It's not clear whether the ventilated seats were pulled for good or whether it was a temporary supplier issue. Many of us were waiting for ventilated seats for a long time. Are they coming back? Is it an option you value?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Robwoodruff
Member
I have an idea why they pulled them. The ventilated seats tend to wrinkle very soon after use. I noticed this in the vehicle we loaned overnight and it is also present in our MS P100D. I talked to the ranger that came out to fix a couple of minor issues and he said that there is no solution. Ventilated seats = wrinkles. I hope there will be a fix before my warranty expires.
FlyF4
Son of a MX
We were lucky to get them in our MS as well. I love the feel of them so far, very soft and comfy and any wrinkling I don't see as a problem. My Avalon has thicker, solid leather which can take more of a beating I guess but I do prefer the softer leather for sitting in for any length of time. The thicker leather does get creases in it over time. No kids in our car so we're hoping our perf seats will hold up well. Won't know until it gets warmer here how well the wicking of the seats works in ours. It doesn't work by blowing cold air into your back and seat area, instead the fan works to gently pull the air at your body through the seat so you don't feel sticky. My dad had similar ventilated seats in his vehicle and liked it during their summers.
I would hope the ventilated seats make a return as an option, especially for people in warmer climates.
I would hope the ventilated seats make a return as an option, especially for people in warmer climates.
Last edited:
FlyF4
Son of a MX
Yea, I was kind of wondering the same thing. My old Acura MDX that I gave to my son for college is over 10 years old and the perf seats are still in great condition and cool nicely. I wonder why the Tesla guy was saying theirs weren't holding up on a car twice as expensive. puzzled.
Ventilated/perforated seats on my Lexus have held up well and are always on "concierge" setting which adjusts temp based on climate settings
Hopefully Tesla is just switching to a better supplier. This is a must have on a luxury car!
Hopefully Tesla is just switching to a better supplier. This is a must have on a luxury car!
Well, your Onwer Advisor was wrong as they certainly do "ventilate something" and this can be felt by placing your hand under seat when the fan is on--you'll feel quite the blast of air from the lower fan, and one would presume the upper fan is of similar volume. In a nutshell, they seem to work for us here in hot South.
We ended up with an undesirable set of options on our MS because we had no choice but to buy an inventory car if we wanted those *#$&@! seats--what a Tesla FU to cancel the option without telling anyone in advance.
Elon can land rockets vertically, but he can't get Tesla to make a proper ventilated seat? You've got to be kidding!
I'm of the opinion that the Tesla incarnation of perforated/ventilated seats did not function significantly well...drawing air into the seats away from the passenger instead of more actively "blowing" air up through the seats to the passenger. Couple this with the many reports of the poor durability of the Tesla perforated seats (easy tearing, cracking and peeling of the protective coating, etc) and this is exactly why I did not want them despite them originally being included as a non-negotiable part of the Premium Upgrade Package.
Tesla discontinued the ventilated seats after my order change window but before my car's production, and Tesla offered no explanation or change in pricing or alternative for someone in my position who didn't want the ventilated seats in the first place but was forced to get them in order to have the other PUP features. My only option was to refuse delivery of the car.
Like others have mentioned, I'm not sure why Tesla didn't get the ventilated seats right the first go around. My wife's Nissan pathfinder has ventilated seats that will blow your skirt off at half the noise of the Tesla fans. And the seats look as good as they did brand new. I'm sure that once Tesla finds a better supplier, the option will return. Hopefully the functionality will be improved too.
All that's normal for other auto manufacturers seems to cause perpetual problems for Tesla. Tesla could have had Recaro make its seats, and at one time it briefly did, but that quickly changed as Tesla moved back to sub-par suppliers.
He also can't deliver on a single self-imposed deadline without offering a verbal diarrhea of excuses on a regular basis, and seems inclined to hire primarily Silicon Valley people in positions that require Detroit industry experience. Elon seems to want Tesla to reinvent the wheel for basic, off-the-shelf features that can be obtained by any company if it really wants.
Plenty of lower volume manufacturers like Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Maserati, and others are able to get beautiful, premium interiors. It's not rocket science for anyone except Tesla and Musk.
Last edited:
P85DBeast
Side tEsLa
We were also one of the few people who got perforated seats. And im regretting that our car even has them. I was very excited when the ventilated seats became an option. And now Im not happy that our car has them my wife say's "They Suck". And she was right. When I first got the car I had to double check to make sure I even turned them on. And I thought something was wrong with the car. Our Lexus ES 350 had Heated & Cooled Seats and you knew when they were on. And the best thing is the fact that it Cooled the entire seat (Except Headrest). And now that my brother passed it down to his daughter (Who is tough on cars) The seats still look good. But back to the seats on the S. And like my wife said "They Suck". And Hopefully Tesla brings them back and when they do hopefully the offer an upgrade for people who have the "Gen 1" Vented Seats. Because my car would quickly get the upgrade.
Now I don't like cold air blowing on me let alone directly on my back or neck. AC is for cooling the cabin temp and I like Tesla's approach to wicking or sucking any moisture on your back/legs away from the seat surface. There are two approaches to ventilated seats and a car friend of ours said Tesla isn't the only one who uses the wicking method. I guess that divides people into two camps on this.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Agreeing with everyone who doesn't understand why Tesla can't get basic things right that other manufacturers did right for years.
My father drives a 2011 Merc E-class with perforated and ventilated leather seats. They don't look any worse than any non-perforated leather seat that has been in daily use for six years, i.e. not factory-new, but certainly not crinkled, wrinkled, torn or in any other way non-usable or heavily-worn. Don't know what supplier they come from though.
Don't know when it started but we ordered our car on 12/31/16 and it was available then. Cut off was mid-January 2017.
Similar threads
