Kaleido cloth, and it gets ultra-hot, ultra-fast. You can feel the cooker within 30 seconds. The "high" setting is too much for me. Our other car is a Volvo with big leather seats, though, and the (one-setting) heater seems slower and less powerful. Maybe it is leather-versus-cloth.

 

Have the leatherette and they get plenty hot in the coldest weather.


Regards,
Red Hot

_________________
<IMG SRC="https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/albums/album04/fyy.thumb.jpg
">Life is better MINImized CWFAC 03

 

My buns are TOASTY! (hee hee :smile: )

I usually put 'em on high to get things warmed up then switch to lo within about 2 minutes. I have no complaints. That said, however, I do like the way VW handles their heated seats: they have a little rotating dial that lets you select a temp between 1 and 5.

And an earlier post has befuddled me: both high and low (as someone else stated--perhaps Ryephile?) heat your back AND your butt. You can't selectively heat one or the other.

 

 

I've got leather and it was plenty hot for me. I tried it out right after I got the car in November and haven't used it since. Think the next MINI I get will be without the cold package.

Dan

 

i hate how weak mine are. in michigan the temps havent gone over 32 degrees for more than a couple of hrs in the last month so i need them to work so i dont die and they dont. it gets luke warm and then its done. i am very angery at it all and am going to have the dealer take care of it. i streched my budget to get them because i knew i would use them almost daily and i havent gotten my moneys worth at all. i would rather have my butt burning than frozen because then i could at least tell that it has feeling and not numb from the cold.

 

Yeah my seat-heaters suck too, I feel it a little, but nothing great. It basically
takes the chill off the seat on high, low is just a little extra warmth. That said,
however, I only like my seat-heaters to warm the seat up to about my temp,
maybe a little warmer. I can't stand feeling like my rear is sitting on a stove burner. I'm used to my Olds intrigue, which &quot;Hi&quot; is very hot, and I end up having to turn it to low- or even off.

 

Wow, such inconcistencies with seat heaters... mine are super hot. I have to shut them off after about 3 minutes. Much hotter than other cars.

 

Kaleido cloth here, low setting is hot and high setting is FREAKIN hot. Great when the wind chill is -25 here in Wisconsin, also great for that aching lower back.

 

How about this:

There was a problem with the leather that required the replacement of the cushions on both seats
.
Before the cushions were replaced the heaters were a real bun warmer. Laurie liked them, I thought they were way to hot. Now after the cushion replacement the seats barely get warm on the bottom. The back works the same as before. We have had this looked at and have been told the seats are working correctly. When compared to another car on the lot they are weak heating at best. Has there been a change in the heaters? That would explain why there is a difference of opinion on how hot they get.

Jack

 

chalk another one up in the &quot;weak seat heater'' club....

 

&gt;&gt;chalk another one up in the &quot;weak seat heater'' club....

You should definitely demand properly working seats. In your case, it's not &quot;hearsay&quot;, or &quot;people on the internet said theirs are really hot&quot;. You yourself had an '03 that you're comparing the '04 to - that should be proof enough for them. If it isn't, I'd contact MINI USA until I got satisfaction.

 

I agree...mine are toasty hot on high and plenty warm on low,
although they're hottest by a minute or two after on, and then
settle down to a plenty warm enough level later. But no complaints here.
Obviously, some people have anemic seat heaters, and the
general concensus in this thread is that they're not supposed
to be that way. If you bought a seat heater, and need a seat
heater, then MINI should honor their warantee and fix your
defective ones.
As an aside, could it be that the temp sensor that regulates the
heaters could be too close or too far from the heater in different
samples? Too close, and the warm up would be slower and more
damped, too far , and it would overshoot, and then settle down
later (like mine does).

 

maybe your seat is too padded?

 

I live in Manitoba Canada &amp; this was my first winter in my MINI,even at -40 Hi was to much after about 5 min.I use low most of the time

 

'03 MCS - my 2 cents:

Leather seats. Hi is too hot within one minute. Lo is ok for a little while, unless really cold outside. Turn on the seat on a cold day, and one feels comfortable quickly, which is nice since the heating system takes a few minutes to warm up.

Incidentally, the heated seats on my '00 M5 take longer to heat up and don't get as warm!!

I have not noticed the seat/back difference between the two settings - need to check that out.

 

My Mini doesn't have heated seats but I'm driving a loaner Mini while mine is in the shop. It has the cloth seat covers and gets plenty hot.

My wife tried out the heater and turned it off after a few minutes ....... she said it made her feel as if she'd wet her pants!

 

The seat heaters do a great job with my leather seats.

 

Leatherette and hot enough to cook eggs on. Well I have not actually tried yet.

Regards,
Red :smile: