Ventilated Seats

[JGard18]

In theory, sucking air away from a surface you're squashed against it's more efficient. Cooling by blowing air only works if the air is able to push through the perforation and move around your bum, hence carry away the heat - which is impossible when your bum is covering the holes.

In theory I agree. It's like a heat sink on a CPU. In practice, it does nothing to prevent swampass on a long drive during a hot day

 

[marsarbu]

In theory I agree. It's like a heat sink on a CPU. In practice, it does nothing to prevent swampass on a long drive during a hot day

One could say that they suck so hard, than they don't suck enough

 

[borski]

Yep, I just got the call from my service center confirming that they pull air in, don't push air out. I wish I could have my seats pull a MegaMaid here and go from suck to blow. But here we are. No idea why car manufacturers think that's a good design, it works very poorly in every application I've seen. That said, when I tested them months ago, I could SWEAR I could feel air movement when I held my hand next to the surface, and that is definitely not the case. In my iX, I could feel air movement, too, and those are definitely a pull setup (which also meant it seemed like the ventilated seats were 100% useless). This is only my 3rd vehicle with ventilated seats, and so far Rivian is the only one who did it right. Oh well.

What you’re looking for are air conditioned or cooled seats, which isn’t the same as ventilated seats, which ventilate the air away from your body, usually by sucking it away, but some do blow air; those work worse, in general.

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/ventilated-seats-vs-cooled-seats-difference/

They actually work very well for me, and I have them on all the time (literally; I run hot). I wonder if there is an issue with yours or you just run way hotter than I do?

 

[JGard18]

What you’re looking for are air conditioned or cooled seats, which isn’t the same as ventilated seats, which ventilate the air away from your body, usually by sucking it away, but some do blow air; those work worse, in general.

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/ventilated-seats-vs-cooled-seats-difference/

They actually work very well for me, and I have them on all the time (literally; I run hot). I wonder if there is an issue with yours or you just run way hotter than I do?

Ironically, that article says the Air has the “cooled” seats

 

[borski]

Ironically, that article says the Air has the “cooled” seats

hahahaha I did not notice that. That's definitely a KBB screw-up though, haha.

 

[jedwin]

Good tips to have the AC coming out the foot area; that would seem to offer a supply of cool air for the seats to work with.

In the past, I haven’t generally run the AC through the foot vents, but today (only the second day I’ve needed AC) I tried it, and it felt so good on my feet and shins as well. It seemed to have negligible impact on efficiency. (though it was only in the upper 70s out, so it wasn’t working too hard)

I didn’t notice how much it changed the feeling in the seats, but I’ll pay attention to that going forward.

 

[DeaneG]

In theory, sucking air away from a surface you're squashed against it's more efficient. Cooling by blowing air only works if the air is able to push through the perforation and move around your bum, hence carry away the heat - which is impossible when your bum is covering the holes.

In a Kia, cold air blows through your clothing that is pressed against the perforated seat. It is extremely effective.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

I wouldn’t have minded this option in my Pure. On a recent hot day the AC already couldn’t keep up and it’s not even Summer. Pretty weak AC for hotter climates.

 

[Chrome]

For anyone unimpressed with the cabin cooling, make sure to use the Fresh Air mode for the first few minutes (esp. if interior is >120°F). As soon as the ambient air becomes tolerable, switch to Recycled mode. Along with this practice, I only have the front two zones active and Sync'd; rear vents disabled.

Bonus Tip: The front passenger's left vent can be aimed directly toward the driver.

I haven't had the "luxury" of driving this car on the hottest July/August days yet, but I think I'll survive now that I have all the roof shades installed.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

For anyone unimpressed with the cabin cooling, make sure to use the Fresh Air mode for the first few minutes (esp. if interior is >120°F). As soon as the ambient air becomes tolerable, switch to Recycled mode. Along with this practice, I only have the front two zones active and Sync'd; rear vents disabled.

Bonus Tip: The front passenger's left vent can be aimed directly toward the driver.

I haven't had the "luxury" of driving this car on the hottest July/August days yet, but I think I'll survive now that I have all the roof shades installed.

Good tips. Funny you mention the vents. On that recent hot day I couldn’t quite get the left of center vent to hit me the way I wanted it to. Strange design limitation there.

 

[DeaneG]

I wouldn’t have minded this option in my Pure. On a recent hot day the AC already couldn’t keep up and it’s not even Summer. Pretty weak AC for hotter climates.

Do you have Lucid's roof sunshades?

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

Do you have Lucid's roof sunshades?

I have a Pure with the non glass roof.