s recall plan is to have customers bring their vehicles to dealerships for servicing, where technicians will reprogram the body control module in the seat heaters. This deactivates the function that automatically turns on the seat heaters when the remote start is used in cold weather. The fix doesn’t completely deactivate the seat heater; only the auto-on function with remote start. GM has not yet stated whether they will fully replace the faulty component at a later date.

GM also has not yet published a notification schedule for the recall. The automobile recall will come at no cost to owners.

This recall is a response to a January seat heater fire in a 2015 Cadillac GTS. A woman’s vehicle caught fire after using the remote start in cold weather. GM confirmed at the time it was investigating the issue.

Currently, GM is aware of four fires and one injury related to malfunctioning Cadillac CTS seat heaters. If you have an at-risk CTS, you’ll be notified by mail by General Motors, but you can also check your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for recalls at the GM Owner Center or via the NHTSA’s website. Or, owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM’s number for the recall is 18286.

We purchase our cars carefully because we need them to be reliable and safe. We certainly don’t expect them to do things like catch fire and potentially cause injury and accidents. Auto defects can cause all sorts of issues, from minor to severe, that can cause either a small inconvenience or extremely dangerous driving conditions.

Automakers have an obligation to design and manufacture their vehicles safely – and when they don’t and people are hurt, they must be held accountable. Talk to our lawyers if you were burned or injured in a heater seat fire in a GM vehicle.

If you suffered injury in an accident due to a defective car or auto part, the attorneys at Taylor Ring in Los Angeles can help. We will hold the responsible parties accountable and seek compensation on your behalf. Call us today at 310.776.6390 or complete our contact form to schedule a consultation.