# Atlas ventilated seats anemic - very weak



## Wrliii (May 27, 2017)

Has anyone else tried the ventilated seats? Mine are bareley detectable on the high setting and only on the bottom of the seat not the back. A very faint air flow can be detected if you are really trying to feel it, but at least in my Atlas it's so weak that it really has not effect. So much so that I am thinking of returning the entire vehicle for a refund. No sense paying for "upgrades" that don't exist. I am wondering if this is just mine or if everyone who has this feature experiences the same thing? 

Thanks for your help!


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## cgvalant (Nov 14, 2005)

I test drove an SEL premium the other day and didn't feel it was bad. It is almost non-existent until it is able to start blowing cold air though, which took a few minutes.

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## truckasaurus1 (Jun 23, 2015)

Just picked up our new SEL Premium Atlas on Wednesday night. Initially thought the same thing (that the cooled seats weren't working), but we were driving today in the pounding sun (our car is black) and after about an hour in the car, my wife mentions to me that she doesn't feel like they were working. At first i thought she might be correct, but then i noticed that my back was not sweaty at all. I know it gross, but if i'm driving a car without an undershirt (as i was today) even in cool weather my back gets sweaty... that's why i always wear an undershirt. Didn't today because I wasn't dressed for work... but instead wearing my "weekender" attire and we just happened to head out.

So yeah, probably not "working" well in the sense that you can feel air blowing out of the holes, but definitely working in the sense that it kept my back ventilated.


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## Wrliii (May 27, 2017)

*Agree with Truckasaurus*

My experience sounds the same as yours - I imagine that it must be doing something - but can't really feel anything on the back of the seat. The bottom of the seat there is a very faint coolness. Probably better than nothing, but that's not exactly what I want / am paying for. I have a friend that just bought an F150 his A/C seats could float an air hockey puck. The Audi Q7's are also quite noticeable but not as strong as the F150. Very unsatisfactory IMO. I would love to hear from others if they have the same situation with the ventilated seats but seems like 2 of us with the same status means, mine are not just broken / can be fixed. Thanks for the reply truckasaurus




truckasaurus1 said:


> Just picked up our new SEL Premium Atlas on Wednesday night. Initially thought the same thing (that the cooled seats weren't working), but we were driving today in the pounding sun (our car is black) and after about an hour in the car, my wife mentions to me that she doesn't feel like they were working. At first i thought she might be correct, but then i noticed that my back was not sweaty at all. I know it gross, but if i'm driving a car without an undershirt (as i was today) even in cool weather my back gets sweaty... that's why i always wear an undershirt. Didn't today because I wasn't dressed for work... but instead wearing my "weekender" attire and we just happened to head out.
> 
> So yeah, probably not "working" well in the sense that you can feel air blowing out of the holes, but definitely working in the sense that it kept my back ventilated.


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## jspirate (Jan 15, 2011)

Wrliii said:


> My experience sounds the same as yours - I imagine that it must be doing something - but can't really feel anything on the back of the seat. The bottom of the seat there is a very faint coolness. Probably better than nothing, but that's not exactly what I want / am paying for. I have a friend that just bought an F150 his A/C seats could float an air hockey puck. The Audi Q7's are also quite noticeable but not as strong as the F150. Very unsatisfactory IMO. I would love to hear from others if they have the same situation with the ventilated seats but seems like 2 of us with the same status means, mine are not just broken / can be fixed. Thanks for the reply truckasaurus


One of the best things about buying a VW is that there are a LOT of parts that are plug-n-play. An option might be to research the the Q7's blower and see if it flows more air. Sure, it sucks to have a new car that doesn't do what you thought it would do (or paid for it to do), but on the flip side, its damn fun making your car better than it was off the production line.

If does seem like VW should have gotten out in front of this though...


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## mtbmurray (Mar 12, 2000)

The ventilated seats are only meant to give a cooling sensation, not blow air onto your back. The system also uses ambient air from inside the cabin so it takes a few minutes for the cold air from the AC to reach the seats. The Atlas seats function the same as in my GMC Sierra Denali, cool sensation, keeps my back dry, but no "breeze." Sit in an Atlas without the ventilated seats on a really hot day and you'll be glad you have them.


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## truckasaurus1 (Jun 23, 2015)

My only complaint is that you have to turn them on EVERY TIME you get in the car (if you want them). Haven't dug into it yet, but assume (or hope) that VAG COM can fix that.... I wish that all user settings like this (e.g., Auto Start/Stop, etc) were "personalized" to be sticky for each user.


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## 75Rod75 (Jun 17, 2017)

They are awful. I just bought the SEL Premium. The passanger side is rattling and service said they need 2 days to work on it. The driver side is weak. Not effective at all.


