Steering Wheel Heater & Seat Heater suck

[epirali]

Lately, I've noticed that some trips, the steering wheel heater does not come on at all. And it won't come on even if I'm out for an hour. But once I get home and plug in, it will come back on when I next go out. This tends to happen after I use the preconditioning feature.

This tends to happen with pre-heat if (I believe) the temp sensor triggers and shuts off the heat to the wheel for a while. Then it feels and is stone cold until that timer expires. Either that or the other timed relay triggers and shuts it off for a while (if I preheat for a long time).

When running the wheel heater in non preheat I keep cycling on/off manually to prevent that (or the on timer relay) from triggering.

 

[lion]

Asked the dealer to look at it again, and they say it's working within spec. The heater shuts down once it reaches temp, and doesn't come back on until it hits 68F or so. Very frustrating when dealing with sub-zero temperatures, and you aren't running the heater.

I guess I'll have to use my IR thermometer to monitor this, since it feels like the wheel/seats get cold within 30 seconds, not 10 minutes.

 

[lazboy]

I have the same issues with my seats. I run them on high for 3 mins before they stop heating. It doesn't seem to heat back up on its own. I usually turn it off for around 10 mins before it will heat up again. Now what I do is heat it on high for a couple of mins and then switch to low. The low level heat seems to stay on continuously.
I took it in for service and they told me that they did not find an issue because there were no error codes. When I pushed for an explanation they provided an unsatisfactory one. I was told, "...they must turn off after a certain temperature". When I asked if the seats were thermostat controlled, the response was, "I guess it's something like that".
I did find the full Nissan Factory Service Manual online. It's the real deal. I did find out there is a thermostat, but no further details or error codes relating to this issue. Although I am not happy with the seats, I am less satisfied with the service. I understand these are a new technology and there is a learning curve but I do not appreciate when the service department doesn't admit it.
My steering wheel lasts quite a bit longer and gets pretty hot. It lasts approximately 10 minutes. This is more than enough time to warm my hands.

 

[dhanson865]

Asked the dealer to look at it again, and they say it's working within spec. The heater shuts down once it reaches temp, and doesn't come back on until it hits 68F or so. Very frustrating when dealing with sub-zero temperatures, and you aren't running the heater.

I guess I'll have to use my IR thermometer to monitor this, since it feels like the wheel/seats get cold within 30 seconds, not 10 minutes.

I have a 2012 SL

I've been using mine in the mid 30s F and the seat heater on Low and heated steering wheel have been enough to make me comfortable with no gloves and no cabin heat (though I do sweat a little from the uneven heat distribution).

I am wearing a winter jacket but no hood and no gloves. In fact the seat heater on low still gets too warm after about the first 10 minutes or so. I eventually turn it off and go to steering wheel only.

I do notice the steering wheel getting warmer and colder as it cycles on and off but I find is way superior to not having a steering wheel heater and just wish it had a off / low / high switch like the seat heater has.

I suppose if I was in sub-zero temps I'd consider the wheel heat insufficient but I'd crank the seat up to high.