i have noticed that the heated seats seem to turn themselves off after a while. (the light is still light saying they are on, however, they are not producing any heat) is there a way to leave them on continuous, or at least make the light go off when they stop producing heat so that i know i have to reset the switch? (turn off and back on) i really hate the fact that i get only about 5 minutes of heat out of them!
That didn't happen at all for me or my wife last winter. Stayed on for the length of the commute - 30 minutes - and I had to turn them off. Prius 2010 that is.
hummm that is weird... i've read on another thread that it was doing that because once it reached a certain temp, it just stop heating. maybe it's too hot to have them yet and won't do that in the winter... but in the mean time, it's still annoying!
In fact, the heated seats in the 2010 do cycle on and off. While I have not yet tried to time the cycle, I can definately tell in the Chicago winters, that it cycles on and off throughout my commute, which is about 30-45 minutes long in the morning.
The heated seats cycle on/off. No other settings are available - they're either on (with a mind of their own) or off. When on - my experience in the cold winter (for FL) - they were just fine. They heated up quite quickly compared to past vehicles I had incl Lexus. I was satisfied. The lower back heat area felt very nice. As for the temp fluctuation, it would be perfect to have some control - vary heat controls (Low-Hi or such) or full-on. On long drives the 'off cycle' is very noticeable after the seat heats up, then cools a bit, then heats up. Butt and back test feels the on/off cycle. But for what it is, and the first year out - they do a very nice job.
From the NCF: (c) Thermostats that are enclosed in the cushion control the output temperature of the seat heater. I used them this past winter and were very comfortable, but what's comfortable for me may not be for you.
Oh! so you guys are saying that the seat actually will start heating again if i wait long enough? 'cause what i have been doing so far, once it cycled off, i would press the button to disable, and then re-enable it. this was working, but it was a pain... i didn't know they would start again if i waited... how long (approximately, i doubt anyone timed it) does it stay off before it start heating again? any ideas?
Yeah, the heated seats I've had in other cars had a hi & lo button? I'm sure it has something to do with economy,they use a lot of juice!! We need to find out from one of the good folks at Toyota just how they work.
I don't know about the heated seats in the Prius, but with other cars I've owned with heated seats, they turned off after some period of time. That time may have correlated with the temperature? Don't know? . Personally, I think that's a good thing that they turn off after some period of time. The Swedish cars (saab and volvo) were the first cars to come out with them back in the late 50's. The idea behind the heated seats (or so their literature claimed), was safety. The heated seats were only intended to keep the driver warmer and more confortable, until the engine temperature had risen high enough to warm the cabin.
As noted, the seat heaters are controlled by a thermostat located in the cushion. The only unknowns are the thermostat setpoints and deadband (I looked, but couldn't find any specific numbers.)
