nameneeded Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 So I have my heated seats on max but they don't feel hot or even warm to me. More like an ambiant temp. My SpecB's seats got hot as in I would turn them down or off. But it had the alcatran fabric. My current seats have no fabric, all leather and they don't seem warm to my hand. So how hot do yours get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpfarrell Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Mine get toasty. I'm usually turning them down after 5-10 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 If your using the barometer of sweaty cheeks, and a hole that feels like it's on fire, that would be about how hot mine seem to get. I usually end up turning mine down to either the 2nd, or 1st bar after like 5min or so of being on the highest setting. Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx78 Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I know my get decently warm, and i usually turn them down after a few minutes. Since these seats are heated and cool via a fan from the cars ac system, and not a heating element like most cars they wont get as hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 If they are on the highest setting they get fairly warm, like the others I normally don't turn them on high....usually on the medium setting and either let them at that or turn them to the low setting if it isn't really cold, and just want a little heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGFOOT Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 mine get pretty toasty. like most i end up turning the fire down to 1 or 2 bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TractorAK Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 My co worker starts complaining after about 5 mins of it burning his ass. Lol I'm talking about the heated seats just re read and it sounded bad so I thought I'd clarify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO Rod Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Since these seats are heated and cool via a fan from the cars ac system' date=' and not a heating element like most cars they wont get as hot.[/quote'] While you're correct they don't use a resistive wire element like cars with only heated seats, the climate controlled seats are independent from the HVAC system. Each front seat has a thermo-electric device (aka Peltier device) with fan. In a quiet cabin you can actually hear the fan in the seat. The heated seats in my car don't get as warm as past vehicles I've owned with just heated seats. I would say they never really get uncomfortable, but they get warm enough I can tell they are working. I've thought about taking some thermal images of my seats to see how warm they really do get. Usually when I'm using the heated seats I'm dressed quite warmly anyway so it probably takes quite a bit for the heat to permeate my layers of clothing. You could check the seat filter to make sure it's not restricting air flow over the Peltier device. Also make sure there isn't something wedged under your seat that could be restricting air flow. -Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Also make sure there isn't something wedged under your seat that could be restricting air flow. Good God I can make SO many funny's with this open ended comment, but alas, I digress. Sucks get'n old, when you realize that sometimes typing out funny's, aren't always received in the manner they were intended. But, umm, yea...... things wedged under the seats :bolt: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUZZI SVT Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Mine get warm on warm days but on cold ones like below 30 it seems to take forever to warm up. I can even hear the fan turning on and off at frist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nameneeded Posted December 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Yea mine took around 15-20 mins to get what I call decently heated. Not enough to turn it down but noticable. Temp today was -5 celsius (23F) so i guess it is just the system they use. Gonna have to plan for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kolk1 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 My fronts only get pretty warm, the rear bench gets hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUZZI SVT Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I tested mine over the weekend with the outside temperature around 55 degrees. Even though the fan comes and goes I think it has little to do with the seat heating up. Unlike the cooling of the seat, the heating is by resistive wires in the seat itself. I thought my wife’s was working better than mine because I leave mine on and don't really hot on cold days, but she turns hers off. So I let them run for about 10 minutes and found hot spots, actually lines, in both seat areas. They were both near 100 degrees in the hottest areas, but most of the area around it was a round 90 degrees . These areas were really quite small though compared to the area of the seat. I wish there was a heater more toward the front of the seat, but not so. The heating wires are located close to the seams in the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO Rod Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 According to the factory service manual for the 2011 model year, if you have climate controlled seats, both functions are performed by the TED. If you have only heated seats, then there is a resistive mat for heating. The resistive mat is not used with climate controlled seats. The heat only rear seat is heated via a resistive wire mat. -Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrylu Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I have a '10 and I have climate control in the car but my seats are only heated and cooled. I don't believe I've ever seen them referenced in the manual as climate controlled seats. They perform as though they