CT4V BW ventilated seats question

[cnofar]

Hey Guys, just chiming in. I didn't use my ventilated seats the first few weeks I had the car, but I've tried it out the last few hot days here in Michigan. I've barely felt any cool air from the ventilated seats, even on the highest settings. Wondering what other people' experience has been? On the contrary I tried out the heated seats and they seem to work well. Are weak ventilated seats a known issue, or is mine an isolated occurence?

Regards,
Christopher

 

[Finally-a-V]

I don't think they are very strong. Better than nothing though. I haven't tried the heat or message yet.

 

[burn813]

Hey Guys, just chiming in. I didn't use my ventilated seats the first few weeks I had the car, but I've tried it out the last few hot days here in Michigan. I've barely felt any cool air from the ventilated seats, even on the highest settings. Wondering what other people' experience has been? On the contrary I tried out the heated seats and they seem to work well. Are weak ventilated seats a known issue, or is mine an isolated occurence?

Regards,
Christopher

Remember that they are ventilated seats and not air conditioned seats. They do decently when it isn't so hot, but they are just blowing ambient cab air through the seat.

 

[Exia]

The vents aren't AC seats, they're just fans that pull air from the floor.

The biggest difference you can make is to make sure your AC is blowing to your legs and not just your face. Sending the cold air to the floor will allow the fans to pull that through the seat.

Also note that if your cabin temp has stabilized that you won't really feel the fans as the temp on the floor and up near the roof equalize (usually happens within 5-10min of driving).

Ventilated seats are the most useful when you just get in a hot car and turn the AC on with your climate controls set to put AC to your legs. It becomes mostly useless once the temps have equalized in the car unless you just want to feel a bit of air moving on your back after that point.

 

[burn813]

The vents aren't AC seats, they're just fans that pull air from the floor.

The biggest difference you can make is to make sure your AC is blowing to your legs and not just your face. Sending the cold air to the floor will allow the fans to pull that through the seat.

Also note that if your cabin temp has stabilized that you won't really feel the fans as the temp on the floor and up near the roof equalize (usually happens within 5-10min of driving).

Ventilated seats are the most useful when you just get in a hot car and turn the AC on with your climate controls set to put AC to your legs. It becomes mostly useless once the temps have equalized in the car unless you just want to feel a bit of air moving on your back after that point.

 

[sethsquire]

The vents aren't AC seats, they're just fans that pull air from the floor.

The biggest difference you can make is to make sure your AC is blowing to your legs and not just your face. Sending the cold air to the floor will allow the fans to pull that through the seat.

Also note that if your cabin temp has stabilized that you won't really feel the fans as the temp on the floor and up near the roof equalize (usually happens within 5-10min of driving).

Ventilated seats are the most useful when you just get in a hot car and turn the AC on with your climate controls set to put AC to your legs. It becomes mostly useless once the temps have equalized in the car unless you just want to feel a bit of air moving on your back after that point.

Exactly this.

By and large, I find that most ventilated seats kinda suck relative to what you'd hope they do. I had them in my Genesis, my wife's Kia Sportage and now the 4BW and they've all been kind of underwhelming, if ultimately at least somewhat effective.

The only car I was ever in where the vented seats actually felt decent was a rental Ford Mustang GT I had once when I went to Florida. I don't know why that was the case.

 

[NewCaddy]

The vents aren't AC seats, they're just fans that pull air from the floor.

The biggest difference you can make is to make sure your AC is blowing to your legs and not just your face. Sending the cold air to the floor will allow the fans to pull that through the seat.

Also note that if your cabin temp has stabilized that you won't really feel the fans as the temp on the floor and up near the roof equalize (usually happens within 5-10min of driving).

Ventilated seats are the most useful when you just get in a hot car and turn the AC on with your climate controls set to put AC to your legs. It becomes mostly useless once the temps have equalized in the car unless you just want to feel a bit of air moving on your back after that point.

