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Ventilated Seats

O'Lander22

Well-known member
My seats both the driver and passenger are not getting cool when activated. Went to a dealership this morning and they said they couldn't do anything other than check for a software update and it didn't need one and told me they would have to keep it for up to 4 days before they can even look at it. I did some trouble shooting and when I turned on both seats and turned off the radio and a/c, I could hear the fans running. Sounded like they were coming out of the rear vents but I checked them and nothing. Also checked under the seat in the front and back but couldn't feel anything there either. Anyone have any ideas? It's been like this since I bought it but it wasn't a problem up to now, since the temps are rising fast here in Texas.
 

FlyingAvocado

Well-known member
My seats both the driver and passenger are not getting cool when activated. Went to a dealership this morning and they said they couldn't do anything other than check for a software update and it didn't need one and told me they would have to keep it for up to 4 days before they can even look at it. I did some trouble shooting and when I turned on both seats and turned off the radio and a/c, I could hear the fans running. Sounded like they were coming out of the rear vents but I checked them and nothing. Also checked under the seat in the front and back but couldn't feel anything there either. Anyone have any ideas? It's been like this since I bought it but it wasn't a problem up to now, since the temps are rising fast here in Texas.
Find another dealership to look at it. Their response was a subtle way of telling you they have no interest in helping you.
 

Diablo

Active member
My seats both the driver and passenger are not getting cool when activated. Went to a dealership this morning and they said they couldn't do anything other than check for a software update and it didn't need one and told me they would have to keep it for up to 4 days before they can even look at it. I did some trouble shooting and when I turned on both seats and turned off the radio and a/c, I could hear the fans running. Sounded like they were coming out of the rear vents but I checked them and nothing. Also checked under the seat in the front and back but couldn't feel anything there either. Anyone have any ideas? It's been like this since I bought it but it wasn't a problem up to now, since the temps are rising fast here in Texas.

I know in my 2021 WK2 I can't tell if the ventilated seats are working when it gets around 85 or higher outside. Especially if I'm wearing thicker clothing like jeans. It does the same thing in my mom's Cadillac. As far as I know the fans just pump the air from the cabin into the seat. They don't seem all that great to me. I'm not sure if that's normal for other vehicles or not. I usually don't even bother with them unless they come on automatically with remote start.

Probably the only thing they can do is tear the seats down to check that the fans are blowing air.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
I know in my 2021 WK2 I can't tell if the ventilated seats are working when it gets around 85 or higher outside. Especially if I'm wearing thicker clothing like jeans. It does the same thing in my mom's Cadillac. As far as I know the fans just pump the air from the cabin into the seat. They don't seem all that great to me. I'm not sure if that's normal for other vehicles or not. I usually don't even bother with them unless they come on automatically with remote start.

Probably the only thing they can do is tear the seats down to check that the fans are blowing air.
I pretty much wear shorts all the time. I did have a 21 GCL Overland and I could always tell when the ventilated seats were turned on.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
Thanks all.. I do believe I might try another dealership. Now that I have more information that I can pass on to them it might help. Knowing that the fans are working helps me a lot, just figuring out how to get that air to the seats is the question. Knowing this information might help them diagnose this a bit faster/easier.
 

bobbymcgraw

Well-known member
I wonder if there’s a chance the air ducts aren’t connected under your seats. You have to disconnect them to access the batteries and fuse boxes.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
I wonder if there’s a chance the air ducts aren’t connected under your seats. You have to disconnect them to access the batteries and fuse boxes.
I was wondering if there were ducts to direct the air flow to the seats. I think I have heard of them either not being there or just not connected. I will have to try and see if I can see them without removing the seats. Is there a chance the air flow is small enough that if the ducts weren't connected I wouldn't be able to feel any air from under the seats?
 

bobbymcgraw

Well-known member
I was wondering if there were ducts to direct the air flow to the seats. I think I have heard of them either not being there or just not connected. I will have to try and see if I can see them without removing the seats. Is there a chance the air flow is small enough that if the ducts weren't connected I wouldn't be able to feel any air from under the seats?
That’s definitely possible. You should be able to alder the flat, plastic duct from the 2nd row. I believe it has a piece that sides and connects to the airflow.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
I did some youtube research yesterday on ventilated seats. Although I couldn't find anything directly related to Jeep, I am assuming that the general principle of ventilated seats are pretty standard across all manufacturers. What I found is not very good for me. It appears that the fans are embedded into the seat cushions themselves and blow the air directly onto a pad that cools the seats. Any work would require seat and fabric removal just to get to the fans. Although, I don't exactly know what my problem is, but I am thinking at the very less they would have to deconstruct my seats just to see. A/C does not control the ventilated seats. If anyone can direct me to more/other information on this please do so. Wonder if this is too labor intensive and if they would just replace the seats and be done with it.
 

bobbymcgraw

Well-known member
Maybe, but I really don’t think the fan is in our seats. The fan sound comes from further back in the vehicle - it sounds more like the AC in the back is running.

I’d definitely check to see if the duct is connected - it’s sort of a flat tube that slides over.

I did have to have a second row seat taken apart to replace the track underneath - the Power folding wasn’t working properly. They had to remove the fabric from the seat. It was labor intensive to do so. I was worried that the seat wouldn’t look as good when they finished - but you’d never be able to tell they worked on it. Looks great.
 

