Heated Seat Issue

25

Asked by Harlan12 Mar 05, 2008 at 04:33 PM about the 2008 Honda Civic EX-L

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

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!

12 Answers

105

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.

8 people found this helpful.
20

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.

2 people found this helpful.
105

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.

2 people found this helpful.
20

Heated seats in my other cars cook me. In the civic (2009 ex-l coupe / leather) don't do a thing.

2 people found this helpful.

I just bought a 2008 Honda civic coupe and I was told by the salesman that Honda seats would be very hot on high and I would probably end up using them on low. Got the car and they didnt even work! I got the element replaced and after 20 minutes of driving they became luke warm and then shut off. I have had heated seats in the past and Honda should not be allowed to call these heated.

5

sorry but i hate the body style of the new civics man dont get me wrong great great daily driver but the body is not in my best liking you know ill stick with my 2000 and under civics any day but i wouldnt mind haveing that 2007 honda civic si with the mugen package putting out like what 300+hp oh so sick but ill stick with my civic for now lol well both of them

30

We have the same issue with the heated seats in a 2007 CRV. They barely get warm and in the passenger seat only the bottom is heated the back does not have a heater. The Honda mechanic informed us of this. The owners manual does not even tell you this. They replaced all the seat heaters because they said they were not functioning properly and they are no better afterwards. This cost 1400.00.

3 people found this helpful.
50

Bought my 2008 crv exl on January 26th 2015 called a week later heated seats were not staying warm waa told to brimg it in and they would take care,of it because it was still under the 30 day law took it back to bonnivile and son in hooksett nh yesterday because of all the snowstorms we had I had to reschedule twice and then was told yesterday it was a bad heating element but they were not going to cover it and because it was past the 30 days they would not switch me into a different vehicle. So they sold me this honda knowing that it was not working 100 percent. And it would cost me 950.00 to fix out of my pocket. I bought the car just for that reason. The owners answer to me was sorry the only thing they would do is pay for half the cost. Again even after lying to me about the car being 100 percent in working condition. What can I do ? Dawn Ayotte

5 people found this helpful.
30

I just purchased a 2012 CRV with 17,000 in prime condition...my MAIN request for the vehicle is that it had hot heated seats because I am ALWAYS cold even in the summer and always have my seat heater on high. NEVER have had issues with any vehicles (Lexus or otherwise)...until the CRV. Took it in yesterday and was snarkily dealt - they said that the seats automatically shut off when they reach their high temp, and that you have to set it to low before it shuts off so it locks in the heat -(Bullarky). They ran diagnostics and said they were in perfect working condition and that whatever you set your cabin heat temp to, that's what the seat will warm up to whether it's 67 or 85 degrees...and then it will shut off. I am NOT happy...and will be writing the dealership and Honda.

3 people found this helpful.
10

I had purchased a honda crv 2008 certified one owner mint condition, did test drive it and I had the heated seats on, I didnt travel far from the dealership, did ask about the seats ,why they didnt get very hot, i was told it just needed to heat up a little longer than i drove it, after purchasing the vehicle, and retrying the heated seats for a longer period of time well.... it only stayed at the warm status luke warm that is, I also was told to bring it in ,and they said it is working properly, but im like the others was use to a heated seat that got hot and smelled like i was cooking (rump roast...lol) but yes I agree they have a poor heating seat system other than that the suv worked great!!!

1 people found this helpful.

I took my Honda 2018 Ridgeline in to have those heated seats checked. They said it was working perfectly. What a joke! I could have designed a system that worked much better. It's a shame that this product is so poorly designed. I though they were better than that. It's a shame to get a product that's an embarrassment.

I have a Honda Civic 2008 sedan , and heated seats is working only under a specific temperature. for ex : at 86F the're not working ... at 70F they're working. I hope it helped you.

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