Getting into a cold car on a cold day isn't much fun, but if you have heated car seats, you just flip a switch to sit in comfort.

BMW Recall (800) 831-1117

You usually pay extra for the luxury of heated car seats -- a luxury that may feel like a necessity when it's below freezing. One man who contacted New York City television station WNBC was steaming because of his seat.

James Cody said his first clue was the smell of smoke.

"I started getting the smell of smoke, and it was getting stronger and stronger and stronger and it wasn't going away," Cody said.

He said he had leased his 2004 BMW in the summer and had never used the heated seats before. So he dismissed the odor.

"I thought since the car was new, it was part of maybe a breaking-in process, and it just kept getting stronger and stronger," Cody said.

He said he really didn't figure it out until the next day, when he was shocked to discover a burn hole in the back of his jacket.

"I put two and two together and then went out and looked at the car and saw that there was hole in the leather seat, and obviously that's where the hole from the coat came from -- the heated seat," Cody said.

Cody said he contacted BMW right away to complain. At that time, he didn't know there were others with the same problem.

When the station contacted BMW, a spokesman acknowledged an overheating problem with the seat potentially affecting thousands of cars. The recall notice states: "The heating mat in the backrest's side bolster could overheat ... the clothing of the person occupying the seat could be damaged ... This could lead to a minor or superficial skin injury."

The vehicles affected are the 5-series for model year 2004 and the 7-series for 2003 and 2004.

The spokesman told the station that recall letters had gone out in mid-December. Cody said he didn't receive one until last week, a month after his smoky mishap.

"When we called, the customer service was, 'Oh, we've heard of a couple people have problems with the heated seat,' and they didn't really indicate to what extreme and what they were going to do about it," Cody said.

BMW said affected customers should contact their authorized service centers right away and schedule a free repair. In the meantime, they should not use the seat warmers.