[BWGator169]

When using the remote start, the seats are supposed to begin heating if it is cold enough outside. I have attempted to use this feature a few times and have not noticed the heated seats working (20-30 degree weather). The 2007 Tahoe I just traded in would turn the seat lights on with the remote start; the lights for the Terrain seats do not come on. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[gearhead]

I don't know if this may be confusing some people, but on page "Instruments and Controls 4-37" it states:

_______________________________________________
Remote Start Auto Heat Seats

When on, this feature will turn the heated seats on when using remote start on cold days.

Press the MENU / SELECT knob when “Remote Start Auto Heat Seats” is highlighted to toggle between “On” or “Off”.
Press 0 BACK to confirm the selection and go back to the last menu.
_______________________________________________

Notice it states to press the "BACK" button to confirm the selection.
On most other settings, the " MENU / SELECT knob" is pressed to confirm a selection.
This may be why some are having issues setting the Heated Seats for Remote Start.
Just FYI.

 

[gearhead]

Yes, it has been discussed on this forum.

There is a setting in the config menu that does turn the heated seat with remote start on and off - make sure yours is turned on.

In my experience with a 2010 Nox, they seats do heat up (at a very low level - I believe even below the lowest setting), and the light does not come on. However, once I get in, I turn the seats on high, and they heat up very, very quickly (and are too hot for my tastes - I'm usually turning them down after 45 seconds to 1 minute).

I tested this yesterday by leaving the temp on high, the front and rear defroster on and both seats full heat, then switched the vehicle off.
We then remote started the Terrain, waited about 3 minutes and entered the vehicle.
The heat was high, the front and rear defrost on, but the lights for both heated seats were off.
Both seats were a "little" warm, but even after inserting and turning the key, the lights for the heated seats did not come on.
They do heat up very quickly as you state, SnowItch.
I'm thinking maybe it's better off this way, as a safety thing, since there is no load on either seat to absorb the heat.
Having them both come on unattended could potentially pose a safety hazard, especially in the summer time with shorts on after the kids have been playing with the controls.

 

[scottyyyc]

This is very common - seats wont heat (or heat fully) if they don't detect any load. I've seen this in various Hyundai's and Honda's of mine over the past couple years. I think they do this for obvious liability reasons, so someone doesn't get in, potentially in shorts, and burn themselves. Given how litigious society is now, especially in the US, that's a massive lawsuit waiting to happen. It's good that the seats partially heat, though. Better than nothing.

 

[gearhead]

The seats definitely don't heat up without a load.[/color] Went to pick up my son after a BBall game tonight. Its a bit chilly, so I had my seat turned on. Thought I'd be nice to him when he got in the car, so I turned his seat on to "pre-heat" it. As I approached the school, I reached over to see how warm it had gotten, and it was cold to the touch (both seats were set at the middle level).

Good, that's a nice safety feature, IMHO.
Hopefully the Technical writers will catch wind of this and change the manual if there's a misprint about the heated seats with remote start.

 

[gearhead]

I wonder how often, or if, they do change the manuals. Maybe year to year, but do the ever re-issue manuals?

Doesn't make me nostalgic for the days before the Internet, discussion groups and "The Google"

I don't think they ever reissued manuals, but I know they had inserts, addendums, etc...
These days with PDF's and whatnot, it's easy enough to modify and post the new manual for download.
Yes, gotta love the internet as a resource!
Add forums such as this and it becomes so much easier to get real time feedback and answers compared to 20 years ago!

 

[Islander]

Not very smart if they don't monitor the boards. When vehicle "issues" get defined here, a lot of folks end up at dealers. Hopefully, they also pay attention to absence of Home Link, auto up windows, and power passenger seats as well since a lot of people consider that stuff a requirement these days.

 

[gearhead]

OK, i got to play with the Terrain again this afternoon.
I remote started it, without knowing which configuration the wife had turned it off in.
I got in after maybe 8 - 9 minutes after.

