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      12-27-2011, 08:57 PM   #1
Ovaltine
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Heated Seats Install

I installed seat heaters this past weekend - following roughly the same procedure as I did in my Toyota Tacoma a few years back and thought I'd share a few pics of the tear-down and install.

The patient prepped for surgery - battery charger installed so I could leave the doors open.




On the bench and ready for disassembly



Most manufacturers follow similar techniques - hog rings, hog rings, and more hog rings



Take your time. The seat actuators look complicated, but everything has a place.



Passenger seat (the black felt is the airbag sensor) test-fitted with the heating pad. "X" section will be cut and removed.



Hog ring pliers are mandatory. This is the 8th seat for this trusty pair of pliers.



These are the old rings from just one seat!



I've always thought the seat bolster felt a little flimsy compared to the other side. This is why. The seat foam was deformed from the factory and very thin.



I built it up using some scrap foam and poly quilting material - better than new. I also used a similar process in other areas in order to restore most of the effects of natural leather stretching - these seats have 54k miles on them.



Mounting the switches - I like a factory look and I'm cheap. The shifter surround is easily replaceable if I make a mistake. The cables in the photo look like they're part of the shifter - they're actually part of the welder in the background.



All done and buttoned up. All wires are hidden in the console - 12v is direct from the battery and grounded via a self-tapping screw under the shifter surround. These heaters seem to heat faster than those I've used previously - hot in under 4 or 5 minutes and so hot you have to switch to low after 10 minutes or so.

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      12-27-2011, 09:10 PM   #2
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Wow! Very nice job!
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      12-27-2011, 09:27 PM   #3
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Very nice! Wish i could have bolsters on my seats! Haha
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      12-27-2011, 10:15 PM   #4
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Not bad for an aftermarket retro-fit, how much did it cost? Under $100 I hope.
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      12-27-2011, 10:21 PM   #5
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Agreed. Very resourceful you are!
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      12-28-2011, 09:18 AM   #6
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clean install
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      12-28-2011, 10:30 AM   #7
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Wow nice install indeed!

Btw just noticed the yellow rectangle side reflectors - you have a 3.0si with M wheels, what size tires are you running? Any rubbing?
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      12-28-2011, 11:42 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubbedown View Post
Wow nice install indeed!

Btw just noticed the yellow rectangle side reflectors - you have a 3.0si with M wheels, what size tires are you running? Any rubbing?
Stock fronts - 225/45r18 and one size down in the rear - 245/40r18. No visible marks, but they've rubbed a time or two - Ohio freeway expansion joints can be hellacious.
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      12-28-2011, 05:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovaltine View Post
Stock fronts - 225/45r18 and one size down in the rear - 245/40r18. No visible marks, but they've rubbed a time or two - Ohio freeway expansion joints can be hellacious.
Nice - you should black out those sidemarkers with plastidip, I bet it'd look really great!
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      12-29-2011, 10:19 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F1soul View Post
Agreed. Very resourceful you are!
lol
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      12-29-2011, 10:24 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubbedown View Post
Nice - you should black out those sidemarkers with plastidip, I bet it'd look really great!
it would be a completely wrong texture
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      12-29-2011, 10:35 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roffle Waffle View Post
it would be a completely wrong texture
Yea but when would you ever feel it? Would rather do a 5 min job than have to take them off, sand down and spray. Plus at least it wouldn't be permanent. Only downside is it'd be more matte than glossy but still not as noticeable as the stock ambers.
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      12-29-2011, 11:29 AM   #13
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It would look completely off, thats what I'm saying. Flat and rubbery vs black and glossy. Might as well just buy black shiny plastic paint
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      12-29-2011, 02:22 PM   #14
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I cant do a such something like that I would damage everything anyway well done
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      12-29-2011, 02:34 PM   #15
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Great execution and very clean. For those who want a more OEM look, the console switch bar with heated seat buttons is usually available on ebay for under $50. This setup looks as good if not better though.
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      12-30-2011, 09:26 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff View Post
Great execution and very clean. For those who want a more OEM look, the console switch bar with heated seat buttons is usually available on ebay for under $50. This setup looks as good if not better though.
I looked into this first as like you say the panels are between $50 and $75, as I would've preferred the look of the factory switches. However those (I think) are wired back to a controller of some sorts - each press of the button results in a different heat setting and then finally turns the heaters off again. An aftermarket setup requires a latched switch with a specific setting for off/high/low.
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      01-04-2012, 07:17 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovaltine View Post
I looked into this first as like you say the panels are between $50 and $75, as I would've preferred the look of the factory switches. However those (I think) are wired back to a controller of some sorts - each press of the button results in a different heat setting and then finally turns the heaters off again. An aftermarket setup requires a latched switch with a specific setting for off/high/low.
You got it -- the factory switches could only be used with the factory wiring.

The installation looks awesome, nice work!!
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