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. *tr