Seat Heaters

Hasn't been an issue here. They toast buns and thighs...

 

From your location you are driving in southern Florida and in summer? You can't expect seat heaters to toast you in the summer. Come up north and try them when it is minus 10--they will heat your up then.

 

I turned mine on last week, hoping for relief for an aching back. It was a hot day. After a couple of minutes, I realized there was no heat coming from the seats. They worked fine in winter. I'm wondering if, somehow, they are linked into the hvac controls and work only when temps show it to be practical??

 

They are not as warm as the ones in our "08 Town and Country; they were very warm on the high setting....

 

Seat heaters operate independent of the AC/Heater controls....

 

They work great. In the winter morning commute I don't put the car heat on, just the seat heater and I drink a hot coffee in a travel mug. Than again I'm in So Cal and winter temp is above freezing almost always.

 

The heating elements cycle on and off automatically - no adjustments.

 

They are WAY toastier than our '05 CR-V SE...

But not as hot as sitting on the exhaust pipe of the '68 2000 after it warms up...

 

They felt great to me last winter, here in Minnesota when the temperature dropped below 0°F.

 

Harold for the sake of your sanity I would test drive another Prius ( Same model just another car Vin #) and test the seat warmers. The car does come with a bumper to bumper warranty but make sure you get the one that the seat warmers work to your satisfaction. Toyota goes through a extensive QC process but make sure you get what you want and everything works.

I recall test driving a Prius and not the one I purchased and the Sirius did not work when the sales person demoed the car. He said it is probably not activated we can fix that. The sales guy said that's not that awful I had one with a dead battery on the lot, he said it was not started in awhile. He talked me out of the sale. PC talked me back into it.

Buying a car is a big decision. Don't be forced into anything. Test everything. If the car is not for you move on to something else.

I can say from experience the Prius is a great car. It is economical, comfortable, safe and reliable. Than again my previous car was a BMW which was a Money Pit on maintenance & repairs, gasoline took Premium and the MPG was horable. The seats were very comfortable and the seat warmers and navigation were exceptional. However that car was a waste of money.

 

9-11-13
We tried the seat heaters when it was 95 outside, 75 inside w-AC--we had to turn them off--very warm.
9-11-13

 

Mine work great (I had the dealer add them to my v Three). In fact, there are times, even in winter in Minnesota, when I've had to turn them from High to Low because they were TOO hot.

 

I had a similar concern before buying my car a few weeks back (not a v though.)

I found that the liftback that the seat heaters are not only quite hot, but also that they reach hot very quickly.

The v should have a low and high setting based on what people were saying in the thread I started. Make sure you select the high setting.

Definitely try another test drive and if the temp is so hot there I would be sure to get the AC cranking, put it down on 68, and then once it's frosty inside turn the seat heaters on and it should be good.

 

The thread you started must have been in the Gen III forum. I know my max trim 2012 Prius v (wagon) only has on/off seat herter buttons. Harold doesn't have it on his 2013 Prius v either.

My last observation about my seat warmers is that I notice significantly more heat when the ICE is running at moderate to high RPM. It is almost like having a High/Low setting. High when ICE is producing extra power, and low when you are driving economically. I just had the thought that you might be able to select the High setting by putting the vehicle in Power mode. I'll have to check that out. I hope toyota spends (or explains) a little more on the seat heater controller because I remember it getting too hot (fast) when driving highway speeds. But that is just a good reminder that everything is heated up properly and to use the button and turn it off. I use it to offset setting the cabin heat lower or off. All in all, I happy with this option with the caveat that there is more than usual room for improvement.

 

I'm still confused how the seat heaters work. Seems to me from using them last winter in average -15 celsius they come on really hot(but not unbearable) then cool down a bit then heat up again, then cool, repeat..
used them for the first time this season yesterday morning driving to work. it was a chilly +14c, so instead of running the heater, just turned on the butt warmer, worked great. when I got to work i forgot to turn it off. Got in at the end of the day and it was +28c outside. Driving home and the seat heaters were on the whole way, didn't even notice really, the ac was working good haha. So it seems to me if it is really hot out your just not going to notice them as you already feel warmer than you would on a cold winters day, and if those seats are softex they will already be preheated naturally sitting in direct sunlight, and, on the other hand very cold to the touch on a cool winters day.

 

My 2010 Prius cycled like that.

My 2012 Prius PHV doesn't. Instead, it has a Hi & Lo setting, which are both continuous.