2016 Seat Heaters
- Thread starter IBJammin
- Start date
I mentioned the weak heaters in my 2014.5 during an oil change, and the service tech somehow measured it and agreed. It took 2-3 months for the new pads to arrive. The new ones are no better than the old ones, and I was left with a broken passenger side seat recliner handle to boot.
Partially blown fuses are not as uncommon as you think. Fuses blow by melting. When the damaging over-current situation is interrupted as the fuse is melting you can end up with a fuse that has more resistance than a good fuse but still passes current without failing further.
I'm surprised with your stated experience you have never seen this.
As an HVAC tech I too have never seen a "partially blow" fuse. I suppose I will have to check the heated seat with a digital thermometer to be sure. If they do not provide "heat" to the person sitting in the seat then they are not doing the job claimed by Mazda representatives as well as claimed on the invoice and sales brochure. That having been said, if they fail to provide heat to the seat, well, that could open up several legal issues. Personally, I am trying to discover as many short comings as possible prior to purchasing one, so I can decide if it's worth my time, effort and money.
Partially blown fuses have been around since fuses were invented. It is simply a fuse that still allows voltage to flow (so it will test fine with a continuity tester) but will not pass sufficient current due to it's partially blown state.
Here is a reference from an Electrical Engineering course at a Technical University:
https://www.coursehero.com/file/p3pn8ho/i-A-partially-blown-fuse-even-if-it-looks-undamaged-should-be-replaced-by-a-new/
Here is a real world example from a motor home:
https://forums.woodalls.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28404532/print/true.cfm
Here's another example from an F-150:
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1041547-no-start-fuse-22-partially-blown-post-fix-write-up.html
I'm not sure why so many people doubt that which seems completely obvious.
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Here is a reference from an Electrical Engineering course at a Technical University:
https://www.coursehero.com/file/p3pn8ho/i-A-partially-blown-fuse-even-if-it-looks-undamaged-should-be-replaced-by-a-new/
Here is a real world example from a motor home:
https://forums.woodalls.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28404532/print/true.cfm
Here's another example from an F-150:
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1041547-no-start-fuse-22-partially-blown-post-fix-write-up.html
I'm not sure why so many people doubt that which seems completely obvious.
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Probably close to zero Mazda employees here posting positive things (they have happy owners to do that for them). My observation leads me to think there are a number of paid employees from competing marquees using a number of aliases to post negative things here. It's much cheaper to plant doubts in potential purchasers minds about a vehicle that is superior in so many fundamental ways than it is to convince someone to buy an inferior product by posting rave reviews of it.
When you see negative posts sowing seeds of doubt they are typically posted by a very low post count alias's. In contrast, most of the positive posts are obviously real CX-5 owners with hundreds (if not thousands) of posts who love the way their car responds to driver input, the better than average fuel economy and practical qualities of their ride.
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
(stash)
After 10 years here and on various other car forums, I have never seen or have yet to see what you are implying.
The internet car forums are a combination of FANBOYS, vehicle shoppers, repair persons, and current owners with questions or problems.
I honestly do not think a car maker would plant spies or moles on the interwebs to defend it's products to you.
(shrug)
As far as the seat heaters are concerned, has anyone confirmed if the seat heater logic is a stand alone 4 position switch, or if it is at all tied into the logic of the HVAC system?
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Ahhh, very well written, a staunch defender whether right or wrong. Corporate? I guess the windshield issues are just someone's delusional dream. Oh, and the heated seats are merely another person's body fat hindering the limp output of the "Heated" but tipid seats. And the bassless centerpoint sound system is because everyone is really looking for an audiophile quality system and not willing to settle for mediocre in their new SUV. If you don't work for them, perhaps you should.
I don't have a '16 FSM but here is one from my '15.
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mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
- :
- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
It sounds like the qty of windshield issues are above average for what I have seen on any of the other Mazda's previously. Chassis flex+thin glass maybe? I have not had any windshield issues on my 2 CX-5's.
The heated seats appear that they might be tied to the logic of the HVAC system. I do not have them on this car so I cannot comment here.
