Sorry for dragging up an old post, but it’s still really relevant all these years later. I have a 2019 titanium hybrid which does exactly what you all the describe. After a hot day in the sun, the ventilated seats make my back burn, even the passenger seat with nobody sitting in it gets hot if I turn it on. Yet on most days, it works just fine.
I noticed some information on Wikipedia about peltier effect coolers which might explain what is going on.
“There comes a temperature difference when the waste heat and heat moving back overcomes the moved heat, and the module starts to heat the cool side instead of cooling it further.”
Seems likely that these units just can’t work when they hot to begin with. Sucks, but at least it’s not “broken”.
