I have read a little here about redirecting air to the vents and/or floor to MAXIMIZE the cooling effect of the seats, however that's not my current issue. I used to get SOME air from the seats, but now it seems that they do nothing in the way of cooling at all. I've put the vents on the vent and floor setting combined, and then finally back to the auto setting. Any input on this?

 

In my experience, airflow has always been minimal through my seats. It's more noticeable to me in differing weather and humidity and depending if I'm wearing lighter clothing. The only way I've gotten what I consider more effective airflow is by using the DIY techniques described in other threads here which effectively block and redirect some of the airflow on the floor under the front seats -- intended for the rear passengers -- back up under the front seats. Honestly, I gave up on that too long ago, and just don't use the supposed "cooled seats".

 

First off, your vehicle does not feature "cooled seats". They are "ventilated".
They may not seem like much, but try getting into another vehicle without this feature.
That's when you will really notice the difference.

 

vlad is correct. They are ventilated and not meant to make the seats super cool. I find they make the seats less hot more than anything. No sticky feeling. Sometimes there is air flow but that's usually in the morning when the temps are in the 60s and 70s. We've had well above average temps (90s+) with blazing sunshine. It''s difficult to get cool when it's like that.

 

My personal gripe about this car is how little it ventilates. The highest setting in the RX is as effective as the lowest setting in our previous ES330. As bad as that sound, it's still better than having non-perforated seats with no ventilation.

 

If I'm wearing thin shorts on a warm day, or just placing my hand over the seat, and feel nothing-they don't work. Call them ventilated if you like, but they aren't serving any purpose imo. At least the heated function works. As I stated, I did notice them doing SOMETHING at first, but now nada.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

Do you hear the fans inside running?

 

Put my ear to the seat? I guess I can try that.

 

You shouldn't need to put your ear up to the seat to hear it. They're plenty loud. I can hear mine while sitting in them, cruising down the road if I turn down the radio.

 

I'll check. Thanks

 

I can hear the fan(s) running in my seat but the only thing that appears to ventilate is the seat back. Although the fan is running I don't feel any air flow from the seat bottom. It would be nice if Lexus stepped up, A solution for this failing would be a good thing.

 

I agree. IMHO, this is just how the 3rd Gen RX is, and I await to see how Lexus elects to implement ventilated seats in the 4th Gen, and comments that are posted next year at this time.

FWIW, neither my former BMW or present MBZ offer/ed a "cooling" or "ventilated" seat option in the $60K vehicles I special ordered from them... only heated seats which I had/have (and AirScarf on my SLK which is beyond excellent when the top is down in cooler weather.) Personally, I'm spoiled with my expectations on all my past, present and future Lexus to only exceed my expectations in every manner given my generally stellar experience over the past 20+ years with them ...so when some feature on my Lexi doesn't quite seem to step up to the plate with something like the "ventilated seats" option on my 2013 RXh -- that don't really do much IMHO for me, even though I keep mine on 3 (max) this time of year, know the little fans are running, still don't hear much of anything when I turn my tunes off, and don't generally have a damp back/rear-end like I would in my other vehicle , well, I just hope for an improvement that is even more noticeable in the next gen, if I were ever to own one, given Lexus' Pursuit of Perfection.

 

While I do agree that the ventilated seats could be better, I can definitely feel air blowing through the seat bottom.. If you don't feel any air it may be time for a service visit.

 

If you used to get "some" air from the seats, and now nothing, maybe they're not functioning. As someone else mentioned, you should be able to hear the fans going in them, even with the radio on volume 5 - 10, I can hearing the "whirling" sounds of them.

 

I've not had a chance to listen for the fans yet. I drive very few miles, less than 500 per month, so a service visit is a ways off. I'll report back.
Thanks