Anyone using the auto steering wheel or seat heaters?

[SteveTheTech]

As the weather gets cooler I was wondering what the first impressions of this little talked about, interesting new feature in some Q50s.

I have seen the options within the CLIMATE section of the SETTINGS sub menu (SETTINGS-->OTHERS-->CLIMATE) of the inTouch system and read a little about it in the owners manual. There are no temperature specs in the book about it but I find this to be an interesting feature.

Anyone using it?
Anyone prank their significant other?

Thoughts?

[Que5ti0n]

I've only had my Q50S Hybrid for a week now and haven't even begun to test all of the features. I have used the adaptive steering or auto steering and the seat heaters, though.

The steering does well on straightaways, but has a hard time around turns (even slight ones). I put the car into cruise and let it control itself around a ~20 degree turn, as it drifted into the lane left of me, it "panicked" and over-corrected into the lane right of me (5 lane hwy - started in the middle). It eventually put itself back on course, but I wouldn't trust the feature on anything other than a straight highway. I definitely wouldn't trust it in traffic on either side of the car. It tends to sway in the lane, making me, and I'm sure the other drivers on the road, very nervous. I may need to adjust some settings, but my first experience was that this feature should be used for assistance only. Note: I was going about 75 mph during this run.

The seat heaters work well. I had them on auto today. In the morning they were nice and warm. In the afternoon, after the outside temps rose to 65 or so, they did not come on. I assume the auto setting measures the inside and outside heat, but I haven't looked into how it works yet. I wish A/C seats were an option...the black leather is going to be hot next summer!

Overall, I'm very happy with the Q50S so far. Can't wait for some of the apps to come out!!

MiKe

[Merlin2890]

I haven't tried any heaters yet (Florida!) Where was all of this stuff when I lived in Buffalo, NY? I've had my car for two months and I'm still not sure I've found everything yet! There is always the Owners Manual. (Read as encyclopedia)

[MOWellsinVA]

I was given a Q50 AWD yesterday by the Ininiti dealer while my M45 was in the shop for a recall. Today the weather was awful: mid-thirties, raining, a real mess. I discovered the heated steering wheel option in the climate settings. Man, it's great! With the seat heaters and the heated wheel, I was really comfortable during this a.m. Having the AWD was very nice in the heavy, icy rain. I was very impressed with the Q50. It felt more spacious inside than the earlier generation.

[joe603]

I love my heated wheel in my lowly SRT8...never thought I would use it, but its awesome! Butt cheek warmers are great too.

[BadQ45t]

MOW, how do you compare your M45 to the Q50??

[SteveTheTech]

I was given a Q50 AWD yesterday by the Ininiti dealer while my M45 was in the shop for a recall. Today the weather was awful: mid-thirties, raining, a real mess. I discovered the heated steering wheel option in the climate settings. Man, it's great! With the seat heaters and the heated wheel, I was really comfortable during this a.m. Having the AWD was very nice in the heavy, icy rain. I was very impressed with the Q50. It felt more spacious inside than the earlier generation.

I am glad to hear many of the people I know who have had one as a loaner have had a positive experience in the terrible weather. The awd system is very similar to the original system we first saw in 04, solid and simple yet very effective. The auto heated seats and steering wheel is one of the coolest toys I have seen in some time. I had a chance to try this out one day when my G spent the night at the shop, it was one of those 5* days out in the Dulles area. My wife had no idea what was happening since the steering wheel setting is buried in the AC menu, and the seats "randomly" started warming. It took me some time to explain it to her as not being a problem.

I love my heated wheel in my lowly SRT8...never thought I would use it, but its awesome! Butt cheek warmers are great too.

In defense of the Q , that is the new entry model and the SRT8 Challenger is their top model. The equivalent Infiniti would be something like an M56S which has both of those standard.

MOW, how do you compare your M45 to the Q50??

Very different, comparing a loaner level Q to an M45, especially Sport is not doing either of those cars justice. It is the kind of ride that may spoil you, especially if your car rides like an older car (like my DD). The Q with DAS set to Sport and quick response will (IMO) out handle just about anything they have made. The ratio at speed is so fast it feels like too much fun, I can only keep a car within reasonable limits on the roads around here so I would never hit the point where the steering feedback you would experience in a track situation would not be a large issue. I have only limited experience so the fun factor was in full effect. The loaners typically have leatherette seats and none of the tech toys the Q has available.