I have tried the seat heaters, and the seats don't seem to warm up. In the manual it talks about them being "thermostaically controlled", but I am still suspicious.

In my previous car (BMW), the seat heaters would roast you if you set them on high.

Have any of you tried them and found them hot/warm?

Drove around 100k with mine on and just got the normal 'leather sweatiness'. Only saw they were on by the lighted switch....

Could be like my Acura, only warm up from very cold to room temp, Had a 20*C thermo....
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doc

I have had a similar experience. Mine was on the othe day,(I mus have bumped it), and when I realized it, I didn't feel any difference in the temperature of the seat. This was pretty disapointing to me.

I hope it will heat up better in the winter. If they only heat up to room temperature, than it's a crime to market them as heated seats, especially when comparing them to cars where the seats get so hot it almost takes the place of a hottub experience!

I guess that means you just leave them on forever, and let the thermostat do the work. My wife won't be happy, she like the heated seats to help her sore back.

Originally posted by mdmaclean
I guess that means you just leave them on forever, and let the thermostat do the work. My wife won't be happy, she like the heated seats to help her sore back. The other day I woke up with a sore back and boy did the heat feel great. I thought I'd never use them. Who knew?

hey puppy,do they only seem to work on cool days,i know there thermo controled but i turned mine on for a few minutes but it was like 80f and didnt notice it working.i think they must only turn on if there below a set temp whatever that is.

if that is the case, is there a way to mod that??

i do like the heat on after a long day of volleyball...good for the back

mine don't work well

Don't quote me on this, but it could be the ambient temperature controls when it's on. I haven't noticed much heat from the seats here in Fresno (hot here), but one day when I was in San Fran., I could really tell they were on. I don't know what the outside temp was though. 65?? It does feel good on a sore back. :D

I posted a while ago that I drove around with the switch on, and no heat.....

This morning the outside temp readout was around 5 degrees 'C' (40F?) and the heaters came on big-time! Must be related to the outside temp sensor?
A little low on the back, nothing up around the shoulder blades and only the centre of the seat itself, not the bolsters. But definitely warm.
They also cycle on and off, never getting hot. (People who complain about the a/c cycles have something to look forward to!)
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doc

wow some of you folks must have leather skin on your arses..

I tried it on my car...

about 15 seconds after I flipped it on, it started getting warm. After about a minute, I was nice and toasty on my way home...

When I did my first test drive I accidently hit it and didn't notice. About 5 minutes later my ass began to sweat and a few minutes later i was ripping through the interior for the button (it was about 91 degrees outside and the air was off and windows down).

Worked for me.

It seems 2me that the majority of us think that the heated seats SUCK! I took mine to the dealer to look over cuz I truely couldnt beleive they were working and they reported "no problem found"

Any more of you out there with bogus hs's?
I for one wood really like 2hear about it!

I've not really noticed any heat effect for the few times I've tried turning the heat on. My car has 2K on it.
The summer in Los Angeles has been exceptionally hot so there is no real need for heat. My folks Caddy has heat for their seats which you can really feel in short order despite the outside temp.
Hope the function shows up as the season gets cooler.

I observe the same problem. The heaters don't do anything.
No matter whether amb. temp. = 65 or 85.

I only experienced heated leather seats in my ex's Boxster and they worked anytime. Had been looking forward to it because I have once in a while back pain too.

I hope someone finds a way to override the sensor without putting ice-cubes somewhere :-)

-Peter

Mine work fine. Nice and toasty on a cool Northwest morning.

Originally posted by Magnesium
Mine work fine. Nice and toasty on a cool Northwest morning.

as they should. :)

Well mine don't work on a cold north eastern canadian morning! I gotta see the dealer!

Mine work fine - however, I haven't tried them when amb. temp > 20degC. Surely the maintenance manual will explain whether there is a thermostatic interrupt in the seats... Your dealer mechanic should be able to figure that out.

Mine work fine when the outside temp is cool like it has been here in NH in the morning (45 - 55). They heat up much faster than the ones in the Honda Odyssey, but they don't get as hot. Actually I like it this way because you can leave them on and you never cook your ass.

Um ... I'm in friggin Houston. There might be one day out of the year I use the seat warmers. I accidentally turned mine on one day (it's right there where I rest my arm) and it just made my seat hotter. bleh ....

I'm wondering if there's a way to tap into the A/C vent stream and turn the seat warmers into seat coolers.

Originally posted by LL7
Mine work fine when the outside temp is cool like it has been here in NH in the morning (45 - 55). They heat up much faster than the ones in the Honda Odyssey, but they don't get as hot. Actually I like it this way because you can leave them on and you never cook your ass.

Mine are similar - I've used them in the past week or two when morning temperatures are below 10C (um, below 50F), and they do work - heat is fairly quick, and they get warm but not hot. My Audi seat heaters get much warmer, but they have 6 settings! I've found that the RX-8 heaters get warm enough and are less fiddly (on/off only). They are a definite benefit on these cold fall mornings!

