cattlerepairman
Veteran Member
For those of you that have defective heated seats, but are out of warranty or "customer satisfaction" focus:
There are aftermarket seat heaters that use carbon fiber elements (rather than the OEM copper wires that eventually all break) and are fully compatible with the OEM dial switch. Also, kits are available that come with the VW-style dial switch and look very original.
I just replaced the broken OEM element in my driver's seat (after it burned a hole into my pants but did not damage the leather upholstery) and it works excellent.
You need "hog ring" pliers and hog rings for the upholstery - but strong zip ties will work fine as well (you need to use zip ties anyways where the fasteners penetrate the carbon fiber heating element). Also, use silicone spray to spray the inside of the upholstery and the seat foam cushions before you slip the upholstery back on - saves you a lot of pulling and aching fingers.
The seat element has 4 wires (2 for power, 2 for thermostat) and the back rest element has 2.
I left the wires of the old heating element connected to the harness but cut the wires near the heating element. I then cut the connector off the new heating element and soldered the appropriate wires together; if you shop around you may find aftermarket elements that have the VW connectors already on them. If you do what I did, at least you do not mess with the original wiring and connectors in the car.
So: If you want heated seats (or need to replace the existing ones) look aftermarket - there are excellent quality solutions available.
Time wise: It took me 2 hours from starting to remove the seats to having it all back together and going for a butt-warming test drive (one seat).
I used www.heatedseatkits.com (I am not affiliated).
For CANADA, they ship from Vancouver - no extra broker fees for cross-border shipping.
There are aftermarket seat heaters that use carbon fiber elements (rather than the OEM copper wires that eventually all break) and are fully compatible with the OEM dial switch. Also, kits are available that come with the VW-style dial switch and look very original.
I just replaced the broken OEM element in my driver's seat (after it burned a hole into my pants but did not damage the leather upholstery) and it works excellent.
You need "hog ring" pliers and hog rings for the upholstery - but strong zip ties will work fine as well (you need to use zip ties anyways where the fasteners penetrate the carbon fiber heating element). Also, use silicone spray to spray the inside of the upholstery and the seat foam cushions before you slip the upholstery back on - saves you a lot of pulling and aching fingers.
The seat element has 4 wires (2 for power, 2 for thermostat) and the back rest element has 2.
I left the wires of the old heating element connected to the harness but cut the wires near the heating element. I then cut the connector off the new heating element and soldered the appropriate wires together; if you shop around you may find aftermarket elements that have the VW connectors already on them. If you do what I did, at least you do not mess with the original wiring and connectors in the car.
So: If you want heated seats (or need to replace the existing ones) look aftermarket - there are excellent quality solutions available.
Time wise: It took me 2 hours from starting to remove the seats to having it all back together and going for a butt-warming test drive (one seat).
I used www.heatedseatkits.com (I am not affiliated).
For CANADA, they ship from Vancouver - no extra broker fees for cross-border shipping.
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