Bum Warmer Power?

[nick997]

Anyone find the heated seats on the 718 a bit low powered? In comparison to my wife's Mini I would say the minimum setting on the mini is about the same as the Boxster on full power. Boxster is leather compared to cloth on the mini. The heating seems to switch off or reduce further after a relatively short time too.

Car is new to me but a 2016 model under warranty so wondering if this is normal or needs looking at.

[ians]

I have a 2016 718. The seat heating has three settings. I find the level of heating more than enough. You are correct the heating will cool down as you go on. This is the norm. I don’t think you have a problem. 

[nick997]

Interesting that you say that yours are “more than enough”, I can tell mine are on but wouldn’t describe them as you have. 

[Christopher2110]

The cloth seats in the Mini with heating are the bees knees in my opinion, mine in my 986 are nowhere near comparable, assume the leather has something to do with it. 
 

I can notice a difference when the Mini uses start stop and it knocks the power to the auxiliaries. Can’t imagine there’s much wrong with your battery but maybe check all that’s ok first if you think it’s a power issue?

[nick997]

Thanks Chris, maybe I'm comparing the best heated seats with something more average. The leather seats feel pretty reasonably quality with thick leather so thought that may well affect how much heat gets through. I've had a 981 and 987.2 in the past both with heated seats but can't really remember how powerful they were in comparison. I'd say the battery is fine, cranks the engine over after a few days use with no issues. 

[Clivescoobydo]

1 hour ago, Christopher2110 said:

The cloth seats in the Mini with heating are the bees knees in my opinion, mine in my 986 are nowhere near comparable, assume the leather has something to do with it. 
 

I can notice a difference when the Mini uses start stop and it knocks the power to the auxiliaries. Can’t imagine there’s much wrong with your battery but maybe check all that’s ok first if you think it’s a power issue?

My 986 heated seats are excellent. 2 settings which you can feel almost instantly and have to turn down or off as they almost get too hot. 

[Graham W]

My 718 heated seats react very quickly when turned on and certainly warm the bum to almost toast within a couple of mins.

[nick997]

1 minute ago, Graham W said:

My 718 heated seats react very quickly when turned on and certainly warm the bum to almost toast within a couple of mins.

Thanks Graham, that's at odds to mine. I must try jumping in the passenger seat to see if there is a difference between the two. How old is your 718 out of interest?

[Graham W]

3 years old now - registered 2018, June

[nick997]

Thanks Graham.

[Paul P]

There’s some complex logic to how hot how fast (certainly in the 987 I would imagine more so on newer cars ).  There’s a ramp,up level that then backs off and it’s linked to ambient temp etc.  

If it’s under warranty get them to run it through the diags and see if everything checks out.  

my car (987,2) gets pretty warm pretty quick, days like today will see me roof down and heater on full for perhaps the 1st 10mins then I a, backing the seats off.  But. The seats in the daily (2020 focus ) are “hotter” but never felt the boxster seats lacking.  

[nick997]

I want to be pretty certain there’s a problem before speaking to the dealer, my more recent experience is that the default response is to quote to investigate any issue which then becomes void if a warranty fault is found. Since they have been unable to sell as many new cars dealers seem to be taking it out on existing customers via service charges. 

[Happy Days]

Mine takes a mile or so to get fully hot (rural area, so no traffic) but on 3 it burns my ar*e off so I only use 1 normally. Hot enough for me. I also have heated steering wheel and oftern wonder if the gear knob could be heated too. I know, first world problem...

[nick997]

5 minutes ago, Happy Days said:

Mine takes a mile or so to get fully hot (rural area, so no traffic) but on 3 it burns my ar*e off so I only use 1 normally. Hot enough for me. I also have heated steering wheel and oftern wonder if the gear knob could be heated too. I know, first world problem...

Just picked my daughter up 10 minutes ago, 3 mile rural trip so long enough to heat up. Daughter complains on way home "your heated seats are nowhere near as good as mums" so it's not just me and definitely nowhere close to burning my butt off.

Thanks for replies everyone, looking like it is worth getting them looked at.

[bandit_287]

My previous 987.2 heated leather seats and current 981 were/are adequate but nowhere near as hot as my mates BMW 4 series, the heated seats in an Audi I drove the other day could have melted my ar*e cheeks. I think it’s a Porsche thing as the Taycan I drove last month seats felt the same. 

[Oldskool]

My 2017 718 heated seats work superbly, no issues. It’s also the first car I’ve had with a heated steering wheel and that is just luxury on a cool morning . Usually turn the seats down to 1 or 2 a few miles after start up as that is more than sufficient for me . 

[Nobbie]

On 11/3/2021 at 8:08 AM, nick997 said:

I want to be pretty certain there’s a problem before speaking to the dealer, my more recent experience is that the default response is to quote to investigate any issue which then becomes void if a warranty fault is found. Since they have been unable to sell as many new cars dealers seem to be taking it out on existing customers via service charges. 

You any good with a multimeter? Could try popping the fuse and measuring the current to the seats and see if this corresponds to the expected current for the different settings. Need a chunky current capacity on the meter though. Many are 20A which may not be enough.

[myfirstboxster]

Maybe wear pants when you're driving ?