Installed! Seat Heaters on both front seats.

[skitime]

Well I felt a little crazy dismantling my new Vibe with under 500 miles to install seat heaters but I did anyway. We do a lot of skiing and winter driving so they will be much appreciated. I purchased seat heaters from http://www.HeaterSeat.com They have an excellent kit and great instructions as well as an outstanding toll free help line. I had installed seat heaters before so I knew what was involved and there were no surprises. Basically you remove seats, remove seat upholstery and mount the seat heaters and reinstall upholstery. Electrically I disconnected the wire to the 12 volt dash outlet and connected the seat heater to that power source. I did this for two reasons. First there was ample amperage for the heaters and it was ignition switch controlled which I needed. Second I did not want the dash 12 volt outlet to be ignition controlled so I ran a new wire to constantly power the dash 12 volt outlet. While I was adding this new wire I added two additional constant 12 volt outlets to the car. I had already added the missing ignition controlled 12 volt outlet inside the center console but I added another constant 12 volt outlet to the outside front of the center compartment and also added a constant 12 volt outlet to the rear cargo compartment for our 12 volt cooler we have. We can also now power the GPS laptop without it losing power when we make a stop. We also now have outlets for both our phones. The package I purchased was Heizgerat Setzt II . http://www.heaterseat.com/products.phpOrginally I saw them on Ebay and contected the seller. Turns out I was able to purchase the kit for a lot less than the listed price and I was still purchasing them from the manufacturer and have their warranty.

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[skitime]

I put the seat heater switches to the shifter console. The switches have two colored lights. Red for high and green for the low heat setting.

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[BOZACK]

Incredible mod. A how to would be great. I would like to see the other outlets you in stalled. Switches look like they were factory installed. Very professional.

[BlueCrush]

That is an awesome mod!

[skitime]

I will try to post pictures of the extra 12 volt outlets tomorrow.

[Fire BX]

Nice!!!

[northvibe]

DAng sweet mod! do these heaters go right between the upholstery and padding stuff? or do you have to cut some out? and how hard is it to remove the seats and upholstery from the vibe?

[skitime]

Yes, the heating pads mount between the seat foam and the upholstery. Removing the seats are easy, 4 bolts and one or two electrical connectors. Remove the plastic panels on the sides of the seats, then the edges of the upholstery.

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[skitime]

Then you need to cut the hog rings that hold some of the channels rods and edges.

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[skitime]

Then you are ready to position the heating pads. Note in this picture I left one rod on so it was easier to reassemble.

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[skitime]

You need to mark where the channel bar hog rings are with the heating pad formed into the channel then cut holes for the channel rods that will now be retained with the provided zip ties.

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[skitime]

The remove the vinyl covering the adhesive and stick it down smoothing out the heating pad. Reassemble the seat cushion. Then go to the next cushion. Here is a picture of the drivers upright cushion. You can clearly see the channels and the channel bar attachment points.

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[skitime]

The hardest cushion to do was the passenger upright cushion. I had a hard time figuring out how to remove the back of the seat. After it was off there are two retaining clips at the bottom of the panel that hold the cover on after it is inserted at the top first. I was unable to remove the side plastic pieces but was able to remove the upholstery over the top of the seat.

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[skitime]

I called the tech support with a question about concerns of modifying the passengers seats with occupancy sensors. I was assured it would not be a problem. He was correct the sensors are all on the bottom of the seat and not anywhere near the top where the seat heaters are mounted. The tech support guy also began explaining without my asking how to deal with the Vibes passengers seat-back because it folds down flat. This is a very unusual seat feature. He explained that I should attach a bungee cord to the bottom of the seat and the cable coming from the seat-back heating pad so that the bungee cord will pull the excessive cable under when the seat is in the up position but the cable will be able to easily pull out when addition length is need when the seat is folded down. I did and he suggested and it works beautifully. The bungee cord is not visible at all and it keeps the slack taunt. Sorry I did not take a picture of this before putting the seat back into the car.

[scherry2]

cool I might have to lok into that mod.

[binary]

What an awesome mod - I never even thought we could do this.$100 / seat - that's not a bad deal!

[skitime]

I got them for $75 a seat.

[AKLGT]

i did this on my 03 vibe gt back in summer 03, but was too cheap to do the passenger seat too.... mainly because i spent a small fortune for the leather interior i was installing...

[mcgusto82]

awesome!!! love heated seats. i gotta get into this. i specially LOVE where you place the switches. i've been thinking about doing it too.heated seats, and heated mirrors in my future. lol

[skitime]

Great!!!!!!!!! We just got back from a ski trip to Vermont and the seats were awesome. Should of been a factory option.

[carrloss]

I have just completed the heated seat mod on both front seats using the same kit. I still have to mount the switches. While mocking up the panel to determind here to mount the switches there does not seem to be much space in back of the switches leaving almost no room for error. I see that Skitime's car is a standard shift. The car I have installed them is a 2005 automatic. Does anybody know if there is room in the automatics to mount the switches in the same location

[skitime]

Not sure of the automatic spacing but I almost installed the switches on the side of the shifter housing and considered the front of the center console. Just thowing out some ideas. I am sure you will love them. Enjoy.

[Vibr8tr]

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering who had these, and if I could ask some questions. I know my Fiance would LOVE me to get them, but I want to know if the $90 a seat kit is worth it? If not, I wondered how small the $75 kit was, and maybe I could just have one in her seat, cause I could care less about my (removed) being hot.I know her Dad's BMW has heated seats and she loves them, and I like them too. Just skeptical about these ones.

[XRTIM]

Nicely done!

