Why do the front heated seat controls deserve so much room on the UI?

[SDKoala]

Here's where I'm sure I'm going to tick off all the cold weather owners out there, but being the summertime, perhaps it won't be as divisive as it could be in the middle of the winter.

Does anyone else find it strange that the driver and front passenger heated seat controls take up so much valuable screen real estate? Is there really a need for these to be present on the home screen all the time? I'd trade those controls for larger HVAC buttons in a heartbeat. I know there are people who "set it and forget it" as evidenced by another thread a few weeks back, but I think most of us can agree that adjusting the HVAC controls with the tiny arrows is more difficult than it should be while driving. I'd bet adjusting the HVAC controls is way more common in the overall owner population than controlling the heated seats too.

All the other buttons along the bottom of the screen at least make sense. Some are frequently used (car settings, phone, music, HVAC). Others might not be used often, but are vital to safety if needed (front and rear defrost), so I have no problems with them being there. The front passenger volume control I accept because there's no other way for the passenger to make that adjustment. But the front heated seat controls are non-vital and could easily be in the HVAC sub-menu with the rear heated seat controls.

Sorry, small percentage of people who park outside in the winters, you'll have to suffer through a couple of extra taps to turn on your heated seats the few months of the year when you actually need it. You're probably already pre-warming your car, so it won't be too bad. Plus, it shouldn't be hard for Tesla to add a remote command to turn on the heated seats and you should be asking for that anyway.

Some of this is tongue-in-cheek, but it speaks to UI design choices that don't seem to consider actual function or user interaction. Better question is, what's going to take up those heated seat button spots in the non-PUP Model 3? We can probably expect a change involving those buttons at that time to keep the UI from becoming fragmented between the PUP and non-PUP versions, so may as well do it now. Even better, give us a customizable layout!

Bring on the disagrees...

(And yes, I submitted this suggestion weeks ago to Tesla, but they pretty much don't respond to small things like this from one person.)

 

[bpjod]

For purposes of range, you want to prioritize seat heaters over heating the interior of the car when it's cold. They work more quickly and use significantly less energy. As for non-PUP cars, they'll still have those buttons as they come with heated front seats too.

 

[Zaphod]

I believe the front seats are still heated on the non-PUP. Just does not have the rear seats heated.

 

[SDKoala]

A little aside from the point, but since you both brought it up, where did you see that front heated seats will be standard? Nothing on the Tesla website says that front heated seats are going to be included in the standard model and they make it a point to specify that the premium package includes heated seats.

Model 3

 

[bpjod]

A little aside from the point, but since you both brought it up, where did you see that front heated seats will be standard? Nothing on the Tesla website says that front heated seats are going to be included in the standard model and they make it a point to specify that the premium package includes heated seats.

Model 3

From Model S description of PUP: "Heated seats throughout the cabin". We know that it comes with front heated seats in non-PUP config.

From Model 3 description of PUP: "Premium heated seating and cabin materials throughout". It may be a leap, but my presumption is that throughout would be more applicable to the "premium heated seating" than the "cabin materials", much like on the Model S description of heated seats throughout. My suspicion is that there are front heated seats on the Model 3 from their wording.

There are a few other reasons I presume this to be true as well. Firstly, the impact on range of using the cabin heater vs. heated seats is huge. Tesla is not that dumb. Secondly, all other BEVs have heated front seats in their basic configuration IIRC, so why would the more expensive Tesla offering not. Thirdly, the Model 3 at release had the front seats fully operational, but it took them a number of months (winter months at that!) to activate the rear heated seats. Makes me believe the front heated seats were a feature that all trims of the Model 3 are to have, but since the rear seats are only a subset of cars, their controls were given a lower priority and were released in a later software update.

So they haven't directly said that the standard trim will have heated front seats, but I'd be very surprised if they didn't.

 

[TEG]

I have bumped those seat heater "buttons" by mistake a few times. I wish they were under a sub-menu so they didn't turn on as easily.

 

[GEofNB]

I too would would like the HVAC controls on the main screen to be larger and better graphically defined. Red for warmer/Blue for cooler. The the front heated seat controls could be moved to the HVAC sub menu. My 2013 Chevy Volt has an automatic setting feature for the seats that works very well so there is little need to mess with the those controls anyway.

 

[GEofNB]

One more thing. I don't like having to turn off seat heaters for seats that are no longer occupied.

