Heated Leather Seats Question

M

mike529

New member
Hi all, I'm new here so I hope this is the right forum for this question?



I have a 2000 Olds Intrigue GLS that I bought used 2 years ago. It has heated leather seats(seat and back rest). The driver side seat worked fine for a year, then it started getting too hot! After being on for 10 minutes or so it would be too hot to sit on, so I would just shut it off. This lasted about two weeks, then it just stopped working altogether. Hit the switch on and it would immediately kick back off.

Auto parts stores had no idea...all told me to try the dealer. I went to a dealer to see if they could tell me the problem and sell me the parts to fix it or fix it themselves. They told me they never dealt with this problem before so they couldn't give a price quote to fix. Best they could tell me was that it was $75/hour to look at/fix it, plus parts.

I'm willing to spend around $100 to fix this but not much more. I could do without it except I have a bad back and it's helpful for it.

Just looking for some opinions on what might be wrong or if anyone's ever dealt with a problem like this. Any thoughts appreciated.



Mike
 
First thing I would do Mike is try a different dealer. It's BS when they say they have never seen a heated seat malfunction before, it is not THAT uncommon.



If you are handy yourself, try comparing the resistance of the heating elements on the working and non working seats and check out the switch itself. My guess is that the heating element is blown and needs replacement, but test it to see.



Try a different dealership or http://www.gmpartsdirect.com for parts. Also check out after market heaters, which are made for many vehicles.



Good luck!
 
I agree, go with a different dealer. I have a few friends that are techs at various dealers and they all deal with heated seat issues. I can see how they can't tell you *exactly* what's wrong or how much it will cost, but they can certainly give you a worst case scenario.
 
Heated seats are *that* unreliable? What kind of job is that to replace an element? It's gotta be near the surface of the seat...are the seats different? Have a zipper or something? Sounds like a nightmare getting the leather off, replacing the element, and getting the leather back on.
 
Actually, you would be surprised at how complex seats are now days. The leather cover is removed very easily to expose the mechanical internals, which can be quite a sight sometimes when they are heated, 12 way adjustable, etc. My Expedition has A/C and Heat in the seats, my fiance has heated in her explorer, and my parents have heated seats in their BMW and F150 and none of us have ever had a single problem with them. So, they are pretty reliable but when you have a dealer servicing thousands of owners, you are certainly going to run into a few defective units.



It's kind of like my old Expedition. It was a 4x4 with optional auto leveling air suspension and I had nothing but problems with the suspension. One day it would lean to the left, the next day it would lean to the right, and some days it wouldn't lean at all. The air compressor would go out once every six months, and they never knew what the problem was. They changed air bags, compressors, sensors, etc. and never figured it out, yet I knew of people that had the exact same truck and never had a lick of trouble with it. Luck of the draw I guess.
 
Thinking about it, it does seem like something that would be more prone to fail than a rear-window defroster, that isn't getting flexed all the time. Thanks for the info, Jason.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Heated seats are *that* unreliable? What kind of job is that to replace an element? It's gotta be near the surface of the seat...are the seats different? Have a zipper or something? Sounds like a nightmare getting the leather off, replacing the element, and getting the leather back on.
Click to expand...



Mike: I don't think heated seats are *that* unreliable, but like a lot of other things on a car, they do malfunction and need replacement.



The amount of work involved in replacing a heating element does vary by make and model, some are easy, others can be a real PITA, my point is that the dealer should know what may be involved for this particular vehicle (and probably does).



Normally the element sits in a pocket between the foam seat and the leather cover, but getting access can be as simple as undoing a zipper and rolling back the cover, or may involve removing and partially dismantling the whole seat with side airbags .



If you really cannot find a good dealership to work with, it may be worth checking to see if you have a local automotive trim, or upholstery specialist.
 
Yeah, flex is one thing that could cause it to go out. I would say the two biggest issues are dust and vibration. Since it's bolted directly to the floor absorbing vibrations and you are sitting in the seat pounding it from the other side, it gets pretty beat up. The dust issue can be a big one and of course, liquid is the biggest one, even though it would take a total saturation to get to the element enough to damage it. Most of the time it's just a simple electrical failure of some kind. Bad switch, connection, etc. Ahhh, the joys of mechanics and electrical engineering. Where would we be without them? :bow
 
Another suggestion...check an online forum specific for your car. I have seen many DIY on retro fitting heated seats. The complication of the heated seat varies from model to model with some being quite simple to work on or replace. The great thing about the Olds is there were quite a few and chances are GM used similiar heated seats in other GM cars, which means the availability in the used market may be quite high. With the wiring already done in the car the replacement of the foam (which sometimes houses the element) may be simiple.
 
You could also probably find a replacement seat that works by going to a junkyard; I'm trying to do that right now so I can compare between a set of factory leather seats and some aftermarket covers for my current cloth seats (Katzkin; just replaces the cloth covers)
 
check the connectors under the seat....



if it got too hot....(painful hot) might be parts of the heating element is shorting out....find connector and read resistance across elements and compare to what they should be...



good luck
 
OEM seat designer here. You cannot replace the heating element in any seat that I've ever seen without taking it to a trim shop and I've never known heating elements for newer cars to be available for replacement. It is sewn inbetween the leather and the foam so that it reaches its max temp in 90 seconds or less. There are no cars where it is in a pocket or zipper that I have ever seen. There is nothing in the heating element to cause this malfunction. First place I would look is to see if the wire into the seat has been damaged and is in contact with the metal frame. The pan of a seat is stamped metal and is very sharp. It would be easiest to remove the seat from the car for inspection. I'm almost 100% positive this is where you'll find the isssue.



If not here replace the switch. Just to try it before you spend money hook up the malfunctioning seat to a non-malfunctioning seat switch.
 
Thanks for all the input guys! This place is great! :xyxthumbs

I'm on vacation for the next week so I'm going to poke around and see what I can find out.

When I turn the seat on right now, I can hear a relay under the seat turn itself off almost instantly. Guess I'll start there.

My power mirror and pass. door window switches are both bad. My sister with the same car(year older) has the same problem. Seems they used cheap switches in these cars...which would lead me to believe that would be the problem with the seat...but that wouldn't explain the overheating I experienced? :nixweiss

I did "overuse" the heating feature...used it as a heating pad for my back. Even in summer with the A/C blasting I would have it on, which makes me think it's a burned element. Think I've actually had this problem with a home heating pad...and I'm guessing that they're basically the same thing.

I'll look around and see what I come up with and let you know. Thanks again!



Mike
 
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