I went to look at a 2004 sl with 35000 miles the car looked really nice except the seat bottom on the drivers side was all ripped apart.it looked like something exploded.The owner said that there was a problem with the seat and he was scheduled to take it into Mercedes and this happened
has anyone heard of a problem with the seat explodeing or coming apart.it is only the bottom maybe the heater shorted out or something

 

As you mentioned, likely an issue with the seat warmer. They've been known to short or stop working altogether.