Anyone else with the F56 seat heaters think that the performance is poor?

Compared to my 2009 MCS these are slow to heat up and deliver a lot less heat / warmth.

Perhaps I have an issue with just my car, but in general how is it on your cars?

 

Yes, I find them anemic. I was told by my salesman that people complained the old ones were too hot so MINI toned them down for the F56s. I can't understand why someone would complain rather than just lowering the setting.

 

Not great. That was one of the features my wife really liked about riding in the R56. And yes, she said they were borderline scorching, but then she would just go to a lower setting.

But these, she said "they don't work". But in reading the manual I found that there was "reduced output in Green driving mode" (on cruise control on an uncrowded interstate, why not be in green). So, last night, coming back from dinner, mid mode, seat heater on, her comment was "these are either poor heaters or you need to get them checked out".

I'll still have the dealer check them out, but it looks like I need another way to make toast

 

My new F56 (700 miles) is pretty warm on the high setting. I certainly wouldn't call them anemic.

 

I guess everyone has their own thresholds for how hot/cold/sweet/salty/bitter/rough/smooth something is. My threshold is based on my old GTI, "If I don't have to eventually turn it down, it's not hot enough." I can sit on the MINIs seat with heater at max (wearing jeans) eternally. It's never a problem which is the problem.

 

There were a lot of complaints that the R56's were too hot. I have them and of the three serttings the low one is warm enough for me, high is really hot. Wife thinks differently that's universal I think.

 

Yeah in my old MCS I rarely ever went to the max mode for long rides. I'd get in and warm them all the way up, then turn it down to just one light.

 

I think it may have to do with the amount of body "padding" the occupants have. Please include your Body Mass Index when posting. I'm happy with mine hehe and would be classified as skinny!

 

BMI 22 here lol!

 

I agree with comments above. I would prefer the output of my R56. The high heat felt great on my aching back. Now it is just warm. I'm sure the change was due to Mini worrying about someone suing. It is what drives almost all decisions now a days.

 

I wonder if it's the elements or the power supplied to them that changed.

 

The ones in my BMW Z4 are painful on high and the ones in my F56 are much more mild. I am not a fan of being on fire while sitting so I am okay with the level of output they have.

 

But if it does fire on high, you can dial it down.

If it does bupkis on high, how are you supposed to dial it up?

 

Anyone done a laser shot of a heated seat yet ? Would be nice to compare #'s frm R56 to F model.

 

Does "done a laser shot" mean the same as "measured the temperature"?

Side note: the red laser diode dot is strictly a pointing mechanism. It does NOTHING to measure the temperature. The IR sensor and optics does that, and would return the same results with or without the laser pointer. Furthermore, unless you know the emissivity of the surface and can adjust the thermometer for it, an IR measurement is only an approximation based upon an assumed emissivity which may or may not (probably not) be appropriate for your particular measurement.

As to the usefulness of measuring the temperature: While you can do that, it's of very limited value since the perception of heat is going to depend on the power dissipated in the heater element and its distribution. To equate dissipated power to temperature requires knowledge of current thermal resistance which, in this case, you don't have. (Think of this as how much heat your butt can absorb for a given temperature rise. The lardasses will take a lot more than the BMI=19 types.) It will also depend on the control mechanism, if any. There are a few ways to govern the dissipated power, both open-loop and closed-loop, and I rather doubt that anyone here knows exactly what's going on.

So go ahead and measure the temperature if you insist, but understand that the results will be essentially meaningless.

 

As a pointless addendum to what I said above, a few of us just made a mid-afternoon coffee run and I drove. The guy sitting in the passenger seat turned the seat heater on and commented how quickly it warmed up, then turned it down. His threshold is definitely different than mine!

 

Responding to earlier BMI question, mine 20.9, wife's 21.5.

Responding to measurement statement: measurement that counts to me is my wife's, namely "your seat heater sucks, might as well not even have it".

 

And THAT is exactly the point. What you just said is the only valid measurement since the only thing that matters is whether it works for you or it doesn't!

My wife doesn't let me drive her car (Grrr!) so I have no firsthand (or firstbutt?) experience, but so far she's had no complaints about the seat heater. She's on the low end of BMI and likes the seats a lot hotter than I can tolerate.

 

They seemed pretty warm to me , even in the leather sport seats w/ heating. The Gen 2 MINIs seem to be the hottest and cloth and leather were both hot. Gen 1 MINIs they did not get that hot but compared to the BMW seat of the e34 e46 they are much cooler. In gen 1 MINIs there was even an ad on wire to make them hotter or cooler then stock. I had the hotter ones added in the R52.

Think they went with the goldilocks theory.

 

My 2006 R50 got too hot for me. It had high, low and off. Not only can you turn it down, you can turn it on and off. It also seemed to get hotter and hotter.

I haven't tried the F56, I will tonight. My back is sore!

You're saying the F56 is hotter than the R50?

 

Quite the opposite. The F56 seats do NOT heat up as much as previous models by design.

 

That's what ECS was saying?

They're maybe as hot as the lowest setting on my 2006.

They're ok, but at -40 they're not going to do much. They're pretty weak.

 

Well this is my first ever heated seats and mine get plenty warm, plenty quick. Guess it's All in the butt! Lol

 

Temps around here are still in the 50+ range so I do not have much demand for their use yet. I did try them out today based on your comments and find they get plenty toasty! As mentioned earlier this is really a personal issue rather than a design/build issue. Having said that, it sure would be great to have a heated steering wheel as part of the Cold Pkg. This really helps the arthritis in the hands during winter!

 

I find them to be "just right." I think they heat-up quickly, and have only used them on "low" so far.