Heated Seats Are Awesome In Cold Weather

Heated seats in a car or truck can be a nice warm comfort in the cold winter weather. They are easy to operate and can keep you warm on your cold winter drive to work.

Most often people consider this a luxury that is only available in higher end vehicles. With today's automotive advances, you can find heated seats on more vehicles than you did ten years ago.

Now days, many vehicles come with heated seats. For an example, the Subaru Outback offers this feature in all its standard models.

Let's take a look at how the heated seat works.

The electrical concept is similar to that of electric blankets, water heaters and any other unit that uses electricity to heat something. The seats are operated with a heating element that acts like a resistor. The resistor tries to block the electricity. As electricity passes through it, the energy is turned into heat. This is the heat that warms your buns in cold winter driving weather.

No need to worry about getting to hot...

If the heat continues to flow through the seat, the temperature of the seat will continue to increase. The seat could become uncomfortable to sit on, and in fact could burn your skin. Or worse yet, the element could become so hot it could melt the seat and anything resting on this seat - including your buns!

To avoid this hazard, the heated seats have a thermostat that automatically turns the seats off at a specific temperature. Once the seats have cooled down the thermostat will trigger the relay which turns the heat back on.

This thermostat offers you both safety and comfort.

Some models such as the Hummer H2 SUT offer 2 different settings, high and low so that you can decide how warm you want your seat.

Another example is the Audi A4 which offers 6 different settings. These 6 settings give you even greater control over the temperature you want to use to heat up your seat.

Proper maintenance for heated seats will also help keep you safe.

The electrical wires that heat the seat should be regularly inspected. Most often this is a three-wire-cable located under the seat. Making sure that each of these wires are securely fastened in the ports both on the seat and the floor will ensure more safety. Also be sure that the wires do not hang too low that something can catch and pull them away from the ports. This can help prevent possible mishaps.

Also, when cleaning the seats, use a soft, damp cloth to wipe the seats down. Avoid spraying any liquid cleaners directly on the seats as the moisture could seep into the seats and cause a short in the wiring. A short could cause a fire.

Knowing how they work and using these simple tips with heated seats can assure that you have a safe and very comfortable ride in the cold winter months.