 

[Runt8]

...adjusting the HVAC controls with the tiny arrows...

You don’t have to push the arrows to change the temp, you can just press on the numbers in the center and drag left or right.

 

[ElectricCanuck]

Yeah -- seat heaters are super important even in the shoulder season up north. They're more important, in my mind, than a heated car.

 

[mswlogo]

OP has a good point. Even for someone like me that uses them I agree. I don’t bother juggling heat and seats, that’s silly. Extremities are what gets cold most (hands, feet, face) and if those are taken care of with heat the rest is fine and I only use seat heaters to take edge off a cold car.

Regarding UI, they should make the buttons along the bottom user configurable. Problem solved, everyone happy. My Jeep even allows that on 8.5” screen. And my Jeep only has 1 button to bring up a panel to control all seats and steering wheel.

 

[Need]

The heated seat button is pretty much the only place I touch the screen on a daily basis. I don't use the NAV on the car. A/C set at 68 on auto. Audio set to bluetooth with volume control on the steering wheel. Autopilot is controlled on the stalk and steering wheel. So I am bias on keeping the heated seat button on the main screen.

 

[Gavyne]

Ideally they give us the option to either have it there or not. They make sense being there for people driving in cold climates. I however would like it off since I keep accidentally enabling heat on the seats while scrolling through the screen. Best solution is to just make it a customizable option.

 

[Gwgan]

One more thing. I don't like having to turn off seat heaters for seats that are no longer occupied.

The seat heaters are not active without an occupant, at least on my X.

 

[Big Earl]

The seat heaters are not active without an occupant, at least on my X.

The front seat heaters on the 3 will stay active even if someone leaves the seat. I'm fine with this, since the seat is pre-warmed for when my passenger returns.

 

[clostridium]

The heated seat button is pretty much the only place I touch the screen on a daily basis. I don't use the NAV on the car. A/C set at 68 on auto. Audio set to bluetooth with volume control on the steering wheel. Autopilot is controlled on the stalk and steering wheel. So I am bias on keeping the heated seat button on the main screen.

Ideally they give us the option to either have it there or not. They make sense being there for people driving in cold climates. I however would like it off since I keep accidentally enabling heat on the seats while scrolling through the screen. Best solution is to just make it a customizable option.

There have been indications that they are going to allow some customization of the interface in the future and hopefully the main screen icons would be included in that flexibility. In the winter I'd definitely want those front seat heaters on the main screen but in summer it would be nice to have something else there like A/C on/off for example.

Separately - why the heck doesn't Tesla let you explicitly disable the cabin heater like they do with AC? Yeah, I know that you can turn off AC and then turn the temp down really low but considering how much of a power consumption factor the cabin heater is doesn't it seem strange you can't toggle it on and off?

 

[GEofNB]

You don’t have to push the arrows to change the temp, you can just press on the numbers in the center and drag left or right.

Thanks, that works pretty well. I like how you can keep your finger on the screen and move right or left anywhere to adjust the temperature slider.

 

[Need]

Thanks, that works pretty well. I like how you can keep your finger on the screen and move right or left anywhere to adjust the temperature slider.

It does that with other things too. If you hold the music icon, you could drag up and down to expand and contract the music screen. If you hold the folder icon and drag up, it will open the last app you used. If you hold the Nav box and drag right, it will navigate Home or Work depending on your current GPS location. If you are near Work, it will go Home. If you are at Home, it will go to Work.

 

[gambit48]

For purposes of range, you want to prioritize seat heaters over heating the interior of the car when it's cold. They work more quickly and use significantly less energy.

Exactly. Just like you have to adjust a little and learn that charging a little all the time is better than draining to 0 and charging to 100%, kind of how you would fill up an ICE car. It's training owners. It's vastly more inefficient to heat using the a/c vs using the seat heaters. Now, if it's super cold, you have to use both. However, there are plenty of times and places in the country where just the seat heaters will be enough. If you can use just the seat heaters, that would be ideal. So, make them easy to access or people will be lazy and just turn up the heat.

Will will lower range more than they expect. They'll complain. Tesla/electrics have a harder time gaining market share, etc.

 

[mswlogo]

The front seat heaters on the 3 will stay active even if someone leaves the seat. I'm fine with this, since the seat is pre-warmed for when my passenger returns.

You want them on so you can preheat them. Maybe while driving and unoccupied they should be off.