No vented or A/C seats is a complete deal breaker in Arizona (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley). Think about it this way, a 2004 Lincoln Navigator has Air Conditioned (not just vented) seats.... a 2007 Lexus has vented seats. The fact this is a $1,290 option 10 years ago and Tesla doesn't have it for the Model 3 , S or X shows how constrained they are as a manufacturer.
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It is a bit odd - I have the ventilated seats on my 2017 S - which are no longer available for reasons Tesla never explained. They work - they suck air through the holes, increasing the evaporation rate of moisture and helping keep you dry. I really don't understand why Tesla discontinued them in the S but I'm sure glad I got 'em for the short time they were available.
@AZ-3 I wouldn't call it a "deal breaker" though - the pre-cooling feature of the Tesla is pretty damn good and I use it despite having vented seats. I also have a 2016 with no vented seats (leather next gens), but they are the light gray color. I turn the a/c on with my phone a couple minutes prior to getting in the car and seats are quite tolerable. Not as good as vented but it works.
Finally there is the Katskinz Degreez aftermarket option - this uses peltier cooling and supposedly the unit is the same one Land Rover uses. DegreeZ by katzkin | Car Leather Upholstery | Custom Auto Leather Interiors by Katzkin
I also am disappointed that ventilated seats have not made it into the initial Model 3 design. I have a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite and the ventilated seats help my back and butt from getting hot and not sweat, whereas compared to my 2006 Acura RSX Type S, my back and butt will get hot and start to sweat for a good duration before I'm cooled down from the AC. This feature is no longer a luxury premium, but should be found in a Model 3 from the start. Well, I hope Tesla will add it in later down the line though.
Is this because you are already hot (and thus your backside is being insulated by the seat, staying hot), or because the car is hot? Remember you can have the car pre-cooled to a comfortable temperature (meaning also the seats should be too), which is not something you can normally expect with a regular ICE vehicle. The typical use case for these may be irrelevant as long as you remember to precool the car at least a few minutes before leaving.
A deal breaker? No, but extremely dissapointing. My wife's SUV has them and I really appreciate them now. In theory both ventilated and heated seats should be in a electric vehicle as it will theoretically decrease the need for excessively heating or cooling the entire vehicle. I understand I can pre-cool the vehicle but I think they are something that should be available in the luxury package. What is even more amazing is that you can spend over $100,000 on an S but you still can't get ventilated/air conditioned seats.
Funny you showed a Lexus. I just test drove one a few weeks back. Temperature here was approaching 100. I told the sales guy that I couldn't feel anything coming from the cooled seats. He just laughed and said that they were useless.
Now, I absolutely loved that car, but the cooled seats are nothing but a sales gimmick from what I can tell and I'd rather not have something else to break.
Seat heating/cooling would never be necessary if car seats are removed and placed in your kitchen.
Or vehicle is preconditioned to kitchen temperature. Cool the vehicle and the seats with occupants will be cool as well.
First of all air must be pushed into the seat and secondly air must be taken from AC system.
Thirdly, there must be a considerable air pressure. And lastly, air channeling must be designed correctly, otherwise 90+% of air will exit through perforation that has least resistance (occupant isn't touching).
It's complicated and definitely not necessary for vehicles with AC. There are special cases though.
It's much easier to use a seat material and cushioning foam that allows natural air circulation. Pretty much most of the cloth seats can do that. When vehicle is moving occupants wiggle due to road vibrations. In case of good design that will pump air back and forth.
Or vehicle is preconditioned to kitchen temperature. Cool the vehicle and the seats with occupants will be cool as well.
It is actually possible to make effective seat cooling though it appears to me that most vehicles that have that option do not have effective seat ventilation. I've sat in 3-4 different vehicles and only one had very considerable cooling effect through my shirt.
First of all air must be pushed into the seat and secondly air must be taken from AC system.
Thirdly, there must be a considerable air pressure. And lastly, air channeling must be designed correctly, otherwise 90+% of air will exit through perforation that has least resistance (occupant isn't touching).
It's complicated and definitely not necessary for vehicles with AC. There are special cases though.
It's much easier to use a seat material and cushioning foam that allows natural air circulation. Pretty much most of the cloth seats can do that. When vehicle is moving occupants wiggle due to road vibrations. In case of good design that will pump air back and forth.
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Huh?
I had an EShybrid and the actual cooled seats were amazing. Game changer.
I have vented seats on my X and I honestly wouldn't have been able to ever tell they are on except the loud noise. It's 100* here.
Don't know what to tell you, maybe the GS is different but I'd think they'd mostly use the same tech. That was my only experience with them though.
X Fan
Active Member
Smh: I see you liked your post so much that you carbon copied it and used it on multiple threads.
Had cooled seats on all my last 3 recently purchased cars (except my volt).
I was not that impressed with the seat cooling on either car (Mercedes, Porsche, Cadillac), although it did help slightly.
Somehow the Volt w/ its perf leather in light gray, stays similarly cool.
I think the people, who said the seat material and foam design is more relevant, are right on.
However, pre-cooling is not the answer, as that is irrelevant on a long trip.
I also found proper window tinting to be greatly effective combined with closing the sunroof.
Therefore, I worry greatly about Tesla's glass roof, that has no inside cover to close.
I never sat in Tesla seats, so I defer to those here, to let us know if Teslas seat design breathes properly or not.
I have had some older cars with bad leather seats that don't breathe properly and sweat up clothing and it sucks, so I would appreciate due warning, if that is the case for a Tesla.
I was not that impressed with the seat cooling on either car (Mercedes, Porsche, Cadillac), although it did help slightly.
Somehow the Volt w/ its perf leather in light gray, stays similarly cool.
I think the people, who said the seat material and foam design is more relevant, are right on.
However, pre-cooling is not the answer, as that is irrelevant on a long trip.
I also found proper window tinting to be greatly effective combined with closing the sunroof.
Therefore, I worry greatly about Tesla's glass roof, that has no inside cover to close.
I never sat in Tesla seats, so I defer to those here, to let us know if Teslas seat design breathes properly or not.
I have had some older cars with bad leather seats that don't breathe properly and sweat up clothing and it sucks, so I would appreciate due warning, if that is the case for a Tesla.
Almost got ventilated seats but I upgraded to an X100D and lost them. So I've never had ventilated seats.
But, the white seats are very nice now in the summer. I've never thought "wish I had the ventilated seats". I have had to drive without touching the seat back on my wife's Mini with black seats when we parked in the sun. Haven't come anywhere near that in the X.
But, the white seats are very nice now in the summer. I've never thought "wish I had the ventilated seats". I have had to drive without touching the seat back on my wife's Mini with black seats when we parked in the sun. Haven't come anywhere near that in the X.
Gas-centric mentality.
It's always funny to find people who don't realize how amazing it is to have a pre-conditioned car available.
You can continue driving your 10 year old Lincoln, though, if you really want. That $5k used 2012 Leaf is more advanced than your 100k "luxury" gas car, when it comes to entering a comfortable car.
It's always funny to find people who don't realize how amazing it is to have a pre-conditioned car available.
You can continue driving your 10 year old Lincoln, though, if you really want. That $5k used 2012 Leaf is more advanced than your 100k "luxury" gas car, when it comes to entering a comfortable car.
Barklikeadog
Active Member
I'm not sure how that's relevant to interior comfort when entering a car, but the Leaf doesn't have terrible crash test ratings. Also, crash test ratings from 2012 are much more stringent than crash test ratings from 2002 in most modernized countries.
israndy
Supercharger Hunter
No one ever gets hot from body heat sitting in a seat for a long time. Nope, no one. Ever.
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