Heated Seat aren't very hot - Can they be made hotter?

[Anthony121]

My Magnum seats take about 20 minutes to get up to 'toasty' temps, before i consider turning them down.
A previous Astra I had(now my son's car) would be getting turned down in just a couple of minutes.

The AH and BH Astra do have very good heated seats as does the ZB Commodore.

 

[panhead]

Do your ute seats 'breakover' like proper ute seats? To get access behind them?
I'm not a real fan of the seats in the Magnum. They are fully electric, recline, up and down, tilt and fore and aft.
The broadcast sheets state they are memory seats, but the ute BCM doesn't have that function.
I think they're basically sedan seats, the seat backs barely move forward. Makes it awkward to access the battery and wheel change gear.
The only good point about the seats are the heaters, although they are slow to heat up. Very handy here this time of the year.

Not as good as the Astra though. I used to finish night shift at 6am, start the car, turn on the seat heater, then scrape the ice off the front and rear screens.. My bum would be warm leaving the car park, and I'd turn them off within a couple of kilometers.

Yes the seats 'breakover' like the other Utes do.

As a side issue, you like me have owned a lot of Utes, the plastic handle at the back of the seat used to release the seat so it can bend forward, have you noticed how thin and flexible it is?

Compared to earlier Utes in that series the mechanism in the Redline is Tonka toy stuff.

My real gripe with the seats is that a vehicle in that price range should have full electric seats.

Electric seat tech is old even for a Commodore and the car is supposed to be one of the higher entry Commodores so it wouldn't have been difficult to upgrade the seats and maybe also add a memory function.





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[hademall]

Well that's what I want or expected when set to high. That's how my merc is when on high. I'll have to sit in another vf calais and see how there heated seats feel. If mines faulty I'll want them fixed otherwise I might as well have gotten a ssv lol. Heated seats was one of the selling points of the Calais for us.

I think it’s all a matter of perception and individual thresholds. Five minutes in our VF Calais with the seats on full heat is enough for me.

 

[lmoengnr]

Yes the seats 'breakover' like the other Utes do.

As a side issue, you like me have owned a lot of Utes, the plastic handle at the back of the seat used to release the seat so it can bend forward, have you noticed how thin and flexible it is?

Compared to earlier Utes in that series the mechanism in the Redline is Tonka toy stuff.

My real gripe with the seats is that a vehicle in that price range should have full electric seats.

Electric seat tech is old even for a Commodore and the car is supposed to be one of the higher entry Commodores so it wouldn't have been difficult to upgrade the seats and maybe also add a memory function.





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Is the VF seat back latch handle the same as a VE(fitted to the outboard shoulder of the seat back)?
I have heard of a few of them failing internally(VE's), but haven't had a problem with mine.
The Maloo uses a lever down near the pivot, it's a bit awkward to use, and works opposite to what you'd think.
I still prefer the semi electric seats in the Redline and Maloo, instead of the fully powered crap seats in the Magnum.

 

[panhead]

Is the VF seat back latch handle the same as a VE(fitted to the outboard shoulder of the seat back)?
I have heard of a few of them failing internally(VE's), but haven't had a problem with mine.
The Maloo uses a lever down near the pivot, it's a bit awkward to use, and works opposite to what you'd think.
I still prefer the semi electric seats in the Redline and Maloo, instead of the fully powered crap seats in the Magnum.

Yes the VF has the same setup at the shoulder as the VE.

It also has a lever at the seat pivot but that lever only gives limited adjustment for the backrest to be reclined forward or back for passenger comfort, it's the shoulder height handle that releases the backrest so you can access behind the seat.

And it's the handle at the shoulder that is flimsy so I'm a bit surprised at your comment about the failure in the VE as I not had a problem with any of mine but I have noticed the handle on the VE's is made of much thicker material then the VF2 Redline handle.

Maybe I'm just a little spoiled but I like the electric seats simply because for a long time I had a disabled family member in the cars with me and without power assistance it's so much harder to get them in and out.

I'd grab the handle at the front of the seat and move it all the way back then lift them in but it was hard to lean over them to access the handle again and pull the seat forward once they had their full weight on the seat.

It sounds like a minor first world problem for the lazy but when you have someone with you who can't do it for themselves it becomes a pain and when I get older moving my weight around also won't be so easy.





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[lmoengnr]

Yes the VF has the same setup at the shoulder as the VE.

It also has a lever at the seat pivot but that lever only gives limited adjustment for the backrest to be reclined forward or back for passenger comfort, it's the shoulder height handle that releases the backrest so you can access behind the seat.

And it's the handle at the shoulder that is flimsy so I'm a bit surprised at your comment about the failure in the VE as I not had a problem with any of mine but I have noticed the handle on the VE's is made of much thicker material then the VF2 Redline handle.

Maybe I'm just a little spoiled but I like the electric seats simply because for a long time I had a disabled family member in the cars with me and without power assistance it's so much harder to get them in and out.

I'd grab the handle at the front of the seat and move it all the way back then lift them in but it was hard to lean over them the access the handle again and pull the seat forward once they had their full weight on the seat.

It sounds like a minor first world problem for the lazy but when you have someone with you who can't do it for themselves it becomes a pain and when I get older moving my weight around also won't be so easy.





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So it's not just crappy seats in the Magnum, they 'cheaped out' on all the VF ute seats... At least they look good...
I see your point about disabled passengers and fully electric seats though.

 

[panhead]

So it's not just crappy seats in the Magnum, they 'cheaped out' on all the VF ute seats... At least they look good...
I see your point about disabled passengers and fully electric seats though.

I'm a big fan of electric seats because they make life easier for people with mobility issues, the elderly and people who are way oversized and auto dipping mirrors for parking, two things the Ute would be a lot better with.

One thing I like about my MB and BMW is they have the seat adjustments in more than one area.

The BMW has them in the base of the seat and also at the top of the side of the backrest which makes it easy to move the seat around while standing.

And when you are struggling with getting someone in and out that can be invaluable.

The MB has them built into the car door and midway up the side of the backrest.

They are a good idea as they give you options to adjust the seat from a standing or bending position.

They both have memory seats which are not so important to me as I never bothered to set them in my Calais but what I like about the MB in particular is the seat and the steering column moves away when you exit the car and back again when you settle in.

The steering column will adjust down to your height setting, the seat will move to your preset driving position and the side backrest seat bolsters will move in closer to hug your body, it feels like you're being cocooned.

All unnecessary I know but I've lost count of the look on people's faces when they see the steering wheel lower itself into position.

I know these cars cost more but for the cost of some moulding changes, wiring and buttons at the manufacture stage it wouldn't be that expensive and they would have taken the creature comforts of vehicles like the Calais, Statesman and Limited Editions to another level.

Holden really did cheap out on the Commodore, I mentioned in another thread I recently had an MG HS as a loan car, without going into the specifics of my thoughts on it, if anyone has a chance to sit in one just put your hand on the dashboard then think of your Commodore.




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