The title says it all. Unless it's below zero (like it has been lately) I can only use my heated seats for a minute or so before they start burning my legs. The dealer says they checked them and that they "actually run cooler than most"..... The seats in my wife's Audi have 6 "speeds", and on #1 or 2 they're wonderful, just a nice warm glo, so to speak. Mine, within a few seconds you can feel the heat, within a few blocks I'm scrambling for the off button! I've tried them on all three settings, but it seems the same on any of them. Is there a resistor or something I can put inline to cut down on the temp? If so, how big and where would it go? The ones in my '03 were somewhat the same, I could never use them for more than a few minutes at a time, the difference with them was they seemed to be on a timer - they'd run for almost exactly 10 minutes (on a really cold morning was the only time I could do this - I mean brutally cold!) then they'd be off for 10 minutes, then they'd click on again, by then the cabin was warm so I'd just turn them off. Anyway, it would be nice to be able to use them for longer times without having to cycle them on and off with the switch and without feeling like my legs were gonna catch fire!
Just out of curiosity, are the seats cloth or leather? My leather ones are perfect when the temp dips. Cloth may be too thin or not dense enough making the burn happen... Maybe?
Johngo has a good point. My leather seats are fine, but I do keep mine on the #1 setting while my wife uses #3. Jim
Wear two sets of underwear or thicker pants!:lol: You could get an IR thermometer from Harbor Freight or Radio Shack and measure the seat temperature. Then you'd have some numbers to compare with other cars. Bring your numbers to the dealer and show him why the seat temperature is uncomfortable. This way you can also prove that all three temperature setting are the same. "Hot" is kind of subjective and the dealer likely just shined you on. Dave
Is it possible, we're dealing with the "Change Of Life" thing going on here??? My wife could defrost frozen car windshields in absolutely no time at all.
How do I do that? See the TSB, that is? The dealer claims they checked them with an infrared thermometer and they were actually a little cooler than those in other cars. I have the leatherette seats, I think the material is fairly thick, and I wear blue jeans..... I do think they're hotter on the "3" setting than the "1", cause my wife (who wears a coat when it's 85* outside) uses the "3" setting....but as I said, I'm good for about 3 min tops on the "1" setting before I have to turn them off. Lastly, I think I'm well past the change of life phase.... Edit: found this on that NAMeless site... I just spoke with my MA and there is indeed a TSB for Heated Seats being too hot. The TSB has some language about the seat temperature being in range but too hot for the owner's liking. The solution is to install an OEM adapter harness that has a resistor that lowers the temp of all three settings. Mine are on order with my local dealership now.! SI M 52 01 08 Take note that it only applies to vehicles produced up to 1/2008 (so, technically it did not even apply to my car with a 2/08 prod date). However, just because a vehicle is out of range does not mean that it does not apply. The dealer was more than happy to perform the TSB.
For what it's worth Dave, sometimes mine seem hotter then other times, just like the AC seems to put out more cold air at times. Have no idea why. Jim
I gotta tell ya, no such thing as to hot for me its theraputic when the temp outside is below zero. But I use them in the summer too. I will say of all my cars they are the hottest I've had, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Just spoke to my SA at the dealer, SI M 52 01 08 only applies to cars previous to production date of 01/08, mine was built a year after that. He says they incorporated the change into cars made after that, so mine already has it, and warranty won't pay to modify it further. He says I can add another resistor if I want, they only cost $28, but he wants $230 in labor to install it for me. I can turn the switch on and off for that! I'm only 20K miles from being out of warranty, I may just have to let it go till then. They've gotten pretty hinky about people working on their own cars and then trying to get warranty repairs done, even on things that aren't associated. I can wait it out, as I plan to keep this car a long, long time.
Or you could try seat covers? A little added protection for you and your MINI. I love my heat seaters - they keep me warm while the car warms up, and are excellent for relaxing tight back muscles. I do like the thermometer idea - maybe you could use a kitchen one tho!
I have heard that most seats only have 2 temps even though the switch has 3 settings setting 1 (off) and setting 2 and up (LAVA). I ordered without heated seats for this reason, and the reason that I have enough insulation naturally installed.
The seats are probably not really too hot. It's like when you get into a hot bath, you ease in going, "Oh oh oh, hot hot hot!" but after you've been there a minute, it's not bad at all! I think it's more about the temperature difference between a cold butt and a warm seat, the larger the temperature difference the hotter it'll feel. Dave
Mine have three settings plus off, a 2007. And let me tell you the worked great this morning at -30 bleow but again its a dry COLD!!!!!
I used mine this morning for about 15 minutes on the simmer setting. What I would really like would be a heated steering wheel. I hate driving with gloves on.
Forgot about the gear shift. I have an ice cold Whalen knob that I've put a felt snuggy over so my had doesn't freeze to it.