OK here's my question - what sort of "clean out" does one need to do on a LS430? I notice my seats cool VERY little (hardly noticable). Somebody mentioned a filter? I've replaced the primary filter in the car, but is there one for each seat? Are there instructions on improving the air flow for the seats?

 

Yes, there are seat filters underneath each front seat. The owners manual also points out these filters with a diagram. They are very easy to take out. All you need is a small flashlight. There are two clips on either side of filter and you need to snap them outwards. The filter comes right out. I have cleaned them many times but to no avail. The "Peltier" cooling system in these seats hardly cools

 

that option is only there for the pimp factor, does really work well... why do you have to change the filter again... i guess it's just for the fresh air???

 

Pissed like OP!!! I was in a friend of mines 460 and his felt like AC. Might not have been but i know they were cooler than mine.

Not happy

 

I was not happy with mine either, my passenger side feels colder than the drivers (RHD)

So I took the back off the seats to have a look, you can see the thermoelectric unit attached to the rear of the back seat, you can feel hot air exhausting from it into the void in the back and if you pull it out you can feel colder air being blown through a hole in the rear seat foam and into the seat. Mine has double lumbar adjusters, I thought these were airbags but they are not they are metal bars with a cranked end connected to electric motors, when these are fully out, i.e hardest, then they crush the seat enough to reduce the airflow to next to nothing, on the passenger seat there is only a lower lumbar and this allows more air into the seat.

So lean forward and put both lumbars at their slackest and you will get colder but you may get a bad back!!!!!!!!!

I have cleaned out the filters, which were not dirty after 70,000 miles and removed them totally and it makes no difference at all to the air flow.

I think we just have to put up with it, what you get is better than nothing...

I was also told by Lexus dealer here in the UK that they only blow cabin air through the seats. I imagine they have been told to say this as Lexus knows the seats don't work too well and want people to think they are supposed to be like that.

If you want to check the fans, turn everything else off and put the seats to cold and you can hear the fans...

Pete

 

Yes, i think you reach it through that little box under the drivers seat. If i remember correct you have to pull it out. Or you can push the seat as high as it goes, then reach from the bottom and you will find the filter.

Actually, so no outside particulars clog the small perforation in your seats and stain it.

 

Hi

Here is a picture of the seat cooling components, the filter is under the bit arrowed as climate control ECU, interestingly nothing in the manual to say how to change them!

Does anyone have the option shown in the top diagram "1. Delete steering wheel" !!!!!



Pete

 

My 04 LS430 also has a much more effective cooling on the passenger seat. I would like to guess that as the seat wears the material between the leather and the interior of the seat that allows air to flow breaks down, gets clogged from dirt falling into the exit holes and the constant use of the drivers seat as all being part of the reason the drivers seat is the least effective at cooling.

My relative has an 06 LS430 and that drivers seat works much better then mine and will likely get worse at it ages.

Of course the only way we can prove this is to figure out how to measure the airflow with no passenger and compare both seats air speed and temperature and then maybe sit in the seat while activated and measure the surface temperature after 5 minutes of sitting and see if the seats surface temperature is better or worse.

I can also think we are being too critical, as my bad never gets wet from sweating as what ventilation I do have is in fact keeping me dry on super hot days.

 

OK, so here is my non-technical, hardly accurate test.

Start car, point all AC vents up, set AC MAX, seats set to COOL MAX doors open to allow cool air out without blowing on seats.

after 2 minutes the air leaving the AC vents at idle was 52 degrees.

11:05 Driver - Passenger Temps F
88 88

11:07
84 83

11:10
83 83

Then I sat in each seat for 60 seconds, exited and checked the temp again.

90 90

After 2 minutes at rest with no passengers

84 84

It was 88F outside at the time.

Not sure about you, but it doesn't seem to be much different on either side and for that matter not much use as I can attest that the newer models are much cooler and more noticeable, maybe someone else with an 07/08 can test their cooled seats with a laser temperature gauge.

 

Has anyone tried aiming the A.C. vent by the drivers knee to blow under your seat? that might really help the heat cooling operation.

 

I have come to an agreement w/ my seats far as cooling gose, they SUCK and the seats agreed.

When I first got my LS the air con seats feature had me really looking forward to it, especially living in Hotlanta!

 

ditto, cooling seats r a gimick... live with it...

 

the whole point of cooling seat is to be able to tell people you have cooling seats duh! you can't even tell if they're on most of the time... the heating mechanism on the other hand... watch out, those babies get hot.

 

went to the dealer about this problem,he checked with the service dept,they told him the a/c has to be on for them to work,we then checked it with a/c on full blast,they seemed to work better,but i think its just poor design,you would think lexus would recall this for a fix with all the unhappy owners out there:

 

nah, thats way too much money, besides it was like this when new (it's only gimmick)... 'benz has cooling seats'.. 'so does lexus' (expect it works like crap...)