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## jkueter (Feb 12, 2008)

mtbmurray said:


> The ventilated seats are only meant to give a cooling sensation, not blow air onto your back. The system also uses ambient air from inside the cabin so it takes a few minutes for the cold air from the AC to reach the seats. The Atlas seats function the same as in my GMC Sierra Denali, cool sensation, keeps my back dry, but no "breeze." Sit in an Atlas without the ventilated seats on a really hot day and you'll be glad you have them.


I'm a skier and have heating elements in boots. The way they work is you don't want to actually feel the heat, you just don't want to be cold. I'm assuming the cooling seats are the same way, enough air to keep you from getting hot or sweaty, but you don't actually want to feel cold from them.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

I agree that the ventilated seats are pretty disappointing. On a trip I took last weekend, I couldn't tell any difference between having them on or off. If I couldn't hear the fan turn on, I'd have assumed that they just weren't hooked up.


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## jkopelc (Mar 1, 2017)

I actually have an opposite experience to the above post. Was able to be inside an SEL on a warm day (80 degrees) with black leather seats for a good 20 minutes. To me the seats cooled nicely when they were activated. They are not designed to blow air (like the vents in the vehicle), but only to keep them cool against your body. On the flip side, when I jumped back into my own vehicle to drive home (X5, black leather, no ventilated seats), I definitely felt my shirt start sticking to my back by the time I made it home (15 min drive) - whereas that did not occur with the Atlas at all.

Just my .02 cents


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## rhgti1 (Sep 8, 2004)

*If its the same as the Audi Q7 they should be effective*

Dropped my Audi Q5 for service today and got a new Q7 loaner. It was 96 degrees here in the SF Bay Area today and I could actually feel the seat coolness while driving. In fact, I had to turn it a level down because it was getting too cold for my back. There was no noticeable air flow or noise, but the cooling effect was there. I immediately felt the difference when I picked up my Q5 and drove home.
If Volkswagen is using the same seat cooling as Audi (which I suspect they are) I would expect the same performance on the Atlas. I promise to report back once I finally get my Atlas (why so long to get the color combination I wanted???), hopefully before Christmas...:biggrinsanta:


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## GjR32 (Dec 22, 2010)

Wrliii said:


> Has anyone else tried the ventilated seats? Mine are bareley detectable on the high setting and only on the bottom of the seat not the back. A very faint air flow can be detected if you are really trying to feel it, but at least in my Atlas it's so weak that it really has not effect. So much so that I am thinking of returning the entire vehicle for a refund. No sense paying for "upgrades" that don't exist. I am wondering if this is just mine or if everyone who has this feature experiences the same thing?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


Either you've got a dud or you're a troll sent from Honda because when I put my ventilated seats on for the first time today I instantly felt the cool breeze on my thighs. I had a Phaeton before the Atlas which also had cooled seats and they weren't half as good as the Atlas'.


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## hwalker (Dec 3, 2012)

Wrliii said:


> Has anyone else tried the ventilated seats? Mine are bareley detectable on the high setting and only on the bottom of the seat not the back. A very faint air flow can be detected if you are really trying to feel it, but at least in my Atlas it's so weak that it really has not effect. So much so that I am thinking of returning the entire vehicle for a refund. No sense paying for "upgrades" that don't exist. I am wondering if this is just mine or if everyone who has this feature experiences the same thing?
> 
> Thanks for your help!


We picked up our Atlas Higline and immediately tried out the ventilated seats. They take a few seconds to start, but they do cool my back and butt. Not too cold to be uncomfortable, Just enough to be cool. I even turned it down to the lowest setting.

Note that we too had the rattling in the passenger seat when we drove off, called the dealer and brought it back the next day. It will take 2.days or more to pull apart the seat and fix apparently. Hey VW, Just send us a brand new working passenger seat and we would be in and out in 1 hour...

No other issues so far.


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## utsava (Jun 5, 2002)

Lyin' VW at it again. Low stamina... weak performance... sad! 





:laugh:


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## GjR32 (Dec 22, 2010)

75Rod75 said:


> They are awful. I just bought the SEL Premium. The passanger side is rattling and service said they need 2 days to work on it. The driver side is weak. Not effective at all.


Did you get your rattle fixed? If so, how long did it take and did you have to pay anything out of pocket?


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## GjR32 (Dec 22, 2010)

hwalker said:


> We picked up our Atlas Higline and immediately tried out the ventilated seats. They take a few seconds to start, but they do cool my back and butt. Not too cold to be uncomfortable, Just enough to be cool. I even turned it down to the lowest setting.
> 
> Note that we too had the rattling in the passenger seat when we drove off, called the dealer and brought it back the next day. It will take 2.days or more to pull apart the seat and fix apparently. Hey VW, Just send us a brand new working passenger seat and we would be in and out in 1 hour...
> 
> No other issues so far.