Diablo

Active member
I did some youtube research yesterday on ventilated seats. Although I couldn't find anything directly related to Jeep, I am assuming that the general principle of ventilated seats are pretty standard across all manufacturers. What I found is not very good for me. It appears that the fans are embedded into the seat cushions themselves and blow the air directly onto a pad that cools the seats. Any work would require seat and fabric removal just to get to the fans. Although, I don't exactly know what my problem is, but I am thinking at the very less they would have to deconstruct my seats just to see. A/C does not control the ventilated seats. If anyone can direct me to more/other information on this please do so. Wonder if this is too labor intensive and if they would just replace the seats and be done with it.

That’s why I pretty much said they’d probably have to tear the seats down to see what’s going on. That may not be the case, but that has been my experience in the past with other vehicles. Also from experience, it shouldn’t be too labor intensive for an experienced mechanic. They deal with this stuff all the time. As long as the fans are working there probably isn't much else they can do.

You can google “ventilated seats weak” and get some pretty good reading material from owners of other brands. They specifically call these “ventilated” seats not “air conditioned”. Some brands do use a system that actually runs off of the a/c to cool the seats. Unfortunately I believe the WL just blows cabin air into the seats which has never been that great in my opinion.

Most ventilated seats are usually perforated. Unfortunately I only test drove a Summit Reserve which I believe had perforated seats. The Overland I ordered does not, so I'm not sure what good fans are for those without perforations. I've never experienced that situation before.
 

Sarge

Well-known member
That’s why I pretty much said they’d probably have to tear the seats down to see what’s going on. That may not be the case, but that has been my experience in the past with other vehicles. Also from experience, it shouldn’t be too labor intensive for an experienced mechanic. They deal with this stuff all the time. As long as the fans are working there probably isn't much else they can do.

You can google “ventilated seats weak” and get some pretty good reading material from owners of other brands. They specifically call these “ventilated” seats not “air conditioned”. Some brands do use a system that actually runs off of the a/c to cool the seats. Unfortunately I believe the WL just blows cabin air into the seats which has never been that great in my opinion.

Most ventilated seats are usually perforated. Unfortunately I only test drove a Summit Reserve which I believe had perforated seats. The Overland I ordered does not, so I'm not sure what good fans are for those without perforations. I've never experienced that situation before.
If you get the option for it, the Overland has cooled front seats too (just not available in the rear). My '21 Overland has them and they've worked great so far.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
Maybe, but I really don’t think the fan is in our seats. The fan sound comes from further back in the vehicle - it sounds more like the AC in the back is running.

I’d definitely check to see if the duct is connected - it’s sort of a flat tube that slides over.

I did have to have a second row seat taken apart to replace the track underneath - the Power folding wasn’t working properly. They had to remove the fabric from the seat. It was labor intensive to do so. I was worried that the seat wouldn’t look as good when they finished - but you’d never be able to tell they worked on it. Looks great.
I thought the same about the rear A/C but I couldn't feel any air coming out of the vents. I also completely turned off the climate control and heard fans running. they changed when I changed the level of the ventilation.
 

O'Lander22

Well-known member
That’s why I pretty much said they’d probably have to tear the seats down to see what’s going on. That may not be the case, but that has been my experience in the past with other vehicles. Also from experience, it shouldn’t be too labor intensive for an experienced mechanic. They deal with this stuff all the time. As long as the fans are working there probably isn't much else they can do.

You can google “ventilated seats weak” and get some pretty good reading material from owners of other brands. They specifically call these “ventilated” seats not “air conditioned”. Some brands do use a system that actually runs off of the a/c to cool the seats. Unfortunately I believe the WL just blows cabin air into the seats which has never been that great in my opinion.

Most ventilated seats are usually perforated. Unfortunately I only test drove a Summit Reserve which I believe had perforated seats. The Overland I ordered does not, so I'm not sure what good fans are for those without perforations. I've never experienced that situation before.
Sounds like they would need the vehicle for quite a while in order do this. It would be nice if they just replace the entire seat but we know how that goes.. LOL

I will check google as you suggested and see what is there. you tube helped a bit.
 

saleen032

Well-known member
Maybe, but I really don’t think the fan is in our seats. The fan sound comes from further back in the vehicle - it sounds more like the AC in the back is running.

I’d definitely check to see if the duct is connected - it’s sort of a flat tube that slides over.

I did have to have a second row seat taken apart to replace the track underneath - the Power folding wasn’t working properly. They had to remove the fabric from the seat. It was labor intensive to do so. I was worried that the seat wouldn’t look as good when they finished - but you’d never be able to tell they worked on it. Looks great.
The seats have individual fans in them that blow air from the cabin through the cushions....each seat has its own fan. The cooling does not come from the AC system. There is no duct work to check...just like Jake22 explained.
 

Diablo

Active member
If you get the option for it, the Overland has cooled front seats too (just not available in the rear). My '21 Overland has them and they've worked great so far.

I meant that I don't think the Overland has perforated seats. I am aware that it has ventilated seats. 😁
 

Diablo

Active member
Sounds like they would need the vehicle for quite a while in order do this. It would be nice if they just replace the entire seat but we know how that goes.. LOL

I will check google as you suggested and see what is there. you tube helped a bit.

The last time I had a seat torn down it was a pretty basic seat in a Toyota. I dropped it off in the morning and they had it done same day by end of day. I'm not sure sometimes how competent jeep mechanics are but it really shouldn't take that long. 😅

Be careful what you wish for! With all the parts shortages and delays it would probably make more sense for them to tear it down and check the fans.
 
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