Heated seats/wheel

[Ace41690]

Hi. I have a 2017 Explorer Sport. I have noticed a lot of variability in the heated seats and wheel. It seems that sometimes the seats do not feel hot at all despite being on high (particularly on startup from remote start). I noticed if I turn it off and on they become burning hot. But it seems to lessen with time. Other times I will be driving along and then all of a sudden they are ridicuously hot. Is this normal? The wheel also seems to be much hotter initially on start up, but then later it doesn't really feel "on" despite being on. Does anyone else have these issues?

 

[DanF861]

My 2017 Sport is similar. During a test drive with the heated wheel on it didn’t feel very “warm”. The salesman says it heats in cycles, and sure enough it will cycle through various levels of heat sometimes feeling hotter than others. Haven’t noticed it too much with the seats though.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Form Ace.
I seldom use remote but have noticed that after driving about 5 minutes I find myself turning the heated seat down to 1 bar as they get very warm. I have also noticed, as Dan mentioned, that the steering wheel seems to cycle which seems to make sense since there is no temperature control other than ON/OFF.
Merry Christmas.

Peter

 

[DadMode]

I personally have not noticed any issues with cycling. The heated seats at 3 bars on remote start get way too hot for my tastes, I end up turning them down to 1. The heated wheels stays warm for me the entire time I leave it on, but as with the seats I end up getting a little warm and turn it down. I am in Dallas where are coldest nights are in the 20's, so part of it for me might just be the climate.

 

[72 Z27]

Hi. I have a 2017 Explorer Sport. I have noticed a lot of variability in the heated seats and wheel. It seems that sometimes the seats do not feel hot at all despite being on high (particularly on startup from remote start). I noticed if I turn it off and on they become burning hot. But it seems to lessen with time. Other times I will be driving along and then all of a sudden they are ridicuously hot. Is this normal? The wheel also seems to be much hotter initially on start up, but then later it doesn't really feel "on" despite being on. Does anyone else have these issues?

The driver's seat in my '17 Limited has the same heat variance as you described with the remote start and non remote start. I thought something maybe wrong with it but have not taken it in yet. My steering wheel does the same heat cycling as you described to.

 

[john193]

The heated seats will cycle, this is by design. One so they don’t overheat and cause burns but also to prevent premature aging of the seating material. I have noticed this on the ford and other manufacturers. Though I will say the cycling on the Ex is less pronounced than my Accord.

I also believe the heated seats receive input from the seat occupant sensor and after so long if the seat is still unoccupied it will essentially turn off until an occupant is detected. This is to prevent an unoccupied seat from unnecessary being heated if the last user left it on. This may explain why after a remote start you are finding the seats aren’t as warm as desired. And when you re-cycle through the heat settings you are resetting this timer and the heat operates as noted in my first paragraph.

 

[peterk9]

I seldom use remote start but when I did the other day the cabin was nice and warm but the seat just barely warm. I then noticed that there were no driver's seat temperature bars showing until I put my foot on the brake and hit the 'Start' button. As soon as I did that the panel went to 3 bars.

Peter

 

[Thomas Reminga]

I have noticed the exact same behavior on my ‘17 Sport. I have been paying closer attention since it has been 0* or below over the last few days in WI. The heated steering wheel though has been much more consistent and very very warm. Makes sense to cycle on and off at the desired level, but this seems much more random. I have been in the seat and been surprised just how hot they got, and then other times at level 3 they barely get warm.

I have used both the remote start at not, and haven’t identified a pattern YET

 

[Ace41690]

Glad I'm not the only one. The wheel is fine since I only really care for it to be warm in the beginning anyway. The seats on remote start is kind of annoying because it would be nice for them to be toasty instead of like warm.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I seldom use remote start but when I did the other day the cabin was nice and warm but the seat just barely warm. I then noticed that there were no driver's seat temperature bars showing until I put my foot on the brake and hit the 'Start' button. As soon as I did that the panel went to 3 bars.

Peter

MFT/sync3 never show the settings as "on" wo th remote start. It will only show they are on once you turn the key or hit the star button essentially booting up the systen.

I know on my f350, the heated wheel gets very warm at first for a bit then dials itself down. I had always assumed it was cabin temp based.. as the cabin reaches temp, the wheel normalized for comfort since their is no temp control.

 

[Mlarv5]

On my 17 Plat when remote started none of the switches light up saying anything is on, this is the same way my 16 F150 acts. I do know the heated steering wheel is on because when I touch it it is already hot. I am thinking the reason the seats are not hot is because they use cabin air to heat them. I don't think they have a cloth sheet like the aftermarkets are. The TEDS unit then heats the air more to make it hotter. Not sure but both vehicles act the same way. F150 is a 16 Plat also

 

[peterk9]

Although the seat indicators are not ON, I have found that the cushion is slightly warm. Unlike the cooled seats, the heated seats do not use cabin air for heating. They have a built in heating pad of sorts. I know that isn't the correct terminology and it is described in another thread. The seats get much hotter after a few minutes of driving than the interior air. I find myself adjusting them to 1 bar not long after getting under way and the cabin heater is still blowing away to get to the set temperature. Heated front seats, Heated seats
Happy New Year!

