'04 Highlander Limited seat heaters

[JohnJCronin]

I have an '04 Limited with heated leather seats. This is the first cold weather that I have encountered and it does not seem as though the seats get warm. I called the service department and asked if I could come in and look at a new limited and try the seats to compare, but I got the standard answer of " make an appointment and leave it with us and we'll look at it" As no one except me is allowed to work on my vehicles, I did NOT bring it in. Instead, I went to the dealer and happen to find an '05 limited that had the keys in it (go figure the chances of that). So I helped myself and started it and turned on the seat heaters. They also appeared to not work either.

I was wondering if anyone with an '04 or '05 limited with heated leather seats has noticed this same thing.

[peid]

My heated seats in my Camry take probably about 15 minutes to get up to full operating temperature, guessing the Highlander is very similar. How long did you try them for?

[JohnJCronin]

Peid,

Do you just have a push "on/off" button for the heated seats in your Camry, or are they adjustable (either High/Low or variable)? When they come up to temperature, how hot do they get?

[peid]

I simply have an on/off button, no low/high.

It takes probably about 15 minutes to get up to operating temperature and then they get hot enough to really feel warm.

My theory is this:

The human body temperature is 98.6 degrees. Anything which feels cold or cool to the touch should be less than 98.6 degrees. Anything which feels hot or warm to the touch should be more than 98.6 degrees. Therefore it is my guess that I take a shower at approximately 110-115 degrees. Which would also be comparable to how warm my butt feels in the Camry heated seat at operating temperature.

Able to follow?

[SGull]

Ditto, it takes a few minutes in my 04 HL.

[Leonard]

It does take approx 10 minutes to really feel the heated seats. Most of their cars are like that.

[JohnJCronin]

Well, I turned them on for 20 minutes while I was driving tonight and I could just begin to feel the drivers seat warm up and then it cooled off - they must shut off with a sensor - the heated seats in my Highlander are pretty much ineffective if you ask me.

[gman]

John,
I would bring your car into the dealer to have them check the seats. Also, sit in the passenger side and see if it is the exact same. Have you ever had other cars with heated seats as a frame of reference?

I have an 04 HL as well, and though they are a little slower to warm, the seats do get pretty toasty. They are not as thoroughly warming, nor variable temp control as the seats in my Mercedes (sorry this sounds pompous, however completely unintended), but they do seem to warm up.

You are still under warranty for this, so I say bring it in if you are not satisfied! Good luck and keep us posted. I have a feeling we all have different threshholds for warmth, and maybe it doesn't feel warm to you, but might to me.

[JohnJCronin]

Thanks gman. Unless the transmission has come so loose that it is scraping on the ground, or the motor flies up out of the hood and lands on the road, I would not let someone else work on my car. I was just hoping to get a reference from other owners as to how their heaters functioned to see if mine were malfunctioning or if that is just how they are.

To answer your question, I have NOT had heated seats before, but I sat in a friends Jetta which has heated seats and after 2 minutes, I felt like I was a hamburger patty on a grille. With my Highlander, I can just barely begin to feel some heat and then they seem to shut off. I am sure where there is no temperature setting control in the Highlander, that they are designed to operate until a preset temperature is reached, and then shut off.... not sure

[gman]

You are a brave, and obviously talented guy to be working on your car at that depth! Everything in my HL Limited is electronic, and I have the navigation system, so nearly everything in the car that's automated runs through that system. I wouldn't even know where to begin!

[drewdog]

i own an '02 highlander limited. the seats take about 5 minutes to start feeling the heat, then are pretty warm after 10 minutes.

it was about the same for the '04 forester that i sold....

[4OnDFlr]

Hi.. first post!

Just got my '05 limited last nite. I can feel the seat heater after 5 minutes and turn them off after 10 minutes. it gets too hot. My car only has 2 settings, On and Off. I wish it had low, medium, and high instead. Maybe they changed the heating coils between the years?


Proud new owner.

[Mikeybond]

I have an '05 Limited as well and after about 5 minutes I can feel the heaters a little, but it takes about ten minutes after that for them to get nice and toasty, then they turn off right after that automatically. They're not quite as warm as I thought they would be, but anything is better than cold leather!

[Lonnie Clar]

I've got a 2004 Highlander with heated leather seats. They warm quite noticeably within about 3 - 4 minutes after the switch is turned on. There's no question that they work - the other day I didn't tell my wife I'd turned hers on (it was about 0 degrees outside), and within just a few minutes she asked if I'd turned her seat warmer on - it was clearly warming. I'd insist that the dealer fix your seats. 15 or more minutes is way too long to be practical.

[grumble]

Heated seats are the only option my 01 Highlander Ltd does not have. I know where the swithch goes - does anybody know if the seats are pre-wired for this option? I'd love to wire some switches if all the internal goodies are already there.