Cooled seats not cooling

[Zemedici]

Please show this thread to your managers. Collectively, we have found no satisfaction, or even acknowledgement of this design flaw, through any regular channels and have been callously dismissed by all levels. Perhaps you can find somebody at Ford with a shred of pride in the company's work who will do something for us.

I will push it along. I'll show my car (fiancées) to the service manager as now that you guys mention it I've never noticed the back of the seat cooling like the bottom. :cheers:

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[Droid_Junky]

I'm very interested in the results for this. I have an appointment scheduled on Tuesday (solely for escalation, I don't expect anything new). I would like to be able to take all of this to them.

Maybe I'll print this thread out and give it to them. :frusty:

It wasn't as hot today leaving work but I will say that with the mod, I am much more satisfied with the seat. The temp was in the high 80's today. I can feel it start cooling the same time as the cushion and I can feel it staying cool the entire 40 minute drive home. Driving home it seems to be more noticeable in the upper square. It seems like when I'm leaning back its actually clogging the outlet just a bit. The cushion doesn't have that problem because it is between my legs. I also didn't have to keep my AC up as high as I normally do!

I checked it closer when I got home. Right at the outlet it's obviously cooled air and it seems to be more noticeable going up the seat than down but it did seem that I felt a little air below the outlet port and to the left and right edges of the seat. The exhaust does seem to still be putting off quite a bit of heat but I'm not convinced it is having an adverse affect on the cooled side now that I'm getting cabin air.

 

[Free Agent]

It wasn't as hot today leaving work but I will say that with the mod, I am much more satisfied with the seat. The temp was in the high 80's today. I can feel it start cooling the same time as the cushion and I can feel it staying cool the entire 40 minute drive home. Driving home it seems to be more noticeable in the upper square. It seems like when I'm leaning back its actually clogging the outlet just a bit. The cushion doesn't have that problem because it is between my legs. I also didn't have to keep my AC up as high as I normally do!

I checked it closer when I got home. Right at the outlet it's obviously cooled air and it seems to be more noticeable going up the seat than down but it did seem that I felt a little air below the outlet port and to the left and right edges of the seat. The exhaust does seem to still be putting off quite a bit of heat but I'm not convinced it is having an adverse affect on the cooled side now that I'm getting cabin air.

I need you to build and install the DroidJunky upper seat cooler tube mod for both of my seats. How much would you charge? ;)

 

[Millgeo5]

The temps here in AZ are well over 100 and my seat bottoms get a little cool but the back is like a blast furnace. It never cools but blows plenty of hot air in the middle of my back.

 

[lwilliams]

I have taken my car in for the seats, they said it was normal.At least it's documented.

Same here.

 

[FeedtheNeed]

Unfortunately, Ford is a business. If all behave the same, they are working as intended. That diagnosis will not change until someone is loud enough to the people that make the decisions.

Accepting their answer when we feel otherwise is a disservice to us. If your feel your seats are not living up to expectations, tell Ford. You do that by making yourself heard. If they give you an answer you aren't satisfied with, tell them so. Ask to speak with a manager, tell them you aren't satisfied.

If we just roll over and let them have it, it will never get fixed.

Most importantly, be respectful! These are people, just like us. They are doing their job. They can't fix a design flaw, they can't promise to fix it. All they can do is elevate it.

 

[Free Agent]

They can't fix a design flaw, they can't promise to fix it. All they can do is elevate it.

Not good enough. Sending it up the chain isn't a resolution. Replacing the units with units that work is a resolution. Installing a tube that draws in cooler cabin air is a resolution. Refunding part of our money we paid for cooled seats is a resolution. Anything else is not acceptable. Ford needs to extend the respect to we the buyer that purchased this option on good faith that it would work correctly. It doesn't work properly. Ball is in their court and the situation was created by them, not us. They need to step up. Yes I know the process takes time. But all it would take is Ford issuing a TSB with a "we are looking into it" and that would satisfy many of us at this time. Right now its basically a "screw you people it functions normally" is the message we are receiving from all sides. That isn't respectful or right. :(

Speaking of escalating, it may not be a bad idea to contact the BBB and submit a complaint. Nothing I'm sure could be done on their end but if enough owners submit a complaint it could pressure Ford to do something. (And we can just register online, instead of taking it into the BBB and they tell us it doesn't work.)

 

[jbailer]

@ Free Agent.
I think you're missing the point. All the dealer can do is replace broken parts with new. They are independent authorized dealers. They can't and won't re-engineer it no matter how right you think it should be. We need Ford to fix it and issue a TSB.

I think your lack of understanding of the business relationship here is why you won't take your car to the dealer. Ford makes the car and sells it to independent authorized dealers. They sell the cars to end users. The dealer didn't design the car. They sold us a car that Ford made. The dealer is Ford's customer. When you take your car to the dealer and it is found to be working the way Ford designed it but not satisfactorily, they file a complaint with Ford. If there are enough complaints on an issue or there is a safety problem, Ford will take action by creating a fix and instructing/ authorizing the dealer to make the repair.

 

[Alloye]

I have an appointment to take mine in on Thursday. I also did some controlled observation this morning inside my garage so that outside heat and sunlight wouldn't be a factor. Here's what I found:

Without me sitting in the seats, I fired up the A/C and the seat coolers. After 2-3 minutes, the seat bottom and lower back began to feel cool to the touch. At no time could I detect any cooling of the upper back even though I checked several times.

After about 15 minutes, the seat bottom still felt cool, the lower back did not, and the upper back was most certainly warming up. This is what I've noticed while sitting in the seats as well. Driver and passenger sides are the same.

 

[Droid_Junky]

If they tell you that the backs aren't supposed to cool, show them this picture. I wasn't even hitting the peltier element so the temp could actually be even cooler. I couldn't straighten the rubber tube and take the picture at the same time. My garage was about 85 degrees and I let it run for almost 30 minutes and it was still outputting that temp. That temp will cool the seat down. If the unit can get cabin air it does cool continuously.

I thought of another way of testing the seats. First turn on the heated option and let the seats get warm. Once they are warm then turn on the cooled seats. If they don't get cooled down within 10 minutes then the back is just blowing the recirculating hot air. I know from all the testing that this is what everyone will feel. With my cheesy mod installed my seat does actually cool within a few minutes when doing this test.

One thing I noticed about the heat was that I could feel it practically everywhere on the cushion and back. We now know the heat source is from the same outlet as the cooled source. So technically the cooled parts of the seat should be the same as the heated parts of the seat. Even with my mod it doesn't match the output of the heated option but it does make a noticeable difference.

I think what everyone is feeling at the bottom of the back is air from the cushion.

 

[mike62]

Are anyone front seats backs cooling? Mine aren't either. Will dealers repair them?


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[BBB]

Mine work half assed, they start getting warm about 20 minutes in

 

[POOPonYOU]

I've only felt my back cool once about a week ago. Never ever again. What could have been......it felt so nice.

 

[n813ca]

Mine was cool once too. Hot most of the time

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[tsunami]

I ran the cabin A/C for a few minutes before activating the seat cooling. Turning the seat cooling to max chilled the seat bottom, and gently cooled the lower part of the seat back. But I did not feel any noticeable cooling in the upper half of the seat back. At least the perforations in the upper portion allowed some air movement.

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