Hi...I have a 2020 ES300h UL and under equipment states it has the fast response heater in the steering wheel etc heated package and asked dealer about this and they know nothing about how it works. Salesman told me he thought it was the ptc heater but not sure. Does anyone here know how this works. I do notice engine heating up quicker than my ls430 but that wouldn't be PTC related.

 

You have to turn it on manually each time you want to use it, and it's somewhat inconvenient. Go to the climate section on your infotainment screen, then the more/options selection. It's the icon that you won't recognize. I'll snap a picture to add here.

It would be awesome if there was a way to toggle this on/off in the Lexus app, so that it could have it come on when you remote start the car in the winter months. Or be set to come on automatically if you just start the car and it's below a certain temp outside; like the icy warning that turns on at 37*F...first world problems lol

 

Thanks for the reply. The manual on page 269 and the options in climate section on the screen are the same and it doesn't refer to the fast response interior heater. Could you please post the icon you are referring to.
Thanks

 

Unless I'm mistaken, it's the icon I have highlighted here. And if I'm wrong, then I have no idea what that does! Lol

 

That symbol clears ice on the wiper blades and lower windshield. I think the Concierge feature might be more in line with what you're looking for. When the car is started, whether remotely or not, the seats and the steering wheel accelerate the heating, or cooling function, even if the engine has just started.

 

PTC stands for Positive Temperature Coefficient and refers to the electrical resistance of the heating elements in the seats. With a positive temperature coefficient, the resistance of the heating elements goes up as the temperature goes up due to passing an electrical current through them. This type of heating is more comfortable, efficient and reliable than the typical heating elements that have a negative temperature coefficient. But, the point as relates to the battery, is that cars with PTC seat heating are equipped with a cold weather package and require a more robust battery to support mirror heating, seating heating, windshield heating, etc.

 

This is what the salesman gave me when I bought the car but I am not sure if this is what I have. Neither Lexus or tech departments know anything about this. Will do more tests on a cold day to see if their is heat before engine warms up.

 

It says "PTC heater is used on gasoline models," so is a hybrid considered gasoline?

 

Both...If you look at top of picture it shows ES300h. Called parts department and with my vin they are showing this is on my vehicle but so far nobody knows how it works or how to turn on. I went out to car cold and air coming out is cold until engine starts to warm up so it is not automatic. They are researching and will let me know in a couple of days. The part number is and shows for many of the lexus models including the ES300h

Auxiliary Heater - Lexus (87710-58010)

2016-2021 Lexus

 

Look at the exact construction of the wording of the option on my 2019 ES 350 Ultra Luxury:
The way it is constructed indicates the Fast Response Int Heater part is separate component from all the other parts of the option. So the PTC Heater documentation at least appears correct in so far it is a separate component distinct from the other features of the option.

A past car I owned had a fast heat feature which engaged in low temperatures and the front window defogging A/C/Heater control was chosen. That car implemented the fast heat option by operating the A/C compressor in a heat pump mode. When that was engaged, you would get some pretty warm air out of the windshield defrosting vents before the temperature gage moved in even below freezing outside temperatures.

As to the ES Fast Response Int Heater, I think that might be tied to the "Windshield defogger switch" of the Air Conditioning switches bank of controls. In the one time I have ever engaged that switch in a cold car with a fogged up windshield I seem to remember I got a nice warm toasty stream of warm air out of the defroster vents before the engine temperature gauge moved (or move very much) and, IIRC, before the steering wheel got fully heated. (I didn't go into the Climate Controls and turn on the Windshield Wiper Deicer. Lexus Climate Concierge was turned on so everything else was operating in AUTO mode tied to the temperature I had set some time ago.)

In my area of California and almost always parking inside a garage, I don't have a much need/opportunity to fully test out the heating related options so I could be mistaken or missed some other means of getting the fast response heater engaged and operating.

 

My understanding of the fast response heater (which my ES has) was that it helps deliver cabin heat faster but not instantly. I thought the PTC helped to heat up the heater core or coolant that ultimately gets heat into the cabin. I will say it does seem to produce heat when on auto climate control with just a few minutes of the car running even when it has been single digits here.

 

Good to know. I actually thought that button in the climate section toggled both the wiper heaters and the fast response heater together, not just the wiper heaters. Not sure if that was my own assumption of if the salesman I worked with told me that one...not like that means he was right either. I do use the climate concierge pretty much all the time anyway, and understand how that works. People have gotten a kick out of the nice cool seats when they get in in the middle of summer when I've started the car ahead of time to cool down.

The heat gets used a good chunk of the year here in Cleveland, can confirm it does work great in my car (regardless of how the mysterious fast response heater is or isn't being toggled on). Heck, with the wild temperature swings we sometimes get in Spring and Fall, it's often heat on in the morning and AC blasting later in the day.

 

I found that part in a 2021 ES350 parts diagram and listing - see HVAC Heater Core Heater Element. If you expand the diagram for the HEATING--AIR-CONDITIONING---COOLER-UNIT you can see the W(PTC HEATER) right of center toward the bottom of the diagram.

 

Talked with the shop diagnostician and he explained it to me. He said the cars with the fast response heater like mine is the PTC 12V heater but their is no documentation on when it is supposed to work. In the shop manual a resistance measurement confirms whether ok or not. He did say he has had one in his hand working and it is not hot but warm so not much heat could come from it and his thinking would be more for keeping condensation off windows in the beginning. Now we know.

 

Sounds like a great deal of nothing to me. Just a marketing term to make it sound like some special feature to differentiate it from other brands. Very likely most owners won't even know it exists.