I swear the driver seat felt warm, especially at the bottom of the seat back and the back of the seat bottom.
The passenger seat was cold as ambient temp.
I'm going to get a laser thermometer and measure the darn things once and for all, LOL!
8)

 

[GMCdriver]

Mine has been warming up the seats when I remote start it but I think that without some degree of compression on the padding the heat doesn't really break through to the surface.

Go to your stove and put a pair of oven mitts across 1 burner.
Press down on one and leave the other just sitting there untouched.
Turn the stove on the lowest setting.
Once you start to feel heat comming through the one you are pressing on, shut off the stove and check if the top of the one you were not pressing on is warmed as much as the one you were.
My bet is that it would not be and I think that this would explain what a lot of you are experianceing.

 

[gearhead]

Real World Measurements this morning:

Opened the garage door and took the following measurements with a digital thermometer (all reading in Fahrenheit):

The lock on my toolbox in the garage = 41 degrees
Driver Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 39.7 degrees
Driver seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 39.7
Passenger Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 39.7 degrees
Passenger seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 39.7
GMC logo on sterring wheel = 40.4 degrees
Started vehicle for 20 seconds or so just to set to "Auto" Climate Control, Temp to "Hi" and both heated seats to max.
LCD displayed outdoor temp=39 degrees

Turned off vehicle.

Waited 20 seconds, remote started vehicle.
Let run for 10 minutes.
Readings below, because this forum software does funny things after entering too many characters per post ( *** note to admin)

 

[gearhead]

The lock on my toolbox in the garage = 39.5 degrees (probably because I opened the main garage door?). Net change = - 1.5 degrees
Driver Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 68.1 degrees. Net change = + 28.4 degrees
Driver seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 70.8. Net change = + 31.1 degrees
Passenger Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 64.7 degrees. Net change = + 25.7 degrees
Passenger seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 69.0. Net change = + 30 degrees
GMC logo on sterring wheel = 55.0 degrees. Net change = + 14.6 degrees
LCD displayed outdoor temp=39 degrees. Net change = 0

Therefore, I'd say the heated seats do not come on but are merely absorbing heat from the ambient air?
Just my guess.

 

[gearhead]

Gearhead,

Wouldn't a good comparison to determine if it was ambient temp be to take a reading off the back seats too? That way you would be comparing similar materials.

Yeah, I know, thanks for thinking of other things you can do with YOUR time.

Thanks for posting this.

You're exactly right, SnowItch, I should have measured the rear seats as a baseline!
It was early and I wasn't thinking it through 110% (had to get to work, did the test, posted, left for work and just getting back to read this now), hence measuring the logo on the steering wheel and the lock on my toolbox as baselines, LOL!
Now that I look back at the net changes in temp, it seems the front seats did climb significantly higher in temp then the steering wheel logo, so maybe the seats are heating up a tad when set to "ON" for remote start as opposed to just absorbing ambient heat.
By all means, we'll do it again, this time measuring the front and back seats.
Thanks for the wake up call!

 

[gearhead]

Real World Measurements this afternoon (added rear seat measurement, thanks SnowItch! )):

Opened the garage door and took the following measurements with a digital thermometer (all reading in Fahrenheit):

The lock on my toolbox in the garage = 37.2 degrees

Driver Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 37.7 degrees
Driver seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 37.7

Passenger Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 36.5 degrees
Passenger seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 36.5

Rear Seat back (driver side, 6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 36.5 degrees
Rear seat bottom (driver side, 6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 36.5

GMC logo on sterring wheel = 34.7 degrees
Started vehicle for 20 seconds or so just to set to "Auto" Climate Control, Temp to "Hi" and both heated seats to max.
LCD displayed outdoor temp=39 degrees

Turned off vehicle.

