VanguardLH wrote:


My aunt got a new 2018 Outback. It has the heated seats. She and my
mother love it as they aren't sitting on a cold seat for very long. We
have some nasty cold winters here. When I ride in her car, I notice my
butt is getting uncomfy and realize the heater is still on, so I tap the
button to turn it off. Haven't been riding in her car during the winter
to know if a heated seat makes that much difference, well, to me, that
is. Before she had that car, she had a seat heating pad (back and
bottom) in her prior car. So, one way or the other, she was going to
have a heated seat. Maybe it depends on how old you are as to whether
this would be considered a wanted feature.

I'm surprised cars have enough power for stuff like that.

I thought if you jam the field winding on an alternator
(a test procedure mechanics use), you get about 12V @ 70A
from it. About 840W. And out of that, you have to run
the fuel pump, ignition computer, headlights, plus any of those
heating loads. It's a wonder there's enough power
to do it.

Paul