Seat Back Cooling Issues

[crushalot]

All,

 

  I have been struggling with the cooled seats in my newly acquired 2020 MKZ.  The issue is the seat bottoms on both the seats cool just fine but the seat backs do not.  In fact when the feature is left on, the seat back temp actually goes up until it is uncomfortable to sit on.  I live in the south and use this feature a lot.  I have owned 6 different Lincolns over the past decade and never had this issue with any of them.  My last MKZ was a 2017 and the feature worked just fine.

 

I have been to 2 different dealers who have serviced the vehicle and both state that the seats are working correctly.  I am working with the Lincoln Concierge to get this resolved and that is why I originally created these videos.

I wanted to post them here as well to have a few members view them and confirm that this is not the correct functioning of the cooled seats. 

 

For anyone who doesn't want to watch them here are the results from testing the seats with a calibrated IR thermometer: 

 

Seat bottoms immediately show a cool down of 4 - 7 degrees and consistently operate correctly.   The seat backs will initially show a drop of less then 1 degree and then after they have been on for more than 5 minutes, the temp in the seat back air starts to rise.  After the cooling feature has been on for 15 minutes the seat backs become uncomfortable and basically blow out 88 - 90 degree air regardless of the outside temp or the ambient cabin temp, all the while the seat bottoms are cooling fine.  Driving around in the vehicle for 30 minutes results in seat bottoms blowing our 69 degree air while the seat backs blow out 88+ degree air.  This can't be the correct functioning of this feature.  The service techs state that the diagnostic data is showing proper cooling in the seat back, but in reality the seat back is getting hotter then when you engaged the feature.  They have replaced the blower assembly in the drivers seat but it made no difference what so ever as I did these same tests before going in for service and they showed the exact same results.

 

Can anyone confirm that I am not going crazy and their vehicle is holding a slightly cooled temp on the seat back rather increasing the temp of air blown out the seat backs?

 

Thanks

 

I think the 3rd through 5th videos are most conclusive.

 

https://youtu.be/gBd4KfFkTwA

 

https://youtu.be/J0eZ9767byY

 

https://youtu.be/w9tEx_BwQdM

 

https://youtu.be/5FxtZwqzAgk

 

https://youtu.be/3RXgI8IxtG8

 

https://youtu.be/t_Y4AHGmOdc

 

 

 

 

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, crushalot said:

All,

 

  I have been struggling with the cooled seats in my newly acquired 2020 MKZ.  The issue is the seat bottoms on both the seats cool just fine but the seat backs do not.  In fact when the feature is left on, the seat back temp actually goes up until it is uncomfortable to sit on.  I live in the south and use this feature a lot.  I have owned 6 different Lincolns over the past decade and never had this issue with any of them.  My last MKZ was a 2017 and the feature worked just fine.

 

I have been to 2 different dealers who have serviced the vehicle and both state that the seats are working correctly.  I am working with the Lincoln Concierge to get this resolved and that is why I originally created these videos.

I wanted to post them here as well to have a few members view them and confirm that this is not the correct functioning of the cooled seats. 

 

For anyone who doesn't want to watch them here are the results from testing the seats with a calibrated IR thermometer: 

 

Seat bottoms immediately show a cool down of 4 - 7 degrees and consistently operate correctly.   The seat backs will initially show a drop of less then 1 degree and then after they have been on for more than 5 minutes, the temp in the seat back air starts to rise.  After the cooling feature has been on for 15 minutes the seat backs become uncomfortable and basically blow out 88 - 90 degree air regardless of the outside temp or the ambient cabin temp, all the while the seat bottoms are cooling fine.  Driving around in the vehicle for 30 minutes results in seat bottoms blowing our 69 degree air while the seat backs blow out 88+ degree air.  This can't be the correct functioning of this feature.  The service techs state that the diagnostic data is showing proper cooling in the seat back, but in reality the seat back is getting hotter then when you engaged the feature.  They have replaced the blower assembly in the drivers seat but it made no difference what so ever as I did these same tests before going in for service and they showed the exact same results.

 

Can anyone confirm that I am not going crazy and their vehicle is holding a slightly cooled temp on the seat back rather increasing the temp of air blown out the seat backs?

 

Thanks

 

Hi crushalot. I can confirm that my seat-bottoms and seat-backs both cool down. I can not tell you how much or in as much detail as your tests, but they do cool.

 

Hopefully Lincoln Concierge will get Lincoln Engineering involved in order to solve this for you.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

[leftoverture]

The first problem is dealers stating the seats work properly when you have clear evidence to the contrary. That would make me question using either of those dealers for service on anything. Hopefully Lincoln can get that straightened out as well as your car seats. 

[crushalot]

Frustrating update - The service manager from the second dealership working on this issue told me after talking with Lincoln engineering that they said Lincoln stopped using TED devices to cool the seats!  This is questionable to me as they specifically updated the interior buttons to activate the function says AC right on the button.  Why would they update the button to include the label AC while dropping the device that actually cools?  SM said that on the window stickers they say heated seats and no longer state cooled seats.

 

He wasn't able to tell me when the company made this change.  He states that there is no TED in the seats at all any longer.  If that was the case how could the bottom instantly cool down 5+ degrees?  I call BS.

 

Can anyone confirm that there should be 2 TED's per seat even in the 2020 MY? @drolds1 - When you confirmed that there should be 2 TED's was that for MY 2020? Maybe 2019 models were that last to have the TED's?

 

I just can't believe that all the 2020 MKZ's work like this and essentially heat your back while cooling the bottom.  Other members here have confirmed the seats appear to be working and I have had at least one 2020 loaner that was working correctly cooling the seat backs.

 

What else can I do here?

 

Thanks

[drolds1]

The illustrations that I posted earlier are from the 2020 service manual.

 

2020 Lincoln MKZ order guide:

Quote

  — Elements Package (63D) available on MKZ Reserve (200A) and MKZ Hybrid Reserve (500A) ○ Heated/Cooled First Row Seats ○ Heated Rear Seats ○ Heated Steering Wheel

So, yeah. I agree-BS.  I don't know what else you can do.  As I PM'd you earlier, mine don't work right either.

[crushalot]

Thanks for confirming, I didn't even think to look in the order guide.  When you have a chance could you try again to post or PM me those illustrations? I was never able to view them.

Thanks again.

[drolds1]

See this post. There's more information than I originally had.

[17MKZ3.0TT]

I'll bite, what's a TED device? Apparently I have them, and they work. ?

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, 17MKZ3.0TT said:

I'll bite, what's a TED device? Apparently I have them, and they work. ?

 

Hi 17MKZ. "Thermoelectric Cooling Device". Take a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

 

Good luck.

[17MKZ3.0TT]

26 minutes ago, bbf2530 said:

 

Hi 17MKZ. "Thermoelectric Cooling Device". Take a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

 

Good luck.

Hey, I've used those! Seriously, can't remember what they were called, but they are also used in cooling electronics in hot ambient temps where energy use isn't a major concern. Thanks!