Replacing Heater Elements in Seats?

[rustyventure]

Hi, Everyone:

A few weeks ago the heater in my driver's side seat stopped working. Based on what I've found searching the forums, I suspect it's the heater element. All of the fuses look ok, the passenger's side works fine, the connectors look ok (though I haven't gotten the multimeter out yet to double check), and the heated seat button seems to be ok.

However, I haven't found any posts from anyone who's actually replaced the heater element in the seats themselves. I'm curious if anyone has had to replace the heater elements in their LS.

Were you able to do it yourself? If so, how difficult was the repair?

If you had to have a shop fix it for you, about how much did it cost?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[mrzeee]

all it really takes is taking the seat out of the car then removing the covers. The seat element is attached to the foam under the cover. Depending on the year and model they list for about 44.00 and cost LVC members about 30-31 each. There are 4. 2 seat cushions and 2 seat backs.

Max

 

[ToddG]

What year LS is this?

 

[rustyventure]

What year LS is this?

Yeah, it would help if I remembered to fill out my public profile It's a 2002 Premium, so it's just the heated seats (not heated/cooled)

 

[scjmc]

I fixed the driver's element on mine. It sounds bad, but it is actually very easy. You will need some hog ring pliers. Having never used hog ring pliers before I was able to remove the upholstery, replace the element, and reinstall the upolstery in about 30 minutes (with seat out of vehicle).

 

[rustyventure]

I fixed the driver's element on mine. It sounds bad, but it is actually very easy. You will need some hog ring pliers. Having never used hog ring pliers before I was able to remove the upholstery, replace the element, and reinstall the upolstery in about 30 minutes (with seat out of vehicle).

Sounds like my level of expertise. Did you have any trouble removing the seat? Did you have to do anything special with the side air bags before removal?

 

[ToddG]

Yeah, it would help if I remembered to fill out my public profile It's a 2002 Premium, so it's just the heated seats (not heated/cooled)

It's way more than that. The mechanism of heating is totally different between 00-02 cars and 03+ cars. Don't worry, you won't be the last person to leave out critical details. Happens all the time.