A/C and Ventilated Seats

[micqing]

So now that summer is here how have Model X drivers found the A/C units in the car? I have found mine to be very unimpressive. With the car going on "Lo" temp setting at max fan for over 20 minutes, I can tell you that I have not found the air to be very cool. The car seems to always been "warm". I had the service center look into it last time my car was in the shop but they told me it was operating normally.

Additionally, the A/C seats offer almost no air flow. I have had this feature in my other cars and found it to be much stronger. I can barely feel anything with these seats.

Curious if others have different experiences.

Thanks

Same problem. Quite disappointing on the price we paid

 

[elguapo]

My A/C is great it's just noisy if outside car and sometimes makes car vibrate a bit. But it makes it cold. What causes discomfort is super hot sun heating windshield above my head - the heat creeps through and if you put your hand close to windshield, you feel how hot it is.

Ventilated seats don't help at all. Also on my list for SC, but fully expect them to tell me the seats are working to spec. But I don't feel a thing and, just to point this out, they do not blow air out like every other manufacturer, they suck it in for some reason. This, potentially, is why they really do suck.

 

[AndyW]

The Model X seats are ventilated, not AC cooled. You can verify the ventilation using a tissue on both seat surface and seat back as well. There is a small suction force and its gone when turned off.
I do think that the fan is a bit loud when turned on at 3 and its annoying. They could have used a quieter fan!

 

[elguapo]

@AndyW I realize they aren't A/C, and know they are on, I just never feel the effect. With a fan that loud, you'd think one would feel something. Oh well. At least I have the alcantara.

 

[ohmman]

Maybe someone should try reversing the polarity of their fan wiring. Mine seems to blow, and Tesla's AC team appears to have some polarity issues...

 

[alseTrick]

Wait, so are they supposed to blow or are they supposed to suck? Because if they're supposed to suck that would, well, suck.

 

[elguapo]

Service Center categorically said they are supposed to suck in air, not blow it out. Several owners have tested and all have shown seats suck in air, not push it out.

Have yet to see anyone who says their seats blow air out. Thus, the seats literally suck.

 

[ssq]

Service Center categorically said they are supposed to suck in air, not blow it out. Several owners have tested and all have shown seats suck in air, not push it out.

Have yet to see anyone who says their seats blow air out. Thus, the seats literally suck.

Actually I was not aware of this and thought it blows like most other cars with the same feature. I would be a tad worried if it was sucking, the perforated seat surface could turn out similar to a vacuum cleaner filter over the years.

 

[elguapo]

@ssq This is what I was told despite saying I've never heard of any other car doing that, etc. They "circulate" air and the sucking is meant to help circulate air through the seat.

Many on the forums have tested and confirmed. Sadly, this is a useless option given this design (for me at least), and it was main reason I got premium, but that's okay.

 

[alseTrick]

How on earth can such intelligent people create something so STUPID?

 

[systemcrashed]

The ventilated seats suck (literally and figuratively). They are about the same as the ventilated seats in my BMW X5, those blow (literally and figuratively) as well. Although, with the BMW, I was able to change the coding value and increase the seat fan speed which helped very little. My opinion of ventilated seats is that they suck... or was it blow? Only on the highest setting do I even feel it, I have only had one extended drive in extreme heat, it did prevent me from sticking to the seat, so maybe they don't suck hard (on purpose). I call it SWASS-EVAC (technical term).

 

[ssq]

The ventilated seats suck (literally and figuratively). They are about the same as the ventilated seats in my BMW X5, those blow (literally and figuratively) as well. Although, with the BMW, I was able to change the coding value and increase the seat fan speed which helped very little. My opinion of ventilated seats is that they suck... or was it blow? Only on the highest setting do I even feel it, I have only had one extended drive in extreme heat, it did prevent me from sticking to the seat, so maybe they don't suck hard (on purpose). I call it SWASS-EVAC (technical term).

A long time back I recall renting a Tahoe or perhaps a Suburban and it had ventilated seats. I loved it, it was the first time I experienced ventilated seats and it was pretty good. It did not suck, it blew air. Since then I have not really experienced it on any other cars but if Chevy can do it well, any other auto OEM should be able to..

 

[XHokie]

I'll post this with the caveat that I'm not an automotive expert or pretend to understand the technical aspects of how ventilated seats work. That said, I found this online as I was searching to learn more about ventilated seats:

Ventilated Seats explained - Why High End

This sounds like a reasonable explanation of what ventilated seats should do and how they work, as well as a distinction between what are ventilated seats and true, "cooled seats", which seem to be two different things. "Ventilated can also co-exist and function with other car seat luxuries such as cooled seats, power seats and massage seats." Again...take this for what it is, but if I'm understanding what they have documented on this I think many folks, including myself, have misunderstood what ventilated seats are supposed to do.

Also, Tesla's own Design Studio says this about ventilated seats: "Maximize warm weather comfort with ventilated front seats. Cool, dry air circulates through seating perforations to comfortably cool occupants. Includes perforated seating with accent piping throughout the interior" I could be interpreting this differently now that I better understand what ventilated seats are supposed to do, but they should help reduce the temperature of the seats in warmer weather, maybe help dry that sticky/sweaty feeling, but not necessarily entirely blow cold air up our rear-ends or bodies. Cooled seats are intended to do that and I think there is a difference. I've had cooled seats in an Infiniti and it did that, but in my previous Range Rover Sport...it has ventilated seats which gave a cooling affect to the seats, but didn't really cool my bottom.

 

[elguapo]

@XHokie I don't disagree with what you said, but it's the sucking that sucks. No other manufactured I am aware of has ventilated seats that suck. They may blow "unconditioned" air, but they don't suck air in. That's my beef here. I knew they weren't A/C or cooled, but expected them to blow air out and actually feel it.

 

[DuplexDianne]

@XHokie I don't disagree with what you said, but it's the sucking that sucks. No other manufactured I am aware of has ventilated seats that suck. They may blow "unconditioned" air, but they don't suck air in. That's my beef here. I knew they weren't A/C or cooled, but expected them to blow air out and actually feel it.

Is it possible to reverse the blade direction, if indeed there's a true fan beneath the seat? If only it was that simple....lol

 

[Joer293]

This is what you get, when a computer engineer makes a ventilated seat. With servers, every engineer knows that internal dry components stay significantly cooler per energy consumed with exhaust only fans. The problem is, humans are not hardware. We are wetware, and evaporative wetware stays cooler when blown, not sucked. With humans perceived temperature reduction is more valuable than actual temperature.

In any case, I would recommend high quality heat reduction window film. I installed clear spectra photo sync tint in my model S, and it greatly increased the efficiency of the HVAC system. (140F drops to 115F in direct summer sun). I forget how good it works, until I have to drive a loaner.

 

[Dcr26]

In cabin fart mitigation?