Which way is air flow in the ventilated front seats.
05-11-18, 01:06 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Which way is air flow in the ventilated front seats.
I just purchased a new 2017 Rx350 ~ 6 weeks ago. I have never had ventilated seats before and I would have thought that they simply blow air outward from the seat into the seated person's back and butt. ie blowing outwards from perforated leather from both the seat back and seat bottom. Mine does the opposite. If i put a piece of thin plastic wrap to test, it actually sucks the plastic wrap into the seat. Both the the seat back and the seat bottom and both the driver and passenger seats suck inward through the perforations. I have a base model with the Luxury package and the car is pretty loaded if that makes any difference. Is this correct? Or does it blow in different directions depending on the AUTO function and what it thinks the temperature is in the cabin? Kinda confused about this. BTW i can hear the fan LOUD and clear when i set the ventilation on. And it does get louder depending if 1,2 or 3 lights are on. So i think the fan is working fine. Just wondering if its possible the polarity is backwards on the fan and its turning the wrong way. I took a long trip and i didn't really notice the ventilation doing anything except for making loud fan noise and then i did this test when I got back which surprised me. So not sure how they are supposed to work and theory behind them making you more comfortable. Thanks...
05-11-18, 02:35 PM
#2
Lead Lap
The air should definitely be blowing outward from the seats and onto your butt and back. If yours are truly sucking air in, something is amiss. Perhaps, the fans are installed backwards or wired incorrectly.
Last edited by lesz; 05-11-18 at 03:58 PM.
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DyaDya (05-11-18)
05-11-18, 04:09 PM
#3
Driver
Thread Starter
Thanks lesz. Can i ask you if you specifically have or have tried this on a gen 4 rx350. I ask because just about hr ago i and in between the time i posted this i finally go ahold of a lexus "delivery specialist" at my dealership and she said she was taught that they DO suck inwards. Surprises me but maybe there is a method to the madness or different cars/models work differently and maybe it doesn't matter which way its designed to flow. So to verify... have you, (or anybody else), specifically seen this on a gen 4 rx350. The problem for me right now is i cant easily make it to a dealership to test one on the lot. Thanks.
05-11-18, 04:41 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
I had to check... haha
I can verify..
2016 Lexus RX 350 F sport
ACC mode
Auto
Set to LO, airgo causes the ventilated seats to go to high
Used tissue paper and found out that
The cushion near the thighs actually suck in air!
However, near the butt as well as the whole lumbar and back shoot air out.
I know there is also an air intake on the bottom of the seat that sucks air in I believe.
But that's cool.
I can verify..
2016 Lexus RX 350 F sport
ACC mode
Auto
Set to LO, airgo causes the ventilated seats to go to high
Used tissue paper and found out that
The cushion near the thighs actually suck in air!
However, near the butt as well as the whole lumbar and back shoot air out.
I know there is also an air intake on the bottom of the seat that sucks air in I believe.
But that's cool.
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DyaDya (05-14-18)
05-13-18, 08:01 AM
#5
All of these cooled seats are nothing more than marketing hogwash!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
The following users liked this post:
DyaDya (05-15-18)
05-15-18, 06:36 AM
#6
All of these cooled seats are nothing more than marketing hogwash!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
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DyaDya (05-15-18)
05-15-18, 12:45 PM
#7
Driver
Thread Starter
Thanks Anzkorboi and guxu for your specific case reports. I got hung up on this because i thought it should work a certain way without really understanding the whole picture i think. And i could not get any good theory or really reliable answers from any of the Lexus people so far. i am sure if you ask them what does the windshield wiper control do, 100% of them will give you an accurate answer but this seems to be not a well understood function or system process BY ALL! My guess is there are some Lexus salesman or tech folks who know exactly whats going on, but you just have to get lucky to run across one. But with my now limited research and your feedback let me now take a stab at it. I went out again to my car and tried to be more precise with using plastic wrap and tape etc etc. the air flow is just not that super obvious and i think to really do this scientifically you would need a lot of patience and accurate measuring equipment. And i don't want to make this an all day affair so i just going with what my medieval technique has givin me so far. and...here is what i think. In general it definitely sucks and not blows, (no puns implied). Anzkorboi, in your test i wonder if you could have been fooled into thinking part of it was blowing from the swirling air conditioning "wind" hitting your tissue and possibly making it appear to be blowing from the seat when it was really just the swirling "wind". Also i think there is a fan that is not exactly the size as the patter of perforations and therefore the blowing or sucking power is probably not uniform and probably much strong where ever the fan placement is. Here is my theory now. My understanding is there are 2 types of ventilate seats. Those that just move air and those that move air conditioned, (cold), air. In the RX350 is definitely just the air moving not air conditioned air. That much we know for sure as it is a stated fact. I think for those systems that move cold air it is obvious that they should blow as i presume they are trying to cool you down from back. But for the non cooled type what is the ventilation really trying to do. I think it is simply trying to cool down the seat, (not you). and by cooling down the seat you will be more comfortable and have less chance to stick to the seat. But nothing probably prevents you from sticking like the $10 ventilated fold ups you can buy, (that will probably also eventually ruin your nice seat). Because those actually keep you from touching the seat. And a seat has mass so when its been in the sun it takes awhile to cool down even if the ambient temperature changes quickly because you have just turned on the car with the air on full blast. So how to cool down the seat the fastest?? And on top of that given the choice, you want the part of the seat closest to you to cool down the fastest hoping the rest catches up to full equilibrium. So probably the best way to do that IS to suck the now cold ambient air, (because the air is on), into the seat thereby cooling down the surface of the seat more quickly than if it pulled the colder ambient air, say into the seat from under the seat, and blew it out through the perforation. And the reason for that is that that air would then warm up a bit running through the hot seat and air blowing out of the perforation would not be as cold as it would if were initially just sucked in. So if that is true i think it would be correct to suck it in. So that leaves the question as to how this system compares to a $10 folding ventilated seat for keeping you dry?? My guess is that for this to work well you have to move around a little to allow the ventilated holes to do their work. Obviously if you don't move at all the holes behind you touching your back cannot blow or suck. But there would be some benefit with the seat general cooling as long as there is moving air in part of the seat. Anyway, that's my thoughts now. And if your back becomes sticky i think you just have to "lean forward" for a while to let the seat the cool down, (or buy a $10 folding seat anyway!). Yeah, Guxu, the fans are really noisy and the only good thing about that is you can tell its supposedly working and there is actually a difference in 1,2 or 3 llights. And I'm glad to hear you couldn't really tell what was blowing where, but it did cool down your seat, (and you could tell because the passengers was not). So I am convinced enough they are working as intended, (whatever exactly that intention was, but i gave the explanation a shot).
