I'm not sure if the seat cooler is working on my driver's side. I mean i feel nothing. I can hear a fan going, but i dont feel any coolness. The passenger side apparently works because coworker felt her butt freezing without realizing my car had seat cooler. How cool is it supposed to be? I'm tempted to wear shorts and try it to see if theres any difference.

 

I'd do a search for "ventilated" here in the forum. It is not a "Cooler" but is a seat ventilator, with a fan, that recirculates the cabin air through the seats. The cooler you have the cabin, the cooler the seats become. There is no air coils that cool providing refrigerated air in the seat. Hence, this is why Lexus calls them "ventilated seats" and not "butt cooler"

 

The type of material of your clothing seems to have a dramatic effect on how much 'air' passes through to your skin. Jeans = seems to be OK. Shorts with thick material = Bad.

 

I noticed a similar thing. With A/C down, airflow was hardly noticeable. But, when I cranked up the A/C, felt it right away!!!

 

The three things that affect the ventilated seats' strength are cabin temperature, type of clothes you're wearing, and if the lower vents are flowing (not just the upper vents) with the A/C.

 

ah that make sense. so there is no cooling unit in the seats. ok...in that case im sure everything is okay cus i had didnt turn on ac today. It was 78 degrees most of the day in west los angeles today.

 

But if you come over the Sepulveda pass and turn on your cooler in the blazing heat where it is 100+ on this side of the hill, you definitely notice the ventilated seats.

 

I know, I was thinking where the heck was it 78 degrees in California? Try going from there over the Newhall pass where it is even 5 degrees hotter. Can't wait for my Butt Cooler.

 

I thought that my seats were not functioning correctly and called my dealer to schedule a service appointment. The primary reason I thought that they weren't working well is because the air flow was virtually unnoticeable whereas the GS 300 I test-drove would freeze your fanny off.

My salesman told me that the blower motor on the ES and RX is not nearly as powerful as on the GS and other more expensive Lexus cars. I asked if they could be traded out for a fee and he said that they are not compatible enough to be interchangeable.

At first, I was upset because I live in Houston, TX and powerful air conditioned seats are a big plus here. I was concerned that the seats weren't strong enough to make a difference. I have since driven a loaner RX (w/o air conditioned seats) and my wife's Suburban on hot days. During the ride, I forgot which car I was in and reached over to turn up the air conditioned seats several times because I kept noticing how hot my bottom and back were. This was a good contrast and taught me that even though the seats in the ES may not blow enough to be obvious, they certianly make a big difference on hot days.