Yeah I checked the book too. Your right but I am riding home with no coat on and button set to "low". It will be a good test because I got about 35minutes on the road. To be continued...

 

What ticker bar?

 

Hehe!! The "Up" position on the switch.

See the picture in my post above. He's referring to the larger rounded rectangular bar above the seat icon.

 

Drums please:

Well guys I drove almost all the way home last night with the "low" setting on. The toggle switch may meann high and low, but with low setting, the heat, if any, on the back portion of the seat is so minimal it might as well mean bottom of seat/top of seat.

Net results: If you wanna feel the heat on your lower back, push the toggle but to the "up" position. Peace out

 

I think that the pressing the button down means bottom only and pushing it up means both. If you look at any other vehicle i has it this exact way. Thats why i figured it has to be like that.

 

Dang it!! It says right here, press for high or low (whichever is desired). Yes the low position does not feel very warm, but I guarantee you that both your butt AND back are being heated. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IT'S EITHER HIGH SETTING OR LOW SETTING!!

 

i always put it on high until i start to feel it then put it back down to low - otherwise it gets too hot

i do like the feature that it won't activate unless there is pressure on the seat (someone sitting in it or something heavy on it)

 

You mean my seats are HEATED!?!?!?!

I thought those were the ejector seat buttons. Dammit!!!

 

I thought that if you put you seatbelt on thats when i starts to warm up...When i start my car i sometimes buckle the seat belt and when i get back to the car, the seat isnt cold. I know the passenger side airbags works with the weight, but didnt think the heat did.

 

I have a question -- I put the switch to "HIGH", but it seems to take forever before any heat is noticalbe and even then the heat is not very much at all -- the steering wheel heat seems to work great. Is there a problem with my heated seats or is this what everyone is experiencing?

Thanks in advance.

 

BlueEyed - There have been many complaints here from day one (March 2003) about how slow the seats are to heat up in the 6th gen.

Turns out there was an engineering electrical 'underdesign' involved, and it was not possible for Nissan to correct this in cars already built. I heard that a redesign for the '05s made the situation slightly better, but you may have to ask the '05ers about that.

It is not easy to get a true impression as to the quickness with which the heat in the seats is being produced, as we don't feel the heat until our clothing has completely warmed up.

As a comparison, when wearing gloves, it takes me almost five minutes to detect the heat in the steering wheel. Without gloves, I detect the heat in between 15 and 25 seconds.

One thing is absolutely certain: the seat heaters may cycle on and off while in use (via internal thermostat control), BUT THE SEAT HEATER SWITCH NEVER TURNS ITSELF OFF. I never use the seat heaters, but whenever my wife forgets to turn them off, they come right back on whenever the ignition is turned on. Day after day. Week after week. Forever. Try it. You'll see.

By contrast, the steering wheel heater goes off automatically when the ignition is turned off, and will never come back on until the steering wheel heater dash switch is turned on again.

 

the manual tells u all... understanding it is a different thing!

 

They should heat up about 4x quicker imo, its a major flaw of the cold weather package.

 

We must be getting to the bottom of figuring out everything there is to know on the 6th Gen if we are having this kind of a rocker switch discussion.

Still, I was amazed to find out, that like the hidden auto tranny function, if you put the rocker switch to high and hold your finger on it pressing upwards (kind of like holding an elevator button once it is lit up), that the seats heat up ALOT faster.

 

Really? If thats true then I would say the switch is defective.

 

Hilarious! There are only three positons on those switches. Low, off, and High. Once in the high position the switch should not move any further in. If it does you need to get the switch replaced.

I've also heard that if you put your hand on the automatic shifter, tilt your head to the right, and bite your tongue you get an extra 5hp. Again another undocumented feature of the vehicle.

CM.

 

LOL ......my 05' model heats up pretty fast...ive seen faster in other vehicles, but regardless it works.

 

Keep in mind also that the heating element will be active in intervals. In otherwords, your seats will not be heated constantly if you have the switch on. It will warm up and cool down. This is essential a safety feature to prevent the device from overreacting.

FYI-- this also goes for the steering wheel heater for those of you who have 05/06 models.

 

Hmm... doesn't the 04 have this "thermostat" setup as well?

 

SHIFT-matt - monotaur is correct in that the '04 Maxima steering wheel heater also cycles on and off.

The wheel starts to warm within 10 to 20 seconds after the steering wheel heater switch is turned on, gets very hot within two minutes, then sort of cycles between lukewarm and slightly warmer until either the steering wheel heater switch is turned off or the ignition is turned off.

This feature is part of the Driver's Preferred package, and operates the same on all 6th gen Maximas.

 

I had a volvo rental and the heated seats got really hot. My 03 heated seats warm up well too. Just not up to volvo standards. Ive heard lots of complaints about the 04 seat warmers sucking

 

Mine get toasty hot, they don't heat me up as fast as a microwave but toasty enough that I have to turn them off after a while.

 

I have new 06 SE - -My steering wheel heats up quickly and is very warm. My seats seem to take forever to warm up and they never really get hot -- just mild warmth.

I went back to the dealer -- they said it is because I am wearing clothes that I am unable to feel the heat while on the steering wheel I have my bare hands.

Guess I will have to drive without my clothes to enjoy the heated seats!!

 

In case you don't know this there is a recall on the drivers seat. They have to check out the wiring harness in it. I went to the dealer and the part is backordered. Just call the 800 number in the manual and have your vin number ready.
Warren

Stroll down the page.
This is for the '04
http://www.isertive.com/php/NHTSA/au...&EModel=MAXIMA

Go here to check for your year.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recal...calls_auto.htm

There is a sticky on this also.