Waited 20 seconds, remote started vehicle.
Let run for 10 minutes.
Readings below, because this forum software does funny things after entering too many characters per post ( *** note to admin)

 

[gearhead]

After running for 10 minutes under "Remote Start":

The lock on my toolbox in the garage = 39 degrees

Driver Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 75.7 degrees
Driver seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 76.1

Passenger Seat back (6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 69 degrees
Passenger seat bottom (6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 66.7

Rear Seat back (driver side, 6" up from where it meets seat bottom) = 46.7 degrees
Rear seat bottom (driver side, 6" forward from where it meets seat back) = 46.4

GMC logo on sterring wheel = 48 degrees
LCD displayed outdoor temp=39 degrees

Don't have time to calculate net change right now, maybe tonight I can modify post.
It looks as though the front seats are heating up net + 40 degrees to a comfortable range between 65 to 75 F or so...(???)

 

[gearhead]

Thanks! Great info. What kind of thermometer are you using. Sounds like I need to get a new toy...

YVW, NP!

The thermometer is a Blcak and Decker TLD100.
Got it for $50 CDN back in October/09 to detect hot/cold spots in the house.

About the TLD100:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/productguide/product-details.aspx?productid=20626

Image below.

 

[OhioX14]

Another excellent point. I was just thinking about how fast the seats do heat up (it is really quick). I could imagine someone leaving something on the seat with a low ignition point (can't think of what right now, but there has to be something volatile enough to be set off by the kind of heat generated.

The vehicle will stay on for, I believe, 10 minutes once its remote started. I can easily someone being distracted by kids/dogs/other after remote starting the car. 10 minutes at the highest setting could set the right material on fire, or perhaps melt something onto the seat (like a chocolate bar).

I guess based on the discussion, I can see plenty of good reasons that the seats come on at a very low setting.

It's still a shame that the manufacturer has to protect us from ourselves to prevent being sued.

I'm sorry but I can't buy into ANY reason why the seats don't heat up on HIGH on remote start or without weight in the seat. Our '08 Yukon XL does both and it's darn convenient and there is no way someone is going to convince me that it's a hazard. If the seats get too hot on high to burn someone or start something on fire then that's a major design flaw because they shouldn't get that hot to begin with, and in my experience I don't believe they do.

My guess is that this is either a bug they need to fix or they want to limit their use to reduce warranty claims.

 

[gearhead]

I'm sorry but I can't buy into ANY reason why the seats don't heat up on HIGH on remote start or without weight in the seat. Our '08 Yukon XL does both and it's darn convenient and there is no way someone is going to convince me that it's a hazard. If the seats get too hot on high to burn someone or start something on fire then that's a major design flaw because they shouldn't get that hot to begin with, and in my experience I don't believe they do.

My guess is that this is either a bug they need to fix or they want to limit their use to reduce warranty claims.

Well I'd say 65 to 76 degrees, as I've measured, is fairly comfortable for a "pre-heat" so to speak.
Then turn the heated seats "on high" after you start the vehicle from the inside and they heat up within a minute or two for sure.
They heat up to the point we turn them to low or off.

That's very acceptable in our experience, then again we're not in Yellowknife.
If we were, maybe we wouldn't find it acceptable and wouldn't be happy.
Then again, maybe the heated seats react differently up there or in Phoenix, AZ?
Remember, even in "Auto" mode, the fans don't come on until a certain ambient temperature is reached, so who knows for sure?
The ones to ask are the GM engineers and software teams, otherwise all we can do is post our own experiences.

Any chance you (or someone) can measure the temp on your Yukon for comparison sake?

 

[Gm guy]

In my opinion this feature doesn't work, maybe a thermometer can tell the diffrence but my keester can't that's for sure.

 

[Roesterman]

You can turn this feature on or off.

 

[freeness]

Mine heats, but not very much with the remote start. At best it goes to the low heated setting. It's better then nothing, but not by much. It would be smart to be able to select the high setting for the remote start.