Good tips/explanation - thank you

 

[Mike Martz]

Kia manages to put air conditioned ventilated seats in their Telluride and my wife loves them.

 

[Exia]

Kia manages to put air conditioned ventilated seats in their Telluride and my wife loves them.

To my knowledge this isn't true. The ventilated seats on a Telluride are not Air Conditioned, they're the same as every car that offers ventilated seats, its just a fan and is not connected to the AC system.

 

[dstewart51]

I cycle a few times a week, when its 100+ outside and I get in my Explorer (with ventilated seats), you really can feel the effect on sweaty cloths. Not so much if your all dry. My experience, you need to be sweaty to feel the effect from ventilated seats.

 

[ClassaxV]

I'm confused.

I THOUGHT that the GM approach to ventilated seats is drawn airflow off the passengers by blowing air down through the seats, working with the body's own cooling mechanism.

For me here in Texas no matter how cold your ac blows, on hot days on cars with leather seats I wind up with a wet upper and lower back. God for bid I get in the car already hot because then I have a case of swamp keyster to go with it.

I've been in cars that blow both ambient and cooled air at you and I have discovered I actually prefer the GM approach as I don't like the feeling of having sat in something cool and wet.

Ventilated seats are now a non negotiable for any car coming to reside in my garages.

Did I misunderstand the ventilated seats work?

Side note: If you think of your AC as filling your car with a fluid it will help to explain why leaving it in auto with the floor and dash vents going are the fastest ways to cool the vehicle. As we all know hot air rises and cold air sinks. You can blow cold air out of the dash vents and feel it blowing on you but it will not cool you or the car until it displaces the warm air in the vehicle. Meaning that cold air has to hit you be warmed slightly and then sink to the floor and fill up the cabin driving the hot air up and eventually out of the cabin. Having the floor vents on helps fill the cabin with that cold air from the bottom up exchanging the hot air for cool air quicker.

 

[SIX 40]

The ventilated seats in my M5 are terrible too. I’m told it’s the massaging modules blocking most of the fans that are used for ventilation. Maybe the same thing happening with the CT4? The vented seats in my V3 were fine, at least I could feel something.

 

[668LT4]

I'll admit it the function seems non-existent in my 4. I have wondered if the massaging function blocks or minimizes air flow? I have vented seats in my 2020 Sierra that very noticeably push air, and I love them. But I also love the massagers in the Caddy, and suppose I prefer that function more than the venting.

 

[ClassaxV]

I guess it's really all about expectations. I don't expect ventilated seats to cool me off, I expect them to keep my back and bum drier, when sitting in hot leather seats.

 

[668LT4]

I guess it's really all about expectations. I don't expect ventilated seats to cool me off, I expect them to keep my back and bum drier, when sitting in hot leather seats.

I do agree with you. But I expect to be able to feel some air movement, and on my 4, I cannot.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

I do agree with you. But I expect to be able to feel some air movement, and on my 4, I cannot.

Do you even hear the fan coming on?

 

[M2Cto4BW]

The 'value' of them is here nor there for me, but they definitely work - my giblets were well ventilated yesterday.
I do think there is something to the point down to go up though, as that was when they were at their most blowy and then I just turned them off as it wasn't that hot anymore

 

[668LT4]

Do you even hear the fan coming on?

Yes. I just do not feel air movement. In my Sierra, it is quite noticeable.

 

[Berserker]

I do agree with you. But I expect to be able to feel some air movement, and on my 4, I cannot.

My understanding is that, due to supply chain issues, cars are being delivered without some of the seat-related features working. The features are supposed to be retro-fitted by the dealer at a later date. Is this one of them?

 

[Ivy1Le]

My understanding is that, due to supply chain issues, cars are being delivered without some of the seat-related features working. The features are supposed to be retro-fitted by the dealer at a later date. Is this one of them?

it could be, but I don't recall this being one of the credits on cars. I know they were leaving them out of the trucks/SUVs.. The fan is pretty loud, @668LT4 should be able to hear it running with the radio off