IIRC, driver side only.

 

I'm not sure if I follow (IIRC); are you saying that the passenger seat does not have a heated seat element?

 

They do for the butts but the back does not because its not heated.

 

It looks like I'll have to find some solder and wire, and disassemble both seats then. I sure hope the new generation TL's have all these goofy little bugs ironed out. I was planning on picking one up after I hit 80k miles on my '00 3.2 TLP, but I'm starting to reconsider.

 

WOW, the rear seats are heated? Speaking of which, I know this is off the topic are there any retailers that sell seat covers for the rear seats?

 

the rear seats are not heated... the back portion of the drivers seat is heated, thats what we meant

 

No,.. the rear seats are NOT heated. Re-read the thread.

To summarize:

Drivers seat ------ bottom and back heated
Passenger seat - bottom heated only
Back seats ------- not heated

 

IIRC = "if I recall". I'm a NEEEEEERD

 

I'm pretty white and nerdy myself, but I must be falling behind in my nerd studies.

Does anyone have info on the type and gauge of wire we need to fix these stupid bun warmers? I decided that I will give fixing it a try before the weather here in Chicago hits sub zero.

 

Geee thanx, no need to re-read since you've summarized.

 

I used just a basic copper wire of slightly larger gage. Stereo speaker wire should work for example, the copper is low resistance and should not heat up.

 

My brother just put up a ceiling fan yesterday and he had some extra wire that he clipped, so I think that might suffice for this fix. Now I just need to get some of those special pliers.

I never really used the heated seats in S. Florida, but I recently moved back to cold Chicago, and when I clicked it on and noticed that something was afoul when the seat bottom didn't heat up. I bet the wire was frayed from the action of sitting/getting in and out of the car, and it shorted somehow when I clicked it on. In any event, I will be sure to do a thorough soldering job to keep it from burning up again.

 

For the person who said their heaters barely heat at all, you are probably only getting body heat from it and the heater is not working at all.

Another thing...
When you have your seat heater on high, it depends on what your temperature setting is on your heater as to how hot the seat will get.



EDIT: You shouldn't use speaker wire! The insulation on speaker wire is very soft and could melt quickly. Since your wire has already burnt out, you may want to make sure that the wire has a high enough rating to withstand the heat and voltage that is used in the heater element...

 

Really enjoy this community - GREAT RESOURCE!

'01 TL-S...

I was rear-ended last summer ('06) and when I turned on my seat heater this winter, I noticed it wasn't heating up as quickly as I recall and most of heat was in upper part of seat back. I can't tell if bun warmer was working at all.

Anyway, I called my dealer thinking this was due to accident (my seat was forced into fully recline position by impact).

Dealer said seat heaters normally last for only 3 years and quoted me $700 for repair!!!

Not sure if I can handle repairs discussed above, but anyone think I have a burned out wire - the back IS heating up, only much slower than before.

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

 

I live in Michigan, and use my heated seats all year long. Feels good on the lower back...ahhhhh.

 

Fsstyms1

Hey Kris
Is it possible that with the many hours a day spent in your car and the hours of track time in your car- that you have lost feeling in the area of your body the seat heat would affect?, or maybe a permanent frostbite from living in the great whiteout?

You have to understand folks, this man thinks 25 degrees Farenheit is T shirt weather,lets go wax the car or swap the motor out weather ........ and he drives 75 thousand miles plus a year, and casually dropped a 6 speed manual transmission into his automatic TL- well actually I think he installed in - not just dropped it in there but you get the point!

 

[QUOTE=D Bronx]Really enjoy this community - GREAT RESOURCE!

'01 TL-S...

I was rear-ended last summer ('06) and when I turned on my seat heater this winter, I noticed it wasn't heating up as quickly as I recall and most of heat was in upper part of seat back. I can't tell if bun warmer was working at all.

Anyway, I called my dealer thinking this was due to accident (my seat was forced into fully recline position by impact).
================================================== ======

If your seat was forced back - that may have damaged its internal strength and the motors or stops or who knows what- the seats are designed to absorb impact and not transfer it to you
Damage the heater who knows?

BUT- If the seat was damaged in the accident- then the insurance should be forced to pay for its replacement, check it out- get a new seat and a heater in one deal

And the normal operatio of the seat is turn on HIGH for a few minutes until you feel the heat- and you WILL feel it when its working, THEN turn to low and leave there, turns off and on as needed to keep seat warm

On HIGH - coil wire never gets a rest unless it hits the overtemp limit and shuts off
Low turns on and off
driver side butt and back heat
passenger butt heat only due to airbag

 

took me about three hours yesterday to fix back and bottom, put everything back, checked and working fine, last night driving i tried to move the seat, and wont move at all.

what you guys think, is there any Diagram i can refer too.

thanks

 

Did you doublecheck all the connections before putting it back together?

Did the seat move right after the repair?

Maybe you shorted something out when you ran the seat heater. Is the seat heater still working?

Bob

 

did check all connections, did not check the seat movement till last night,
and yes the heater still working, is it possilbe that i connect couple wire wrong,

 

How hot does your seat back get? I know that when I turn my seat on high (I don't use it long though) the bottom is very hot, but the back doesn't seem to be to warm... Is that normal?

 

last night spend about 10 minutes just looking at all connectors, and found out the two connecters where the switch is, are misplaced,

now its working fine and dandy.

 

Hey I'm having the similar problem; if I use the low setting, it doesn't get as "hot" but once I turn it to Hot I have to turn it down because it get EXTREMELY hot on the seat...and somewhat on the back.

 

I honestly don't think that my back heats up at all now that I think of it...

 

I cant believe that no one has taken step by step pictures yet.. oh well

 

Can someone give me the size gauge and amperage I would need for this job??

 

as long as you get a spot to park, and can open your door widely.....

 

2 words. bride seats. XD

 

Gauge of copper wire and amperage of electricty

 

How did you get the leather off the seats

 

This is my next project when i get my tranny done. I'm going to have to be taking the back part apart too since it does not heat up at all now

 

well i've been putting it off for awhile now but i think i might try to get to this project this weekend as my driver side seats only dont heat up .

 

do i need to use copper wire or can i use regular wire with heat shrink??? i only ask because i have tons of regular wires laying around and would rather not have to go buy a whole roll of copper wire i will never use again???

 

match exactly- whatever is used -

I think its strand wire so it can move and bend with the seat
It looks like an electric blanket with the wire elements running thru it

 

What do you mean by 'regular wire'?

 

is it possible to fix the back part without removing the whole seat at all? mine never worked really

 

like speaker wire??? but i guess ill have to go buy some copper wire then...

 

maybe the heavy duty speaker wire?? lol
I dont honestly know type/guage- just cut out the bad section and take it to hardware store
You wont use the 1 foot minimum they sell you in the repair

Only the driver side gets heat in low back and butt
Passenger only butt heat- side airbag issue prevents install of low back heat on that seat
Check the switch and fuses, power is getting to the seat --before digging further

You must remove the seat from the car- hog ring clips secure the leather cover and you need access to them to remove the cover
Mark the wires connected to/under the seat so you put it back together right

Then peel off the cover and the liner plastic- (like a dry cleaner bag.. if its gets damaged-makes cover reinstall easy)

Now you are at the heater liner and the prob should be like the pics in this thread
A burnt section of wire---about where a mans wallet would put extra pressure on it

 

note- removing the seat from its 4 bolts is the easy part of the job!!

 

It sounds as if this is pretty common. Mine doesn't work either. Hope to get it fixed before it gets cold. I would think it is important to take your time & make certain your splice is a high quality one to hold up to the stress. You don't want to take it all apart again if you can avoid it.