There have been many post about how inadequate the seat cooling is in the LS430. Although it seems that the flow is so low that you can hardly feel it, I beg to differ.

Today, after cleaning up the UL in the garage, I threw a clean folded towel in the drivers seat so I could move the car back to it's slot. Ambient temperature was 102F. By the time I had backed the car down the drive I could actually feel that I was sitting on a cool towel! I never knew there was that much cooling and that it could be dispersed into a towel that you were sitting on.

I was amazed. Try it and see if that is the case for your car.

 

Hmm will give this a try as I have used mine and felt that it was a useless feature.

 

Jayclapp.......how long you leave the car running before actually move it? From experience if I'm leave the car running for like 10 minutes with max AC on then actually felt the whole seat is cool when touch. Don't really care much during summer but love heated seat in winter so not useless at all. And feel the breeze through the back more at night than under the seat, maybe wearing jean block the airflow?

 

I just cranked it up and moved it. But remember that the seat cooling is not a part of the A/C with compressed freon. It is a separate electronic unit in the seat itself. I think the towel created a porous medium that allowed the cool air to circulate, whereas a butt covered by trousers would tend to block the cooling holes in the seat.

Just my observation and thoughts.

 

Could it be the weight of sitting / leaning on the seat and back which obstructs the airflow?

 

I think there are certain settings on the seat configuration - combination of cushion length, angle, lumbar adjustments, etc that allow more air thru the seat cushions while other settings tend to restrict airflow. You just have to experiment to find them - I have not done a rigorous test to find the best combo but I know I have felt some differences in airflow. If I remember in the next week I'll try some combos and report back, its hot as &(^% down here right now.

 

I have notice if I lean forward the back section will become cooler as the air is allowed to move through the seat holes,, would think about any porous surface helps the air flow,, have thought about one of those old beaded seat mats which should really allow all the air to exit and cool as we would like them too,,

still think Lexus failed on this component of luxury as we have found out,,

Derry

 

Taxi time!

 

Just drove two 2007 SL550's with ventilated seats. Now those are worthless.

In my LS430UL I can feel the cool air shortly after turning it on but it doesn't seem to last. Maybe it's like getting used to the cold water after you jump into the pool. Anyway the SL seat cooling feature is way below Lexus.

 

I found out that if I put the mode to vent and floor it helps cool the seats quicker because it's pulling in cool air from down below.

 

Ah, that would make sense, as the "cooled" seats, I believe, are completely disassociated w/ the AC vent system. I believe there is a fan under the seat that merely sucks air in through the seat filter below the accessory tray in the seat and pushes it up through the vent holes. It's not like there's a duct connected directly to the AC system that forces cold air through the vent holes. I'll check the factory manual diagrams to see if it's shown.

 

The seat cooling is completely disassociated with the AC system. It utilizes an electronic cooling device in the seat. The seat cooling/heat switch is what turns this cooling on. This cooling system is the same type as used in small wine coolers that are now popular. This device doesn't produce a great volume of airflow in the LS430. The owner's manual doesn't provide any detail on this system. You have to look at a parts diagram to see that.

 

My cooled seats work great. They just need about 10 mins to start working nice