As an option - Some time ago I had a Jeep Grand Cher with no heated seats. My solution was to get one of those seat cusions (found online and in automotive stores) that had heating elements built in. Pluged into the 12V accessory outlet. It worked fine. Wasn't optimal, but far better than doing without, or trying to do an aftermarket to install heating elements into the seat cushions.
Please. Vehicles born near the Arctic Circle will out perform - Saabs and Volvo's will warm your bunns better (further up the back and hotter) and fast than anthing BMW puts out. Like turbo-charging, front wheel drive and heated seats Saab (especially) did it LONG before it became fashionable to the Germans.
Hasn't gotten too cold in Chicago yet, but as someone who's just moved to a package II Prius from a 2001 Jetta TDI, I can say the Prius's heat from the vents heats up much much more quickly. That cast iron block took forever to get heat into the cabin in the TDI. The seat heaters were kind of slow too, but can't compare to the Prius. -Jason S.
With the Temp Control in Auto, does one need to turn the "Air Cond" off manually? Here in So. CA, it rarely gets cool enough to test!
No. Auto is fully auto. You can turn off the A/C compressor if you wish, but that defeats some of the functionality of the climate control system. The Prius, like many cars, uses the A/C compressor to dehumidify air for defrosting, so it's good to have it even in the winter. The Prius system has the advantage of using variable amounts of cooling. It can run the A/C compressor at varying speeds as needed. Tom
That's what I did. Bev, we don't see the cold these guys experience, heated seats are kind of nice when it's minus 20 C. I know, I was there. Wayne had heated seats in his Prius when I was over there. Bev, please excuse my little joke at Heather's expense. Joke? I wasn't joking.
In my husband's family, the in-laws are often kept, even if the spouses are not. For instance, my DH's former sister-in-law is still a dear friend of the family, her kids are DH's kids' cousins, and they all spend a lot of time together. She and her DH and kids are often here for holidays, etc. His younger brother's ex-spouse is still a part of the extended family - kids, cousins, holidays, etc. It's hard to get out of this family, when you think about it...
I think the 2010 warms up even faster than the old one! No heated seats here in SoCal but it has been a very chilly 58 degrees when I come out of work at 11:30p I was raised in Vermont so I know cold and can see the benefit of heated seats. Hot flashes never come when you need them most!
I just tried all the wife warmup advice in here and it didn't work. When I told her to take a walk, she told me to take a hike. I tried the woolen thong, and found out it was very uncomfortable where she put it on me, and I won't even mention what happened when I offered to heat her seat. Back to the porch now...