Regards,
Gordon

THEY SHOULD BE CALLED "SEAT WARMERS" NoT "HEATED SEATS" :p

A good friend of mine recently slipped on the last 4-5 steps of her basement stairs and really bruised up her back. After about 90 minutes of using ice on her back, we went for a 100mi drive to no where... she was making all sorts of moaning and other sounds of pleasure. The HS work on my car! And got her in the "mood" LOL! Too bad she just broke up with her bf of 4 years... I wouldn't want to take advantage of the "situation" hahaha

RX-8 Heated seats... the new aphrodisiac

I found today that at 60F outside the Mazda seat warms work a little, but they're not very powerful.

If you have serious back pain I recommend those seat pads from HOMEDICS. They have a POWERFUL heater and massage motors.
I have this one.

http://www.homedics.com/images/products/prod_287.jpg

Description:
http://www.homedics.com/massage/detail.cfm?subcat=108&product=287

They cost $49 (5 motors) - $69 (8 motors) at SEARS. Might be a sign of an old guy but if you've got serious muscle cramps, this thing will make you enjoy your commute.

-Peter

My seat heaters are the same way--I can't tell that they're on. I tried turning on the passenger's seat heater to see what would happen, and I felt no difference whatsoever in the seat temp.

But if it feels like the seat heaters aren't really on, to me it sometimes feels like they aren't really off either. I've noticed that the bottom of my thighs and my lower back get a little bit sweaty when sitting in the seat. Is that just the leather seat? I've never had leather in my car before, and I certainly didn't get that sensation with the cloth seats in my old Camry. I thought good leather seats don't make you sweat like that though. Are these leather seats not that high quality?

Interesting to read this thread because I really like the seat warmers so they definitely work well in my car, especially as the temperature has gone down to 40. They definitely aren't "heaters" though. The warmth is subtle, which is probably better than being too hot. Too bad they aren't adjustable, sounds like some people want it warmer.

I only tried mine once and they seemed weak

I have now tried them on cooler days, and they do get slightly warm, so I know they are working. When I take the car in to the dealer for its first oil change, I will have them look at it. Hopefully it is adjustable by them in some way.

they just made my ass sweat.

james

I just picked my winning blue 6mt on friday and the outside temp was about 54. they kicked right on and I had no problem. They were quite toasty.

I wonder if those of you who aren't seeing any difference should get yours checked out. I tried mine when I first got the car, and did't notice any difference. Now, I realize that's because the seat was already warm from the outside temp. This morning, it was about 55-60 degrees, and I accidently hit the button when starting the car. Two minutes out of my parking lot, my seat was suddenly VERY warm. I was really confused until I realize I must have accidently turned it on- there was NO QUESTION that it was warming up quite a bit and very quickly. I am really going to like these heaters come winter.

I guess I'll try again when it gets cold but I'm in ca so that might be awhile

I think mine are coming on by themselves (switch in OFF position). I was driving home the other night (one of the rare times I've driven at night and during cool weather) and the seats were uncomfortably warm. I have black leather seats, so during my day-time driving I thought the discomfort was just from the black leather being in the sun. But now I think that the heaters are coming on by themselves.

I also have black leather seats in my '91 MR2-Turbo and they never feel this hot, so I don't think it's just me.

Anybody else expereince this???

There is no question that the seat heaters are really warmers. It was 40 here in Chitown tonight and turned them on. Yes they are warmer than without them, but not more than luke warm. I was driving around my mom's jeep grand cherokee limited yesterday (I needed to move soem stuff into my house) and I turned on those seat warmers. WOW. They were hot as hell. I actuaylly had to turn them off. I don't think I'll have that problem with the RX-8's also I wish I would.

i had mine on for the first time this morning. ambient temperature was 56. its a short drive to work about 5 miless and it seemed only my back was warm. is the whole seat supposed to get warm or just the back?

I've felt them to be warm a few times now - at a temperature of 60 (AMB). At AMB temperature 63 Fahrenheit they do not heat.

My conclusion is that the threshold is right about there. Probably they work up to an AMB temp. of 60 (even number).

For those outside the USA..

60 Fahrenheit = 15.6 Celsius

-Peter

Mine heat very well. Lower back and legs both got quite warm. Was <40F this morning, if I can find a thermo-strip I'll try to measure the output temp on mine...

The colder the ambient temp, the warmer they feel. Kinda like running almost frostbitten hands under the sink... that cold water seems warm.

It's been in the upper 30's (F not C) for the past few mornings and the seat warmers feel HOT. Another bonus is that they heat up alot faster than even the rotary engine does. :D

Originally posted by Ophitoxaemia
they just made my ass sweat.

james

what a lovely thought...heh..

I think having leather seat doesn't help either..


Question.. what do you all think of seat covers?? do you think the seat heaters would not work as well?

this thread sparked my curiosity as i've never even used them before...plus it was about 45 degrees F last night while driving home...thankfully they worked both driver and passenger side...and as many other people have stated, they are warm but not hot which is a good thing because last time i sat in my friends BMW, they got hot to the point that you need to turn them off constantly before your ass sweats...and the good thing is the fact that the lower lumbar region also warms up...i like it the way it is although it would be nice to have a temperature control somewhere

adjustable heaters would be good for version 2.0 come 05 or whatever

like an on/off switch next to a little scroller that controls the heat output
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