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Heated seat - driver's side

19K views 101 replies 50 participants last post by  Chunkem 
#1 ·
My driver’s seat heater seldom warms the seat. With a remote start in cold weather the seat does not heat, the heated seat switch shows two red LEDs, a hint of warmth can be felt after 12 to 15 minutes of driving but the seat never gets warm and what warmth can be detected is in the seat back. Sometimes, manually turning on the heated seat, the seat will warm up within a few minutes and I have to lower the heat setting.

I’m curious to know how others view the functionality of their heated seat. Does it warm up fast? How warm does it get and how long does it take?

This is my first Chrysler product having driven GM and Fords for most of my driving life. I’ve never seen a heated seat perform so poorly and the dealer is telling me that the seats do not get that warm anymore. Is the dealer right?
 
#73 · (Edited)
My Laramie's seats get very warm and the steering wheel gets down right hot. If I remote start the truck and its 10 degrees out, the seats are plenty warm and toasty in about 2 minutes from a cold start. Both the small of the back cushion and seat cushion are heated.


Fyi: You can re-position the lower heating element by accessing it from the rear of the cushion. There are 2 clips that hold the flap of back of the seat down. Access it from the back seat floor.
 
#74 ·
Ive been wondering if you got yours fixed Monster5601. I see you just posted today, but previous post was March 2014. You were pushing this issue pretty hard and i figured you would be the one to come up with an answer, so did you move to Florida or some place where the seat heaters dont matter ?
 
#76 ·
Nope, got no where.

The heating behavior and the temperature they should achieve is not published in the workshop manuals. The service manager said with out documentation there is nothing they can fix, determined they are working as designed and closed me out. Customer care told me that since the dealer said they are working as designed there was nothing they could do. The service writer agreed the seats should be warm after a few minutes, they wouldn't swap out the module that controls the seat heaters. The funny thing about this, both front seats won't warm up, the rear seats toast right up.

The owners' manual has more detailed information on the seat heater behavior than the workshop manual. I used that as a reference and they didn't care.

At least my steering wheel heats quick. The same module controls the steering wheel and all four seat heaters and front ventilation.

So like a dumb ass, I buy another RAM, this time, a 3500 Cummins, the seats seems to warm better but the truck isn't my daily driver and is in winter storage so I really don't know if they are working well.

I may try again to get the 2013 fixed with another dealer. I'm out of the 36K warranty, got to love the bumper to bumper $0 detectable lifetime maximum care warranty.
 
#77 ·
Just to chime in another unhappy owner I have a 12 sport leather heated/ventilated My driver side works great! both heat/vent and steering get hot/vented quick and ez. My passenger side barley warms and I am not sure about the vented part :( I read through the entire thread and found no solution so I am going to hope someone figures it out or just live with it .
 
#78 ·
Well I have a 2016 ram 1500 Laramie and my drivers seat gets warm but not as hot as my 07 Laramie. I'm going to try the passenger seat tomorrow. Mine is still under warranty so I will keep bringing it back until they fix it or they will get sick of seeing me every week lol
 
#79 ·
Probably not a useful comparison living here in the Phoenix metro area, but both of my front seats and back seat get very warm. I've had them on in temperatures as low as 40F outside. I'll start on high and after 5 minutes usually have to turn them down to low. I usually just turn them on to take the chill off the leather. My steering wheel is another story. I have to turn it off after just a few minutes or it burns my hands. i could really use a cooled steering wheel though in the summer.
 
#80 ·
I've had them on in temperatures as low as 40F outside.
One of the more frustrating aspects of this problem (to me anyway, I'm not sure if everyone is experiencing the same issue), is that in warmer temps (like 40*F) the seats seem to work fine, and I usually don't leave them on very long. When you REALLY want them to work (temps in the 20s and below) is when they take FOREVER to get warm, and never seem to get HOT at all.

-Chris
 
#82 ·
"The heating behavior and the temperature they should achieve is not published in the workshop manuals. The service manager said with out documentation there is nothing they can fix, determined they are working as designed and closed me out. Customer care told me that since the dealer said they are working as designed there was nothing they could do. The service writer agreed the seats should be warm after a few minutes, they wouldn't swap out the module that controls the seat heaters. The funny thing about this, both front seats won't warm up, the rear seats toast right up."

