Waaaay back in the early days of the Forum there were pictures of an '06 R/T that burned up due to a malfunctioning seat heater control. It made the rounds because the hood melted and everyone wanted to know why (aluminum hoods weren't well known then).
Anyway, back to your car. The seat heater elements inside the seats are simple pads like an electric blanket and can be replaced. They just sit flat under the cover on top of the cushion foam. Any good upholstery shop can remove the cover and replace the heater pad. They can also replace the suede insert on the cover while they have it apart.
The casing on the wires that run through the heater pad can become cracked over time and expose the wire inside leading to a hot-spot like you experienced. Since the resistance in the wire doesn't change, the system controls won't shut it down until it burns enough to start to melt the wire, then it will kick off the system.
In general, the combustion resistance of the foam and the suede is enough that it may char and smoke, but an actual fire won't occur before the system fails safe and shuts off the power. The cover and foam will be damaged but the car won't burn up as long as the control system is functioning properly.
In the rare cases that the controls fail to operate properly and kick off (like that old Forum R/T case) a fire may occur.
Also, carrying heavy hard angular objects on seats with heater elements can cause spot damage to the wire casing (like driving 1000 miles with a 27" CRT TV belted in on the passenger seat)
Anyway, back to your car. The seat heater elements inside the seats are simple pads like an electric blanket and can be replaced. They just sit flat under the cover on top of the cushion foam. Any good upholstery shop can remove the cover and replace the heater pad. They can also replace the suede insert on the cover while they have it apart.
The casing on the wires that run through the heater pad can become cracked over time and expose the wire inside leading to a hot-spot like you experienced. Since the resistance in the wire doesn't change, the system controls won't shut it down until it burns enough to start to melt the wire, then it will kick off the system.
In general, the combustion resistance of the foam and the suede is enough that it may char and smoke, but an actual fire won't occur before the system fails safe and shuts off the power. The cover and foam will be damaged but the car won't burn up as long as the control system is functioning properly.
In the rare cases that the controls fail to operate properly and kick off (like that old Forum R/T case) a fire may occur.
Also, carrying heavy hard angular objects on seats with heater elements can cause spot damage to the wire casing (like driving 1000 miles with a 27" CRT TV belted in on the passenger seat)
