What causes the heated/cooled seats to be weak?

[mch4424]

My heated and cooled seats on my 2011 Genesis are weak. Cooled seats feel meh, hardly notice them moving air. Heated seats feel warm, but definitely not hot on max setting or anything.

My filter seemed okay, cleaned it off and reinserted it. I'm not sure if it's the module, but I can figure out how to get it out anyways. Would this be a piping issue or a module issue most likely?

 

[Gunkk]

There was an early issue with the '09s with a tube in the seat bottom cushion that could get squashed and block airflow to the seat back, resulting in no cooling in the seat back at all. Can be fixed DIY, there are threads here, but it's a job. IIRC this was not a significant issue in '10 and later.


Here's my take on how the heating/cooling works in the BH seats vs. others I've experienced:

Cooling: the peltier-junction cooler unit in the seats does not blow a lot of air. If you own a GM or Ford it will seem like the fan is broken by comparison, but it isn't. For example, my '17 Camaro which has a fan-only for cooling (no PJ unit) and blows much harder (audibly and physically) that does the job of managing swass and swack but it never gets cold. The Genesis instead takes a while to start to feel the cool, but it will eventually uncomfortably cold on high setting, and I don't know it right away until I wonder why my back is suddenly stiff, and then I turn it down to low.

Heating: The fan does not operate when the heater is on. It's just a resistance-hot-wire heater common in all heated seats. There's a temp sensor that regulates the element on and off, so it will get hot then cool then re-warm. Seems like it always gets hottest right at first then shuts off for a bit then comes back on and stays warm over time. Caveat: I live in FL and rarely use the seat heater vs. using the cooler almost daily.

 

[mch4424]

There was an early issue with the '09s with a tube in the seat bottom cushion that could get squashed and block airflow to the seat back, resulting in no cooling in the seat back at all. Can be fixed DIY, there are threads here, but it's a job. IIRC this was not a significant issue in '10 and later.


Here's my take on how the heating/cooling works in the BH seats vs. others I've experienced:

Cooling: the peltier-junction cooler unit in the seats does not blow a lot of air. If you own a GM or Ford it will seem like the fan is broken by comparison, but it isn't. For example, my '17 Camaro which has a fan-only for cooling (no PJ unit) and blows much harder (audibly and physically) that does the job of managing swass and swack but it never gets cold. The Genesis instead takes a while to start to feel the cool, but it will eventually uncomfortably cold on high setting, and I don't know it right away until I wonder why my back is suddenly stiff, and then I turn it down to low.

Heating: The fan does not operate when the heater is on. It's just a resistance-hot-wire heater common in all heated seats. There's a temp sensor that regulates the element on and off, so it will get hot then cool then re-warm. Seems like it always gets hottest right at first then shuts off for a bit then comes back on and stays warm over time. Caveat: I live in FL and rarely use the seat heater vs. using the cooler almost daily.

So it sounds like if both the heated and cooled seats are weak then it is most likely the module? I would like to check it but I cannot find proper instructions for removing the seat.

 

[Gunkk]

Two different things. The heater is a common resistance-wire heating pad found in all cars. It doesn't seem to be sold as a separate part on HOPD (but I infer that it is included with the seat cushion assembly). The cooling unit only blows cold and the blower only runs when cooling. It is a thermoelecttric (Peltier Junction) unit, and according to HOPD is included in the seat cushion assembly but also sold as a separate part. Blower does not appear to include the TEC unit Genuine Blower for 2009-2016 Hyundai | Part# 88550-3M010 | Hyundai OEM Parts Direct


Seat removal procedure:


EDIT:
Also found some diagnosis info in a different part of the service manual:

 

[Gunkk]

Additional info on the cooler:

 

[NSXNEXT]

I guess the real question is "weak" as compared to what?

What it used to feel like in my current vehicle?
Another Genesis I've ridden in?
Another brand/model vehicle?

 

[mch4424]

Additional info on the cooler:
View attachment 40421

View attachment 40422


View attachment 40423

Thank you for this info! I have gone through just about everything now. Filter under the peltier looked good, I air dusted the fan blades to make sure but seemed very clean. Checked to make sure it was sucking air through the vents and it was.

Cleaned/steamed the leather seats to make sure the perforations weren't blocked, although they seemed clean already.

Then, I took the seat back off (the trickiest part) and checked the hoses which all seemed fine. I took 3 3/4"x3" springs and made an "H" around the inside foam air inlet as per Hyundai's recommendation. It seemed like the foam was blocking off air flow and even the lumbar airbag (which I could not get to deflate) was putting pressure on it. The springs, in theory, should help.

One though I had, my air conditioning is not super cold. This could affect the seat cooling since the air being brought through the peltier isn't very cold right? I should address this. Also, the tops of the hoses (where the insert into the seat from the peltier) have an outlet. I can feel air being blown out the top of it like a relief valve of sorts. Seems like odd design and I can't help but wonder how much this lowers the pressure of the air blowing through the seats.

I guess the real question is "weak" as compared to what?

What it used to feel like in my current vehicle?
Another Genesis I've ridden in?
Another brand/model vehicle?

Weak as in compared to my old Cadillac DTS I suppose. I can't even feel air blowing through the seat most times, although the fan is sucking air in and I've confirmed the hose is sending air to the seat. But still, not really feeling any air at all come through the seat itself.