Did you get your rattle fixed? If so, how long did it take and did you have to pay anything out of pocket?


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## hwalker (Dec 3, 2012)

GjR32 said:


> Did you get your rattle fixed? If so, how long did it take and did you have to pay anything out of pocket?


Going in on Monday. No cost to us. I will confirm once repaired...


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## theperv (Jul 24, 2002)

havent tried an atlas yet but my jeep and ram are both minimal compared to some GM's I have driven. when i take the atlas on a drive if it works as good as the fiats ill make due


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## GjR32 (Dec 22, 2010)

hwalker said:


> Going in on Monday. No cost to us. I will confirm once repaired...


Did you get your seat rattle fixed? What was the problem? What did they replace?


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

GjR32 said:


> Did you get your seat rattle fixed? What was the problem? What did they replace?


So my passenger AC seat is making the loudest fan noise when its on. My driver seat is not making any noise when on. What's the outcome here? I don't want VW to replace my seat. The service department visits have been less than stellar since dieselgate for some reason.


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## rider5000 (Sep 28, 2017)

ice4life said:


> So my passenger AC seat is making the loudest fan noise when its on. My driver seat is not making any noise when on. What's the outcome here? I don't want VW to replace my seat. The service department visits have been less than stellar since dieselgate for some reason.


Same thing happened to me. VW found a hose where the wires go through was too long and touching the fan. They trimmed it a bit and the noise is gone. Just bring it in and let them know. Should be an easy fix.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

rider5000 said:


> Same thing happened to me. VW found a hose where the wires go through was too long and touching the fan. They trimmed it a bit and the noise is gone. Just bring it in and let them know. Should be an easy fix.


Awesome, I was worried about them replacing the seat. Didn't want that. I can't deal with service around here so at the 1 year I will have a laundry list of things.


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## jamesarm97 (Nov 4, 2017)

Can someone take a photo under the seat where the blower is? I’m wondering if they can be added aftermarket or if the connections / physical seat will not allow it. I see where there is a module that controls it (maybe I can get one aftermarket because the part# seems to be common with other models).


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## nemesis099 (Mar 16, 2002)

Just test drove the Atlas on Saturday and one of the things I checked was the ventilated seats. Now it is around freezing near me so I turned on the heated seats and waited till they got a little warm then turned on the ventilated seats and I found them to cool down fairly well. I also turned them on in the passenger seat and I could feel air movement on the side bolsters but not as much in the middle of the seat.

Now the sales person at the Audi dealership when I test drove the Q7 he said that Audi changed the system to take air away from the back creating a cooling effect rather then pump air into the area. I found the A7 seats worked better when I drove them but they were months apart.

Either way I do feel the Atlas seats cooled well enough.

For those that really want to freeze get into an Expedition as these have A/C seats and wow do they get cold!!

Still debating between an Atlas and the Traverse or if I should just wait till the Subaru Ascent is out before making a decision.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

nemesis099 said:


> Just test drove the Atlas on Saturday and one of the things I checked was the ventilated seats. Now it is around freezing near me so I turned on the heated seats and waited till they got a little warm then turned on the ventilated seats and I found them to cool down fairly well. I also turned them on in the passenger seat and I could feel air movement on the side bolsters but not as much in the middle of the seat.
> 
> Now the sales person at the Audi dealership when I test drove the Q7 he said that Audi changed the system to take air away from the back creating a cooling effect rather then pump air into the area. I found the A7 seats worked better when I drove them but they were months apart.
> 
> ...


Unless you're looking at a FWD Traverse Redline 2.0t and/or a 2.0t Atlas, the Ascent is 4cyl 2.4DIT only. Keep that in mind.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

rider5000 said:


> Same thing happened to me. VW found a hose where the wires go through was too long and touching the fan. They trimmed it a bit and the noise is gone. Just bring it in and let them know. Should be an easy fix.


While my car is still in the shop waiting for the cockpit, i did get some good news- they were able to get rid of the fan noise by adjusting a control module that was hitting the fan.


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## nemesis099 (Mar 16, 2002)

ice4life said:


> Unless you're looking at a FWD Traverse Redline 2.0t and/or a 2.0t Atlas, the Ascent is 4cyl 2.4DIT only. Keep that in mind.


I know the Ascent will be a 4 cyl turbo compared to the V6s I would get in the Traverse and Atlas it will depend on the way the Ascent drives. I happen to like Turbo engines especially when I get up into the mountains. I will be honest though I'm more worried about the CVT with moving around that much weight.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

nemesis099 said:


> I know the Ascent will be a 4 cyl turbo compared to the V6s I would get in the Traverse and Atlas it will depend on the way the Ascent drives. I happen to like Turbo engines especially when I get up into the mountains. I will be honest though I'm more worried about the CVT with moving around that much weight.