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05-17-18, 07:26 PM
#8
All of these cooled seats are nothing more than marketing hogwash!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
The seats suck the air of the cabin and blow it outward through the holes, but by the time it gets to you it not cool anymore and if you can feel this through your clothes it's a miracle.
In exchange for this pseudo cooling you get a very noisy fan, what a deal!
05-18-18, 06:33 AM
#10
That's why they aren't call "cooled seats", they are call "ventilated seats". The previous generations of LS were the only car to have actual air conditioned (and therefore could be called "cooled seats") seats.
Also, the 4th Gen RX should suck air in, not blow out. It's supposed to be more effective by pulling the heat away from you.
Also, the 4th Gen RX should suck air in, not blow out. It's supposed to be more effective by pulling the heat away from you.
Last edited by offroad200; 05-18-18 at 06:36 AM. Reason: More info
05-18-18, 06:56 AM
#11
Racer
Ok, so we got one guy says it sucks air in, another says it blows air out and another says it sucks air in at one point and blows it out at another point.
Hmmmmmmmm......
Hmmmmmmmm......
05-21-18, 01:35 PM
#13
Lead Lap
Thanks Anzkorboi and guxu for your specific case reports. I got hung up on this because i thought it should work a certain way without really understanding the whole picture i think. And i could not get any good theory or really reliable answers from any of the Lexus people so far. i am sure if you ask them what does the windshield wiper control do, 100% of them will give you an accurate answer but this seems to be not a well understood function or system process BY ALL! My guess is there are some Lexus salesman or tech folks who know exactly whats going on, but you just have to get lucky to run across one. But with my now limited research and your feedback let me now take a stab at it. I went out again to my car and tried to be more precise with using plastic wrap and tape etc etc. the air flow is just not that super obvious and i think to really do this scientifically you would need a lot of patience and accurate measuring equipment. And i don't want to make this an all day affair so i just going with what my medieval technique has givin me so far. and...here is what i think. In general it definitely sucks and not blows, (no puns implied). Anzkorboi, in your test i wonder if you could have been fooled into thinking part of it was blowing from the swirling air conditioning "wind" hitting your tissue and possibly making it appear to be blowing from the seat when it was really just the swirling "wind". Also i think there is a fan that is not exactly the size as the patter of perforations and therefore the blowing or sucking power is probably not uniform and probably much strong where ever the fan placement is. Here is my theory now. My understanding is there are 2 types of ventilate seats. Those that just move air and those that move air conditioned, (cold), air. In the RX350 is definitely just the air moving not air conditioned air. That much we know for sure as it is a stated fact. I think for those systems that move cold air it is obvious that they should blow as i presume they are trying to cool you down from back. But for the non cooled type what is the ventilation really trying to do. I think it is simply trying to cool down the seat, (not you). and by cooling down the seat you will be more comfortable and have less chance to stick to the seat. But nothing probably prevents you from sticking like the $10 ventilated fold ups you can buy, (that will probably also eventually ruin your nice seat). Because those actually keep you from touching the seat. And a seat has mass so when its been in the sun it takes awhile to cool down even if the ambient temperature changes quickly because you have just turned on the car with the air on full blast. So how to cool down the seat the fastest?? And on top of that given the choice, you want the part of the seat closest to you to cool down the fastest hoping the rest catches up to full equilibrium. So probably the best way to do that IS to suck the now cold ambient air, (because the air is on), into the seat thereby cooling down the surface of the seat more quickly than if it pulled the colder ambient air, say into the seat from under the seat, and blew it out through the perforation. And the reason for that is that that air would then warm up a bit running through the hot seat and air blowing out of the perforation would not be as cold as it would if were initially just sucked in. So if that is true i think it would be correct to suck it in. So that leaves the question as to how this system compares to a $10 folding ventilated seat for keeping you dry?? My guess is that for this to work well you have to move around a little to allow the ventilated holes to do their work. Obviously if you don't move at all the holes behind you touching your back cannot blow or suck. But there would be some benefit with the seat general cooling as long as there is moving air in part of the seat. Anyway, that's my thoughts now. And if your back becomes sticky i think you just have to "lean forward" for a while to let the seat the cool down, (or buy a $10 folding seat anyway!). Yeah, Guxu, the fans are really noisy and the only good thing about that is you can tell its supposedly working and there is actually a difference in 1,2 or 3 llights. And I'm glad to hear you couldn't really tell what was blowing where, but it did cool down your seat, (and you could tell because the passengers was not). So I am convinced enough they are working as intended, (whatever exactly that intention was, but i gave the explanation a shot).
07-21-18, 04:37 AM
#14
Intermediate
I read it and throughly enjoyed it. Thanks DyaDya.
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DyaDya (07-23-18)
07-23-18, 12:06 PM
#15
Driver
Thread Starter
