Heated Seat Issue
Took delivery of a 2008 Civic EX-L on February 14, 2008 (5 speed manual/without Nav). Nice enough car for a subcompact, reasonably comfortable, light clutch, smooth shifter, perfect paint but I have issues with the heated seats. On high the seats barely get warm, on low they don't do anything. Been back to the dealer twice to have them looked at, both times was told that "They are Operating as Designed". This is VERY different from any other car that I have ever driven with heated seats, my previous car (2003 Cheverolet Monte Carlo SS) had leather heated seats that got hot (on high) within 30 seconds and stayed hot, unless you either turned them down to low or shut them off. Overall I am happy enough with my new car, but if I had known ahead of time that this was how the seats worked I would have skipped the leather package and just gotten the EX model (or most likely have bought the Mazda 3 Grand Touring which was the other car I was considering). In case anybody is wondering why I didn't "test out" the heated seats before I bought the car: My test drive was in an EX with a 5 speed (cloth no heated seat option) the EX-L that I bought had to be ordered - guess not to many people are getting the EX-L with a manual shift. In fact the only stick the dealer had on the lot was the Civic EX that I test drove!
This is NOT what I wanted to hear. My wife and I took delivery of the 2008 Honda Civic EX-L Automatic Transmission in May of this year ( 2008 ) ,right from the dealers lot. After deciding and test driving the EX Civic on a Saturday we went to pick up the EX on Sunday. Well things were not right ( change of mind, etc ). So we decided on the EX-L and drove off with the additional leather and heated seats package. As we have been driving it for two weeks now and my wife has repeatedly said that the heated seat are not working, as opposed to our Chevy Tahoe which really cooked your hinny ( which she absolutely loved ).
So what your telling me is that this is the best it gets on the heated seats feature on the Honda Civic EX-L ?
Should we even pursue an hour away to our dealer to complain about a feature that is subpar?
How many other owners out there are unsatisfied with the heated seats feature?
Any suggestion, options, opinions.... greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I purchased a Honda Civic EX-L one week ago. I told the salesmen with whom I worked that Iwanted good mileage, sun roof, and heated seats. I've had the seats checked twice, and am very disappointed. They get 'warm' for a few minutes, then shut off. I drove for 3 hours 4 days after I purchased my car, and the seats were not warm. Also, the dealership (I later found out) jumped the battery when I first bought the car. It needed to be jumped again in two days. They will not put in a new battery. I am disappointed.
Well their you have it,..... looks like the heated seat issue has a chilling answer. They don't work worth a crap! And to sell this feature to buyers who know what heated seats are supposed to feel like is deceiving! But this holds no water because it's all about an opinion. Their opinion is, " it gets warm right? It's working like we designed it right? " Our opinion is, " you call that warm? It feels like it's not working at all! ". Anyway,.. we are very happy with the 2008 Honda Civic EX-L so far. ( except for the heated seats ).
Thanks for everyone who touched on this subject.