The Bose system is flat and lifeless when played with MP3 or FM/AM/SIR. To fully appreciate the system you really have to use a real CD. You could do better buying aftermarket here. It is not an audiophile system by any measure, just an upgrade from normal.
(rockon)
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Looking at the schematics above (which were kindly provided by a real CX-5 owner, not a Mazda employee) why do you think the seats don't "provide heat to the seat"? Legal issues? (rofl2) You have no basis for claiming the seats don't provide heat. You don't even own a CX-5 while people that do have all said the seats provide at least some heat. You are already threatening legal action and yet you haven't even bought one!
(rofl2)
Personally, I don't believe you intend to buy a CX-5. And why would you? You have negative 18 posts here, not one positive. Obviously, you will never come to the conclusion that a CX-5 is worth your "time effort and money". It's pretty obvious to me you are more interested in dissuading people from buying a CX-5 rather than buying one yourself. And that conclusion is supported by quotes that nobody would say if they were seriously interested in buying one (starting with your first post on the CX-5 forum):
No rational person would believe these are the words of someone trying to buy a Mazda CX-5 GT! There are lots of options out there, Ford, Chevy, Hyundai, BMW, Buick, Toyota, Honda, Jeep, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, VW, etc. Obviously, you should choose one of the competitors!
Have a 2015 GT and did a non scientific test this morning. Temperature was 60F in my garage. Pulled the car out and laid a meat thermometer on the passenger's seat with a towel on top. Turned the seat heater on full and in 10 minutes the temp was 80 F. I got the same reading from the driver's seat. The heat was only in the main seating area and up the lumbar area to the last cushion before the headrest. The side bolsters and the very front cushion had no heat. I am sure the heat would migrate further. Wife thought they weren't working yesterday. It will be interesting to see if they react to colder temperatures outside this winter.
Thermostat is located in this area of the seat
Thermostat is located in this area of the seat
Based on the location of the thermostat, it looks like excessive farting could reduce seat heat. (rlaugh)
Seriously though, the temperature could probably be increased simply by insulating the thermocouple from the heating element, perhaps with a thin piece of wool fabric. Just be aware that the hotter you make it, the worse it is for the leather. Heat dries leather out which over time can result in cracking and/or peeling.
Oh Mike... I got a chuckle out of that 
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
If you saw number of complaints for cracked windshield on CX-5 at NHTSA website, you wouldn't feel this windshield problem is just "above average", it's overwhelming.
This is not true. I've tried many CD's on our CX-5's Bose system and sound quality is still the same - flat and lifeless. The audio system on our CR-V with cheap aftermarket Sony head unit and four 6" Blaupunkt coaxial speakers has better sound than our CX-5's Bose "Premium" system! Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound System with nine mostly mid-range paper-cone speakers are for watching movies, and we don't watch movie while driving! I was amazed someone at Mazda will elect to eliminate directional dash tweeters for Bose on CX-5! A cheaper 7-speaker Bose system in new CX-3 has much better sound as it comes with front tweeters and sub-woofer!
In case some haven't seen this '13-'15 TSB.
http://oemdtc.com/10114/seat-warmer-malfunction-2013-2015-mazda-cx-5-2014-2015-mazda6
http://oemdtc.com/10114/seat-warmer-malfunction-2013-2015-mazda-cx-5-2014-2015-mazda6
The non-scientific survey on this forum for cracked windshields shows a breakage rate in line with other vehicles. And I suspect the non-scientific survey over-represents breakage due to the fact that such a survey is optional and tends to attract more responses from those who have actually had a cracked windshield.
Anyone can file a complaint on the NHTSA website. I suspect a disinformation campaign targeting the CX-5 because it doesn't reflect the results here. Only a small percentage of CX-5 owners experience broken windshields. I've had at least one broken windshield on all my other vehicles in the last decade but nary a little crack on my CX-5 in over 3 years even though it has taken some impressively loud rock hits at highway speeds. The kind of "thunk" that made me instinctively duck.