Peter

 

[247hoopsfan]

My 2018 XLT with Sport Appearance Package came with the Miko Suede seats.
These seats are awesome, and they get warm immediately. Much nicer than the cheap
leather seats my Flex had. I’m sure they will be cooler in summer too. The steering wheel definitely cycles high to low, but it stays warm until I lower the cabin temp.

 

[Mlarv5]

Although the seat indicators are not ON, I have found that the cushion is slightly warm. Unlike the cooled seats, the heated seats do not use cabin air for heating. They have a built in heating pad of sorts. I know that isn't the correct terminology and it is described in another thread. The seats get much hotter after a few minutes of driving than the interior air. I find myself adjusting them to 1 bar not long after getting under way and the cabin heater is still blowing away to get to the set temperature. Heated front seats, Heated seats
Happy New Year!

Peter

Howdy what I meant to say is I don't think they use a heated pad like the one in my link. I think they use heated air to heat the seats. They start with cabin air and heat it in the TEDS unit (I think it is called) then blow it out the seat cushion. If they had a pad I would think it would block the air flow for the cooled air. I have been wrong before but not this year yet(-; Happy New Year

https://www.amazon.com/Crimestopper...qid=1514816342&sr=8-14&keywords=heating+seats

 

[Steve 2C]

Hi. I have a 2017 Explorer Sport. I have noticed a lot of variability in the heated seats and wheel. It seems that sometimes the seats do not feel hot at all despite being on high (particularly on startup from remote start). I noticed if I turn it off and on they become burning hot. But it seems to lessen with time. Other times I will be driving along and then all of a sudden they are ridicuously hot. Is this normal? The wheel also seems to be much hotter initially on start up, but then later it doesn't really feel "on" despite being on. Does anyone else have these issues?

You are correct and it seems to be something the Ford doesn't want to own up to. I've had my '17 Explorer to the dealer four times for this very issue. The last time I took the Service Manager to the car and had him take the temperature readings when the car was auto started. The seat bottom temp never changed. The seat back rose over 20 degrees! He called the Ford hotline and was told it was "normal operation" Keep taking it back. They just want you to go away without fixing anything.

 

[SouthernExploder]

Same in my 16 limited. It used to be so hot, I'd have to turn it down. Then it barely heated the seats. Dealer said, well, it is heating them so nothing we can do. Reset my sync for other reasons and the seat was hotter again. This may be just coincidence because they were turned off and back on like many here describe but since then, the seats have been pretty consistent. Tho I will say that it's warmer here now so I don't use them near as much as I did in January.

 

[peterk9]

You are correct and it seems to be something the Ford doesn't want to own up to. I've had my '17 Explorer to the dealer four times for this very issue. The last time I took the Service Manager to the car and had him take the temperature readings when the car was auto started. The seat bottom temp never changed. The seat back rose over 20 degrees! He called the Ford hotline and was told it was "normal operation" Keep taking it back. They just want you to go away without fixing anything.

Welcome to the Forum Steve.
From what I've noticed, on remote start the seats do not come on full high. In fact if you get in and check the panel BEFORE pressing the brake and the ignition button you will see that there are no lights (bars) on at all. It is only after pressing the brake and the start button that the seats actually come on full heat. I've noticed that using remote start only seems to warm the seat up marginally. Once the seats are on full (3 bars) I have to turn them down to one bar after about 5 minutes because they get to hot. I believe the steering wheel heat cycles so that it doesn't get too hot. In any case I have no complaints about either and believe everything is working as intended. Woks pretty much the same as the previous 2 vehicles I had except.

Peter

 

[dkean]

After reading these post about heated seats and steering wheel kind of made me smile. My first car was a 1953 ford. Seat was heated by my butt and steering wheel by my hands. I bought that car for $125.00. Keep that car for a year and bought a 1955 ford that had the same heating system as my 1953 ford. The 55 ford cost me $750.00. For me that was a lot of money in 1959. I was only 17 in 59. Now my currant car (2014 Grand Cherokee) cost more then my first house.

 

[insyder]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but this is the closest one I found talking about seats.

I noticed on our '13 Limited, that both the heat and a/c indicators will only max at 2 bars. Actual heating and cooling are working, but curious if there is a reason we're limited to bar 1 and bar 2 selections in SYNC.

 

[peterk9]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but this is the closest one I found talking about seats.

I noticed on our '13 Limited, that both the heat and a/c indicators will only max at 2 bars. Actual heating and cooling are working, but curious if there is a reason we're limited to bar 1 and bar 2 selections in SYNC.

Haven't heard of that before. I believe the MFT system maxes out at 3 bars like Sync 3. Was it always that way or is it a recent development? I find that in Winter I generally turn mine down to 1 bar as the seat gets too hot at 3.

Peter