I wonder - the following is an excerpt from the dvd manual-
"Once a heat setting is selected, heat will be felt within two to five minutes."
Now, if we dont feel heat before 15 mins (which most of us seem to attest to) then its not working right, plain and simple. Push comes to shove, we can show them this print right out of the manual.
This line exists in the manual for both front and rear seats !
 
#83 · (Edited)
"The heating behavior and the temperature they should achieve is not published in the workshop manuals. The service manager said with out documentation there is nothing they can fix, determined they are working as designed and closed me out. Customer care told me that since the dealer said they are working as designed there was nothing they could do. The service writer agreed the seats should be warm after a few minutes, they wouldn't swap out the module that controls the seat heaters. The funny thing about this, both front seats won't warm up, the rear seats toast right up."

I wonder - the following is an excerpt from the dvd manual-
"Once a heat setting is selected, heat will be felt within two to five minutes."
Now, if we dont feel heat before 15 mins (which most of us seem to attest to) then its not working right, plain and simple. Push comes to shove, we can show them this print right out of the manual.
This line exists in the manual for both front and rear seats !
When the heated seat is ON, it will draw x amount of amps, the heat is not variable meaning it does not lower the temp unless you put the setting to Lo or turn it off. The dealer should be able to check what the current draw is on Hi setting. Sounds like you are not getting the full current or part of the heating element is not working. If the rear seats are heating properly, measure the current draw on them, and compare to the front
 
#86 ·
Hopefully ill have an answer soon. Mine is at the dealer right now. Took it in because neither of the rear seat heaters switch bezels light up. When i dropped it off, i told them the issue with the front seat heaters. Service manager agreed that 15-20 mins before i think maybe they are doing something, is unacceptable.
8 hrs later they call me and say that they need to keep it because something isnt right and they need more time. They ordered new switches, but in my discussion with the service manager, i told him that it was unlikely that both switches would fail. Well it wasnt the switches and now due to whatever they have tried, the front seat heaters will turn on, but go off after a few minutes.
I told them to keep it for as long as it takes to get it right. I said "I dont want it back until it works they way it should".
Hopefully they try a new control module, and we can at least cross that off the list.
Fingers crossed !!
 
#90 · (Edited)
Well, i have new front seat heater elements on the way apparently. They said that aside from them taking way too long to heat up, they were drawing way too many amps and kicking off. Strange that they were not kicking off for me, but hey, they are trying something !!
Incidentally, the elements are on a two week backorder, which tells me they are failing and supply cannot keep up with demand ! Food for thought !
Ill post again when this is done.
 
#91 ·
If that works please let me know and who your dealer is (is it Findlay Chrysler or Reineke?). Findlay is about a two hour drive for me, more than happy to make the drive to get these thing to heat.
 
#92 · (Edited)
Will do Monster. Findlay Chrysler is who im dealing with, and so far, they have been great !
Picked it up late last night after they told me ill get notification when parts arrive. Interestingly, the front heaters did not kick off during several trips that evening, and the rear seat switches still dont work. Im wondering if i was told correctly - perhaps the rear seat heater elements were ordered!
Who knows !
Guess ill find out eventually - Keep you posted !
 
#94 · (Edited)
Does anyone have any updates to this issue? I am experiencing the same problem.

I have a 35 minute drive into work and when I arrive the seats have still not warmed up to body temperature. I brought the truck into South Hills and they had the nerve to tell me that the seats were too thick! Seriously? The truck was 1 week old and bought with Leather Heated seats from them! I sat in a Jeep in the showroom the their seats worked. The service manager took the vin number of that Jeep said there was a difference between the vehicles. I agreed and said that the seats in the Jeep work and the seats in my truck don't work!!!! Needles to say the dealer is not calling me back about the issue and I am NOT HAPPY
 
#98 ·
You have got to be kidding? This has been going on for years and they can't resolve this issue! RAM should stop selling leather heated seats until they can resolve the issue. I am an IT manager and understand the technology behind it. They are not the federal government trying to setup a healthcare website. This is a company that builds a nice product. This issue cannot be that difficult to fix and needs to be resolved now.
 
#101 · (Edited)
Cloth versus leather, again.

I would be ok with that it being that hot! I have 2 other new vehicles and both of the seat heaters work well. I am really surprised with this issue and the response from the dealer.
I've been to several dealers without any resolve. They tell me it is working as designed yet can not provide any supporting documentation. I show them the heated seat behavior in our owners' manual, they shrug and tell me they don't have an answer to why it doesn't work as documented.
 
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