Heated front seats

[wicker1]

Hi guys waiting for confirmation of build week, have gone for S- Line exec 170 quattro, upgraded seats to full leather but now I am wondering should I have gone for heated front seats.
Anybody out there who can advise if it is worth going for and what I should expect to pay

[Gary_W]

You're in Scotland; I'd heat the carpets as well for good measure if I were you ;)

I'm led to believe that leather is a tad chilly in this weather without the heated seats but as my current car has cloth and the new one will have leather / alcanthra (or whatever it's called) then I can't say from 1st hand experience :)

As to the cost, if you go to the Audi car config page at audi.co.uk it seems to imply that heated front seats cost you £250 and if you want the rear ones doing as well then it's £450 all in.

Gary

[troc]

Personally I'd never get leather seats in this part of the world without heating.

I only got the front ones as I very rarely have people in the back :) (although I'm slightly regretting that now and I think if I was buying again I'd have bought the full set)

I've never felt the need for heated cloth seats though.

John

[ScottyUK]

For the sake of £250 I'd say it's a must.

I've had leather in my TT, my B6 S4, my 2009 A4 and my 2010 A4 and all have had the heated front seats. I think it's one of those things thats expected when it comes to selling. It might not make your car standout from others if you have heated but the lack of it certainly won't make it as attractive. I personally wouldn't buy leather without heating.

I've not got the rear as the kids will be in car seats for another 8 - 12 years so they'd not get much use ;)

Finally after spending so much on a car, don't you think you'll be sitting on your cold seat and at least on a few occassions think "I wish I'd bought heated seats" ;)

[alexcf]

I live in Brighton and my heated seats pretty much get turned on when it starts hitting around 5-10degC, probably one of the best optex. i got! I got front and rear, makes a difference when you're transporting mothers and grandmothers, cuts the whinging about the cold down by around 70-80%.

[ScottyUK]

The bad thing with the heated seats is that they stay on regardless if anyone is sitting in the seat.

i.e. if my passenger leaves it on and gets out it doesn't use the pressure sensor (which is has for airbags and seat belt warning) to decide whether to heat the seat or not.

I guess the argument could be you want to pre-heat it for your passenger but I wish it wouldn't!

[Hippogriff]

I had heated front seats in my B6; never regretted it - just thought I would get heated front and rear next time around.

I then got heated front seats in my B8; again, don't regret it. The difference between ~£250 for front and ~£450 for front and rear makes me wish I'd gone for both, again... but, hey, you have to make a few ****-ups.

My personal view here, though, is that the seats don't get as warm in the B8 as they did in the B6. Maybe that is just me thinking back to the good old B6.

The MMI graphic is nice, I guess, but would prefer it to go to 5 on the dial rather than 6. Smacks a bit of Spinal Tap to me. I hope this isn't sexist, but girls (yes, numerous women have been in my passenger seat) really do seem to prefer a little physical dial (that they 'own') with numbers written on it rather than the MMI graphics, which they seem to find confusing.

Conclusion... go for them.

[Plife]

I don't have heated seats but do have leather and must honestly say there is only one time that I wished I had them and that was when the car had been outside all night in freezing temps. As my car is garaged overnight I don't find they actually get that cold. If the car is outside constantly then this may sway me. For the money I spent I should have added them, but you have to stop the list of extras somewhere!

[Bratty]

I specced them purely to see the look on the passengers faces when I sneak the button full-on, as their immediate reaction is "cripes I must of peed myself" as the warm feeling between their legs takes affect;).

Dunk

[pitch3110]

Not got them and don't miss it, but seats are leather/alcantara.

Having said that Wifeys Golf is half leather/cloth and has heated seats and she uses them all the time.

She has also moaned about the lack of them in the A4.

Horses and courses, but if full leather I think I would have spec'd it.

ta

[wicker1]

Thanks everybody for your comments, I think I will be contacting dealer next week and asking him to add heated seats to my option list.As the build week has not yet been confirmed I should be ok time wise!!
Anyway wishing everybody on the site a Happy New Year and safe motoring:beerchug:

[Two Audi family]

Hi Wicker1,

I also live in NE Scotland (Elgin), and have the B8 with full leather and heated seats (front only). I would not be without them especially in the cold weather we are currently experiencing. I consider the A4 to be a luxury vehicle and the heated leather seats complete the luxury standard I expect. The only person who sits in the back is the mother in law, so why would I need heated seats in the back?:biglaugh:

Check your PMs

Regards

TAF

[c7trp]

I've had 2 without and 1 with.

In this weather, I wouldn't like to be without them :D

[GolferPete]

I must be hot blooded, but I had all leather with heated seats in the Calibra a dozen years ago and never used them (although I missed a/c every day), but I find that leather/alcantara seats really are the best compromise year round - never too hot and never too cold.

Each to their own....

[Geordie Amanda]

Can you guys tell me if the heated seats, heat the back rest as well as the squab (sp). I see in the literature that Audi says it heats the bolsters too, is this just the bolsters on the seat base or does it include the backrest ones too?

[troc]

Yep, heats the backrests as well :)

[Geordie Amanda]

Yep, heats the backrests as well :)


Thanks, although I see you have an S4, so are your seats not a bit different to the S-Line ones?

