Front Seat Heater/cooler Problems of Acura MDX

The 2001 Acura Mdx touring is equipped with front driver and front passenger heated seats controlled by three-position rocker switches (one switch to control driver seat a second switch to control passenger seat) in the center console allowing passenger to choose between low-off-high temperature settings. The seats are designed to warm the seat cushion and the lumbar cushion of both front driver and front passenger seats. Currently, the front passenger seat works as designed. The front driver seat, however, only heats the lumbar cushion when the heater is engaged and the seat cushion does not heat. While cleaning the vehicle I noticed white rubber underneath the driver seat. The rubber looked like wire insulation and some of the pieces looked to be charred. I suspect that the heating element could have broken or shorted somehow causing the wire insulation to crack and over time to disintegrate. My concern is that a break in the heating element and/or circuitry could result in a short or spark or even a fire which could cause harm to the driver if sitting in that seat were such an event to occur and potentially cause a hazardous situation if such an event occurred en route where a driver's reaction to shock, smoke, burning smell, or fire could endanger the driver, passengers, and other vehicles/passengers on the road. Even if the vehicle is used without intentionally engaging the seat heating system, the design and location of the rocker switches allow them to easily be engaged inadvertently.

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Backrest portion of driver seat heats to an extremely high & unbearable to touch(even with multiple layers on in winter) temperature when seat heater turned on high setting. The heater has caused a hot enough temperature to burn through the seat. There is a gumstick size burn in the portion of the seat where it gets the hottest(coincides anatomically with driver's middle to upper right sight of back). The heater burned through the external leather covering which is now black from the burn. Also the leather is hardened around that area from the high temperature and feels like burned, hard plastic.

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Purchased this vehicle used. Recently noticed backrest portion of driver seat overheats when seat heater turned on high setting and smells like burnt popcorn. The heater has caused a hot enough temperature to burn through the leather seat creating an approximately 2mm size burn in the driver's backrest. I also noticed brown discoloration in the driver's seat base and what appears to be a similar problematic area on the front passenger seat base with a hardened leather area about the size of a 3x3 post-it note.

It was a cold night in January and I was using the seat heater. My wife was with me. We smelled smoke as my driver's seat got very warm. We never saw flames, but there was smoke. We immediately pulled over and turned the seat off. It left a hole about the size of dime in my leather seats. I have contacted Acura corporate to no avail. My car is out of warranty and they refuse to admit any issue. Based on their assessment, I should have allowed the car to go up in flames, which would have happen had I not shut off the heater.

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1. On March 21, 2009, I had been driving the car for 10 minutes with the seat heater on. I have used the seat heater frequently on cold days for the past five years. 2. I smelled burning fabric, pulled off the road to check origins of the odor and discovered a hole the size of a dime burnt in the center of the driver's set backrest, which is where the seat heater is located. I also discovered a similar hole in my jacket. I turned off the seat heater. 3. On March 23 I reported the incident to the local dealer where the car was purchased and to Acura corporate customer service. The dealer told me there was nothing he could do because I was off warranty, but he would replace the heater and repair leather for $1050. I asked him if he had investigated the cause of the fire: did the fuse fail? was the heating element faulty? the dealer was not interested in the cause. 4. I wrote a detailed letter to the dealer and Acura corporate customer service, describing what happened and my concern for the safety of other unaware Acura drivers. The phone response I received from Acura corporate would not respond to me regarding the safety issue. They said they had no legal responsibility for what happened because my warranty had expired.

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