Ask the Car People.SM


Toyota Hybrid Highlander Interior & Passenger Comfort Concerns

40 messages,  Last post on Mar 12, 2008 at 12:58 PM

You are in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Heating / Cooling, Interior, SUV

Messages Page 1 of 4

#1 of 40 Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats by montlakedawg

Jan 23, 2007 (5:39 pm)

I have a brand new (1 week old) 2007 Highlander Hybrid Ltd. It came with "heated" seats, although heated is a misnomer. They simply do not come on until at least a half hour passes and then they are only on for about 3 minutes. My commute is 15 minutes so they are essentially worthless. Our other vehicles with heated seats, all BMW's, work great - the seat is hot within about 1 minute of driving. The dealer says our seats work fine, although their gauge indicates the seat only gets to be about 77 degrees, which is barely even noticable to my bare hand (the pre-heat temp was 68 degrees). Anyone else have problems with their heated seats?

#2 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [montlakedawg] by cdptrap

Jan 23, 2007 (9:34 pm)

Replying to: montlakedawg (Jan 23, 2007 5:39 pm)
We had the same impression the first time we used our heated seat. It seemed too weak and took forever to heat up. We never had it checked. Then one cold winter morning, we turned it on again and it seemed to heat up a bit faster and so we have been using it since.
 
It does not seem to heat the entire seat cushion nor the whole seat-back. On cold mornings, <=30-F, I can barely feel it on my bottoms and only feel it around the center to mid back, nothing around the sides or shoulder blades. We found that if we wear no more than a shirt and a sweater, the heat comes through the clothings OK and does heat us well enough. If we put on a jacket, then we can barely feel any heat at all.

#3 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [montlakedawg] by desertfox1

Jan 24, 2007 (8:14 am)

Replying to: montlakedawg (Jan 23, 2007 5:39 pm)
I have a 06 HH Limited, bought in Sept. 06. No problems, and I wear a long top coat in winters. It warms so well, and quickly, I seldom even turn on the heater for my morning commuet (15-20 minutes).

#4 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [desertfox1] by montlakedawg

Jan 24, 2007 (1:40 pm)

Replying to: desertfox1 (Jan 24, 2007 8:14 am)
Thanks for the quick reply desertfox1. Sounds like cdptrap and I should ask for your seats! It also sounds like we have similar commute times - you said they warm up quickly, can you estimate how quickly (1 minute, 2, more?) so I can tell my dealer? Also, if you by chance bring your HH ltd in to the dealer anytime soon, I'd love it if you could ask them to measure with their "laser thermometer" (my dealership in Seattle says just about everyone has one of these) how hot the seats get. I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing issue for me and my cold butt . . . Thanks!

#5 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [montlakedawg] by nsxwes

Jan 25, 2007 (12:56 pm)

Replying to: montlakedawg (Jan 24, 2007 1:40 pm)
My heated seats work very well and warm up within a minute or two, but then again, I am in Northern California and a really cold morning is in the high 20s or low 30s. What I can't believe that in a $42K vehicle, it only has one temp setting. My daughter has a VW Jetta and you can choose one of five temp settings. The loaner BMW X3 that I drove last week had three settings. Those seats were warm within about 30 seconds.
 
Wes

#6 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [montlakedawg] by desertfox1

Jan 30, 2007 (12:01 pm)

Replying to: montlakedawg (Jan 24, 2007 1:40 pm)
I will try to remember to have the seats checked. I would say within 2 minutes they are warm for me. Wouldn't just an electronic thermometer also work if you laid it on the seat and timed it will the temp goes up?
FYI - It is 18 degrees (high) today here. I am now using the heater also.

#7 of 40 Heated seat 2004 Silverado by engine103

Feb 01, 2007 (3:33 pm)

After 60,000 + miles, my drivers seat heat has become inop. only staying on for a few minutes before shutting off on it's own. Is there a circuit breaker for this or is it on a thermostat. Thanks

#8 of 40 Re: Heated seat 2004 Silverado [engine103] by pf_flyer HOST

Feb 01, 2007 (3:51 pm)

Replying to: engine103 (Feb 01, 2007 3:33 pm)
The place you want to post this question would be over in the Chevy Silverado & GMC Sierra Group

#9 of 40 Re: Hybrid Highlander - problem with heated seats [desertfox1] by montlakedawg

Feb 02, 2007 (2:00 pm)

Replying to: desertfox1 (Jan 30, 2007 12:01 pm)
I'll see what kind of thermometers we have and video tape the results so I can show the dealership. NSXWES's reference to the X3 is amusing since that's our other car. Those seats, like my 3 series coupe I traded in, heat up in about 3 blocks, and stay on all the way to work. My butt sure misses my old car.

#10 of 40 seat heat by 2hybrids

Feb 08, 2007 (7:40 am)

HHLtd06 - my heated driver seat usually takes no more than about 1 - 2 minutes to come on... does it make a difference if you have teh button on already or when you manually activate the seat heat?
 
 the regular heating system is somewhat worse... usually I turn the fan on myself to get it going as the auto seldom starts up in the first 4 minutes, even though the outside temp is reading -17!
 
buddy of mine has a Mazda 6 whose seats start warming up as soon as the button is pressed...

Messages Page 1 of 4

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement