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Aston Martin Recalls 7,256 Vehicles Over Potential Glitch With the Front Seat Heaters

This just in from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: roughly 7,256 Aston Martin cars sold in the U. S. of A. are prone to develop an issue with their front seat heaters. More specifically, the heaters are impossible to turn off if the defect develops.
Aston Martin V12 Vantage 1 photo
Photo: Aston Martin
NHTSA safety recall 14V-753 and Aston Martin Lagonda of North America announce that the previously mentioned population of affected vehicles comprises of cars produced beween July 2006 through November 2014. Models affected include the Aston Martin DB9, Virage, DBS, V8 and V12 Vantage.

According to the British manufacturer, analysis of field warranty data of 10 potentially related reports of seat heater malfunctions from 2009 to the present day resulted in overheating or smoldering.

Testing showed that electrical harness insulation damage may lead to heater mat control module failure

Even though the seat material meets the flammability requirements of FMVSS 302 and Aston Martin wasn't able to cause the seats to catch fire, there's something that needs to be mentioned about this fault. If the control module fails and the ignition is on, there's a permanent power feed to the mats.

Aston Martin notes that the fix comes in the form of a component that's basically an additional supervisor (monitoring) module, which detects incorrect function and isolates power supply in case of failure. In case you own one of the affected models, don't hesitate to contact your local AM dealer.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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