are heated by a resistance mat and cooled by cabin air forced through from below the seat. I've never taken them apart to see for sure but before retirement I've had occasion to install many aftermarket seat heating and seat cooling products and my factory set up performs in much the same way as the after market set ups I'm familiar with. I never heard about the kind of rig described as climate controlled in the '11. Sounds like it might not generate the kind of heat the less technical resistance units are typically producing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO Rod Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 "Heated and cooled" is the same as climate controlled. There is a Thermal Electric Device (TED), aka Peltier device, with a blower and ducting that provides the heating and cooling functions. You should be able to peek under the seats and see the inlet air filter for the lower TED device. The downside is the single TED (one for each seat bottom, another for each seat back) will not produce significant heat nearly as quickly as a resistive mats do. Also, a TED is limited on the amount of temperature differential (compared with inlet air temp) it can produce versus a wired mat that can conceptually provide a consistent temperature given the same current flow, cabin temperature has a negligible effect. The climate controlled seats are self contained, they are not tied to the cabin HVAC system. -Rod bpd1151 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrylu Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 "Heated and cooled" is the same as climate controlled. There is a Thermal Electric Device (TED), aka Peltier device, with a blower and ducting that provides the heating and cooling functions. You should be able to peek under the seats and see the inlet air filter for the lower TED device. The downside is the single TED (one for each seat bottom, another for each seat back) will not produce significant heat nearly as quickly as a resistive mats do. Also, a TED is limited on the amount of temperature differential (compared with inlet air temp) it can produce versus a wired mat that can conceptually provide a consistent temperature given the same current flow, cabin temperature has a negligible effect. The climate controlled seats are self contained, they are not tied to the cabin HVAC system. -Rod Thanks for the additional clarification. For what it's worth I only hear the seat blower fan come on when cooling. Absolutely 100% silent during the heating mode. I have three levels of heat available on mine and the heat generated is pretty quick and very substantial. There is no wondering if the heat is on! Actually they perform exactly like the aftermarket units I used to install. I'm wondering if there might have been a change in what was offered in the '11 model and if maybe the '10's have old technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash712us Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I have a 2011 I've never heard seat fans come on ever for heat. For cooling I can hear them quite well. And they get pretty toasty pretty quick, I usually kick off after a 5mins. Just enough to knock the chill off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrylu Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I have a 2011 I've never heard seat fans come on ever for heat. For cooling I can hear them quite well. And they get pretty toasty pretty quick' date=' I usually kick off after a 5mins. Just enough to knock the chill off.[/quote'] Well Ok then. Crash seems like we both have the same seat heaters. What's confusing me is it sounds like there is a whole different kind of heating and cooling in some of these cars and that it uses a blower for pumping hot (or not so hot) air through the seats for heating. I'm pretty sure that does not describe the way mine work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kolk1 Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 yesterday for the first time, I heard fans during heating. Very quiet. On high it was barley audible. Where as with A/C turned on, its obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrylu Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 I have to post a retraction. After 25 K miles I'm surprised not to have noticed this but I too have a very quite fan function to the heater mode. I would never have noticed on the road, but parked and idling, and looking for it.....there it was. So that means I have a heater that is more sophisticated than the simple resistance. Mine does generate ample and obvious heat. Thanks to those EBOF members more observant than me for pointing this feature out. Always something more to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamblinClam Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 For what it's worth on my 2013 between 95 and 103 degrees. The temp doesn't seem to change over time either. Oh, and the steering wheel is a balmy 98 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJNSHO1 Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 My, 2010 drivers seat never seems to get hot, I asked the dealer about it and they tested the temp at 82 and said it was within spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travSHO Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 mine get like a SAUNA!!! lol But I live in Houston Texas so they get used about 30 minutes a year!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mval Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 DJN: I don't live too far from you in STL. On cold days like today, I put it on high-3 lights. By the time I get to work, only 10 minutes are so have to turn itg down to 1 light of off. So mine gets real hot. It would be interesting to take to another dealer to see what they say. My dad was a mechanic, warranty work is a money maker for dealer. MikeV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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