Heated seats bug (or feature)?

[Poco Askew]

I've never had a car with heated seats where they stay set to ON after the car is turned off. It may be a feature, but IMO it's a problem.
We live in the mountains. It can be cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. Having those bun warmers is nice on a chilly morning, but they are the last thing you want later in the day. Also, if my wife rides with me, she will usually turn hers on. The next day when she isn't in the car, her seat warmer is still on until I notice it and kill it. Not a huge deal, but seems wrong. I've also never seen a cruise control stay on after the car is turned off. This I don't care about but seems like a liability for Mazda. I think computers and cars don't mix.

 

[brandini]

If the switch is in the center of the car, you're complaining about flipping it after she gets out?

Talk with your wife.

 

[iMaple]

I've never had a car with heated seats where they stay set to ON after the car is turned off. It may be a feature, but IMO it's a problem.
We live in the mountains. It can be cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. Having those bun warmers is nice on a chilly morning, but they are the last thing you want later in the day. Also, if my wife rides with me, she will usually turn hers on. The next day when she isn't in the car, her seat warmer is still on until I notice it and kill it. Not a huge deal, but seems wrong. I've also never seen a cruise control stay on after the car is turned off. This I don't care about but seems like a liability for Mazda. I think computers and cars don't mix.

I would compare the heated seats to AC settings rather than cruise control. And since the fan/temp settings are preserved it makes sense to do the same for the seat warmer setting.

 

[Chibana]

I would compare the heated seats to AC settings rather than cruise control. And since the fan/temp settings are preserved it makes sense to do the same for the seat warmer setting.

I would tend to agree. Around here (mid-Michigan), if it's 32 degrees at 07:00, it's probably not going to be warm and balmy at 15:00. If I use mine, I always end up turning it off once the car is fully warmed up, anyway.

 

[volfan615]

On my previous cars it would always default back to off when shutting the car off. Sounds like another bug to me.

 

[Poco Askew]

Like I said, it's not a big deal, but I've had several cars with heated seats and this is a first. All the others had a timer to turn off the seats after about 10 minutes. You only need them when you first get in a cold car. Once the heater is working, hot seats are uncomfortable. I don't think of seats like the AC setting since modern AC is actually a "climate control". Set it to 70 and it adjusts as needed. Not so with seats. I know I'm spoiled, but if you've had cars that do it both ways, auto off is much better, IMO. I'll chalk it up as not a bug but a feature (I don't care for).

 

[brandini]

Yea but auto off means remote start still leaves you with cold seats...

 

[iMaple]

On my previous cars it would always default back to off when shutting the car off. Sounds like another bug to me.

I hope they don't 'fix' it, I love the current design where it remembers the setting before turning off the car.

 

[Poco Askew]

I can see the current design being good for colder climates. Around here, heating is only first thing in the morning for maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the day I want them off. That's why I like the timer. My previous cars got the seats heated real quick (nice) but then could get too hot for comfort. Maybe Mazda figured out a quick but moderate heating. It hasn't been cold enough yet for me to use them much.

 

[nitsuj]

From my experience it's not a bug. My previous 3 (2012 sGT), my wife's 2013 CX-5 have the same behavior. I would say it is by design.

 

[fb88]

In BMW it's the same, it retains the last heated seat setting the next time you power up the car.

 

[Poco Askew]

In BMW it's the same, it retains the last heated seat setting the next time you power up the car.

That's different. Mine didn't. It had the timer and seats were never heated upon starting the car.
I've gotten used to the Mazda way already, so it's all good.

 

[Park2670]

That's different. Mine didn't. It had the timer and seats were never heated upon starting the car.
I've gotten used to the Mazda way already, so it's all good.

I liked the BMW approach. If you got back into the car after a short time < 30 minutes, the seats were still in their previous seat heat setting. If you come back later than that, it is set to off. I feel like this is the best way.

It was this way on my 2006 330xi, 2007 Z4M, and 2011 335d.

 

[franklabos]

Hey guys, this isn't a bug, it's actually intended and noted in the owners manual.

Coming from Audis that had this feature by default and having had other cars that didn't, this is a welcomed feature for winters and remote starters. Can't see how much of a pain this could be - just turn it off when you are finished with it or turn it off if you forget???

 

[Deftmetal]

If they stay on then people who use a car starter to warm up the car before they get to it have warm seats if they set them to on when they left the car. Leaving them in their previous position is the best solution in my opinion. The lights on the dash make it easy to know if they are on unlike other manufacturers who put the switches down beside the seats out of view.

 

[Young-nyc]

To each their own. Wish my current car retained the seat settings. Good to know my new3 will