[LeatherVibe]

I have just installed the heated seat kit in my Vibe. It was a lot more work than I expected. My first mistake was buying the 2-seat kit from SportsImportsltd.com as I didn't get the lighted switches. They do sell the single kits with lighted switches, the double kit gives you extra wiring harness wires and relay. The lighted switch is the best indication of if they're on or not. My kit didn't have the tape listed in the instructions, and only about 6 zip ties - way too few. (I cut off the old hog rings with a set of good side cutters)I started with the passenger seat. Mine has the side airbags so it may be different than the first post above. Getting the side plastic trim off without breaking the clips is hard to do cause you don't know where the clips are. I had no idea dissassembling the seat would be so involved. I spent about a whole Saturday on the one seat.The center console came up pretty easy. 4 bolts is all. The ignition switched 12v power source is right there to tap into - my 06 dosen't have the outlet.The shift console was a bear. I took the radio faceplate up for more visibility and room to work. The silver trim around the shifter was tough to get out. The 3 dial trim, accs outlets and shifter trim is all one piece. It has to be lifted and pulled rear-ward to get it off. I ended up pulling out the 120v on/off and outlet module first, before the trim piece would let go. The large grey lower trim piece came off pretty easy but I cracked a slot that the silver trim piece slides into, located at 12 oclock from the shifter. It holds the silver trim piece down at that spot - the silver trim needs to slide forward to engage there. I epoxied the broke slot back together.The drivers seat was much easier to do. I did it in about 4 hours.I mounted the switches in the same place as posted above. There's a couple problems with this location though. So you understand, let me list the order of re-assembly: First install the lower grey console, then the silver trim plate, then the radio plate and dials. As the lower console is the first to be assembled in place, you lose access to all the wires for the switches, etc.Also, the silver trim plate has to slide forward to engage in a slot with the lower grey console - engaging that tab at 12 oclock can't be done with the switches mounted do to lack of clearance (I have an automatic) and because the wire harness is way too short for this location. What I ended up doing was cutting the switch harness about 3" below the switch and soldering in a pair of mating Radio shack connectors. That way I could assemble the console completely, then install the switches. This also gave me the ability to add about 18" of wire to the harness so it ended under the seats for attachment to the heaters.(PS: RadioShack connector was a 4-wire that I shaved 1/4 away so it would fit through the switch hole - only 3 wires/connectors are needed)I had plenty of wire with the kit, so I got my main power from the fuse box, and used the console power to activate the relay. My kit may differ from the original post, as it came with 3 relays. Relays are good, as you don't want all that juice going through the ignition switch - it will burn out over time $$$! (PS: the side of the fuse towards the passenger is the hot side)How they work: The seats take several minutes to heat up. My wife likes the HI setting, but LO is hot enough for me. They work good.What I'd do different: A) Get the lighted switches. B) Extend the switch wire harnesses long enough to be able to pull them through at under the seat instead of adding more connectors. C) The passenger seat was a real pain to do. I don't know if I'd go through that again for a little heat on my (removed).Would I do it again: Hmm...

[LeatherVibe]

Passenger lower seat, heating pad installed:

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[LeatherVibe]

Passenger seat, bottom view with bungie cord on seat-back heater wire and relay mounted to frame. Relay connects to upper and lower heater pads and power source/switch harnesses. Relay makes power go one way for HI, reverses flow and through a resistor for LO. Maybe someday when I'm really bored, I'll tap in with 2 LEDs that change color depending on current direction. Should have bought the switches with the LEDs installed.

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[LeatherVibe]

Both consoles removed. Good time to clean the carpet, eh?The silver shifter trim was "in place" to check for clearance.

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[LeatherVibe]

Switches, harness chopped and connectors added. Connectors have one slot shaved off to fit through switch hole.

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[LeatherVibe]

Switch wire extension and connectors poking out mounting holes.The other wires are for the 120v module - it looks like the mating pocket was made for an ashtray?

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[LeatherVibe]

This link shows where I tapped power for the 2 sets of heated seats. Thats the fuse box under the dash. The tap wire goes to a 15 amp fuse seen in the top of the picture. The slot I used was empty, but the fuse diagram indicated that it was the power window slot. My power windows worked fine without it. Hey, Made in Tennessee!

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[mcclaintimothy]

I know it's been 3 1/2 years, but how did you bypass those occupancy sensors? Thanks, Tim

[ou.grizzly]

Just reading this thread and since it is starting to get cold out, this mod did come to mind.

[star_deceiver]

Something like this would be a little easier. http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST...views

[epcIII]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Something like this would be a little easier. http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST...viewsThose look pretty cool (haha)!

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by epcIII »Those look pretty cool (haha)!I think this is the cool one, lol!! (The things people spend their money on...)

[kowell]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Something like this would be a little easier. http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST...viewsAs long as you don't buy the cheaper model that catches fire... http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST...n.jsph ... le....html

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by kowell »As long as you don't buy the cheaper model that catches fire... And if you do put one in the seat, make sure you wire it properly!

[hoooboy]

Big thanks from a MatrixOwners member!
Pictures will help soon!

http://matrixowners.com/index.php?/topi ... t-removal/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hoooboy]

Just got my seat heaters today!

Any tricks to remove the handle/knobs, side and rear plastic panels ?
I will begin with the passenger seat.

Alot of work coming soon!

[tpollauf]

Good luck on the installation! I see there are some good pointers over on the MO forum. We performed this upgrade (my son & I) on his 2009 Vibe GT but ONLY to the drivers side seat for now. The Pass seat has a totally different upper seat back mechanism which I haven't tackled just yet. For now the drivers side is the most important. Here's our work if it helps at all https://driiive.com/tpollauf/2009-Ponti ... !/timeline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hoooboy]

thank you!

That sucks for the broken plastic trim. I will try to avoid that!

I will begin with the passenger side because that way, I can take my time and I still can use the car.

[hoooboy]