[ScottyUK]

It does on the S-line ones.

[Geordie Amanda]

Thanks guys :)

[MFGF]

The bad thing with the heated seats is that they stay on regardless if anyone is sitting in the seat.

i.e. if my passenger leaves it on and gets out it doesn't use the pressure sensor (which is has for airbags and seat belt warning) to decide whether to heat the seat or not.

I guess the argument could be you want to pre-heat it for your passenger but I wish it wouldn't!

Hmmm - are you sure? I've noticed a couple of times that the heated seat on the passenger side turns itself off when nobody has sat in the seat. It's been first thing on a frosty morning - I have unlocked the car, jumped into the drivers seat and started it, turned on the heated rear window, windscreen demist and both front heated seats, then got out and scraped the ice off the windows and lights. By the time I have got back in (and Mrs F has emerged from the warm house into the car) the passenger seat heater has mysteriously been off while the drivers seat has still been on (with much tutting from Mrs F about switching my seat on but not hers).

I assumed it was a feature whereby the seat would switch off automatically if it hadn't been sat on within a certain time.

MF.

[ScottyUK]

Weird. Myself and a guy in the US both believed that the pressure sensor must be used as we'd previousl felt the passenger seat when empty but turned on and felt no head. We both found we were wrong and that the seat was heating.

I'm puzzled :confused:

[MFGF]

Had someone been sitting in the seat when it was switched on then got out of the car? As far as I know, the passenger seat in my car will remain on if this has happened.

MF.

[ScottyUK]

aha!!

So it's more than just clever. Perhaps too clever for it's own good.

Is this a theory or knowledge?


So if the key could remember if there was a passenger there and then react accordingly ..... hmmmm more tests required :beerchug:

[MFGF]

Is this a theory or knowledge?

It's based on what I've noticed when my daughter gets out of the car when I run her to school (she just jumps out and NEVER switches the seat off first - sigh!) and the earache I get from Mrs F when her seat is mysteriously off on frosty mornings first thing after I know I switched it on from the driver's seat.



So if the key could remember if there was a passenger there and then react accordingly ..... hmmmm more tests required :beerchug:

The key? No - I've never put the key on the heated passenger seat. Would it whine like Mrs F if the seat wasn't on? ;-)

[ScottyUK]

hehehehehe :D

I totally confused what the rules are for the seats now ! :aargh4:

;)

[wicker1]

Phoned dealer today to enquire about uping spec to heated front seats but its to late, order is placed and apparently cannot be changed ( can be within first five weeks of order ) Also checked with customer services and they told me same thing, disappointed

[MFGF]

hehehehehe :D

I totally confused what the rules are for the seats now ! :aargh4:

;)

I did a little experiment on my journey home last night. I started the car and put both front heated seats on (level 4) with just me in the car. While my seat got nice and toasty, the passenger seat remained stone cold. After ten minutes, the red LED in the passenger seat heater button went out (although the flyout graphic for the seat did not appear on the screen). As expected, when I pressed the button, the heating for the passenger seat was back at zero.

MF.

[ScottyUK]

hmmm and mine and others doesn't. I think there's more to it.

<scratches head> :confused:

[keithwigley]

I've had heated seats in several cars over the past decades, and my life, I have used them more this year than any year. Sheer decadence.

[markp306]

Hmmm - are you sure? I've noticed a couple of times that the heated seat on the passenger side turns itself off when nobody has sat in the seat.
MF.

Well they should allow for the fact you point out you are driving an A6 but are posting in an A4 forum. So one conclusion to make is that is that the A6 seat logic could do something different here?

Need to compare apples and apples to be 100% sure.

[MFGF]

Well they should allow for the fact you point out you are driving an A6 but are posting in an A4 forum. So one conclusion to make is that is that the A6 seat logic could do something different here?

Need to compare apples and apples to be 100% sure.

True indeed. I (perhaps naively) assumed the control logic would be the same - looks like I may be wrong!

MF.

[ScottyUK]

That's a top point and one I was totally over looking ! :beerchug:

[the_it_bloke]

I had heated seats in my BMW Z3 (can I mention them here? :) ) and loved them. My wife hadn't even noticed how cold it was with the heated seats ... until it started to snow, then she wanted to roof on :D

We have an A3, full leather without the heated seats and she doesnt stop moaning in this weather, she sits on a blanket. Just ordered an A4 full leather and insisted on headed front seats.

Even if you dont use them, as mentioned above the next buyer might!

[20vcqdriver]

Just bought my 55 reg A4 and doesn't have heated seats. Question is can it be retro fitted? Is it just a case of fitting the different aircon panel?
Cannot see that Audi would go to all the trouble of making S Line seats without the elements, more likely just leave the wiring to the seat out and fit the different aircon unit.
Well i hope so. Anyone ever done this upgrade.

[Bratty]

I do not know for certain BUT I would bet!!?!! that the seating elements are not fitted as standard just to be wired up! That would be far to convienient!

If you are cold and want the same affect just let your bladder loose (although the seat back and bolsters might need some extra work!!)

Dunk