I have my eye on the ascent. And with the atlas being in the shop for so long that is becoming a scary reality. 

Don't worry about lineatronic. It is a very solid CVT.


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## bkrell (Dec 19, 2008)

Did a search to see if there was a newer post on this but have to agree completely about the seat cooling being weak. Just traded off my wife's Yukon XL for an Atlas SEL Premium and there's no comparison. It's my only real complaint w/ the vehicle.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

bkrell said:


> Did a search to see if there was a newer post on this but have to agree completely about the seat cooling being weak. Just traded off my wife's Yukon XL for an Atlas SEL Premium and there's no comparison. It's my only real complaint w/ the vehicle.


The VW seats are ventilated, not cooled.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Mine work fine


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

bkrell said:


> Did a search to see if there was a newer post on this but have to agree completely about the seat cooling being weak. Just traded off my wife's Yukon XL for an Atlas SEL Premium and there's no comparison. It's my only real complaint w/ the vehicle.


Just consider that we have Ventilated seats and not cooled seats. It uses the ambient temperature of the cabin air. Your wife's Yukon is most likely cooled seats


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## bkrell (Dec 19, 2008)

TablaRasa said:


> Just consider that we have Ventilated seats and not cooled seats. It uses the ambient temperature of the cabin air. Your wife's Yukon is most likely cooled seats


It's no big deal either way. I was allowed to drive it to work today and over the course of the drive I did notice a fair bit of air from the seat cooling my upper back area.
It's a lot more enjoyable to drive than her magic school bus. Since we've had kids, she's bought a CR-V, then an Odyssey, then a Yukon XL, and now I convinced her to downsize to the Atlas. She thinks she's driving a Golf.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

i have same issue.. i have a jeep that the vented seats blow so hard my hair flies upward from the draft lol 
in my vw - it is so weak what is the point of turning it on. lol 
i took it to the dealer and complained they said it is working.. i said i fart and blow wind hard and stronger than my vented sits..


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

AudiVW guy said:


> i have same issue.. i have a jeep that the vented seats blow so hard my hair flies upward from the draft lol
> in my vw - it is so weak what is the point of turning it on. lol
> i took it to the dealer and complained they said it is working.. i said i fart and blow wind hard and stronger than my vented sits..


Why did you inspect, approve, and sign-off on the vehicle then?


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Actually just tried mine again and it works really really well


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## Rafale (Sep 14, 2017)

For me, the backrest ventilation does work and can be felt, but the seat cushion ventilation is really weak and can't feel any difference in the driver's side


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## aregularguy (Sep 2, 2018)

*Work fine for me*

Mine work fine. 2018 SEL Premium picked up yesterday. The VW's seats are as good as or better than my Ford Explorer. To be very particular has a better flow to seat bottom while not as good as seat back. 

Not sure if everyone has bum seats or are expecting more?


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## atlas titan (Dec 15, 2017)

how can one tell if its working properly. would you be able to feel some breeze on your hand if put over it? mine feel kind of weak


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

I can compare the cooling sensation similar to when you apply those analgesic products like Icy/Hot or BenGay. Again, not consistently as others have pointed out but my thighs and back have consistently not felt "sticky" at all during this summer


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## bkrell (Dec 19, 2008)

I've found that the only time that I really FEEL the ventilation is when I have on something like a synthetic Columbia shirt or tech running shirt. A/c system in this car overall is on the anemic side for the Deep South climate where I live. Again, not a dealbreaker or anything.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

Well I took delivery a week ago and on two 80 plus temp days used the seat ventilation and it did let a faint cooling effect which was also felt by the passenger I had jeans on Ian’s it was noticeable. One thing it took about 10 to 15 minutes to be effective but I can say that my back was not sweating anymore. In a way it did what it is supposed to do


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## fincoop (May 22, 2001)

*2018 Execline - Ventilated seats work*

So it was -16C outside but inside was up to temp, 19-20C. I switched from seat heat to seat cool on max setting and within 30 seconds i could feel cooling on my legs through my jeans. Definitely acceptable. Not sure if in the middle of July they will cut it but they're not useless.


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## cplus71 (Mar 14, 2018)

I find that when you turn on the AC, and it's cooler in the cabin, the ventilated seats blow cooler air. If it's boiling hot in the car, I barely feel anything.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

cplus71 said:


> I find that when you turn on the AC, and it's cooler in the cabin, the ventilated seats blow cooler air. If it's boiling hot in the car, I barely feel anything.


Yes that is the way it works. They are ventilated and not actually cooked. So The A/C has to be in for it to circulate the cold air into the seat. This why we can also use this feature with the heated seats as it also circulates the heated air in the seats. 


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