Heated Seats

[nordska]

I just picked up my 1998 C230 yesterday and it does not have heated seats. I looked for one with heated seats but couldnt really find any for sale. It gets pretty chilly here in WV in the winter and I was wondering if it is possible to install the heated seats into a car that did not come with them. I dont know if makes a difference in the install but I have the actual leather seats not the mbtex like my prior C220 had. I'm new here so if this topic has been discussed please let know.. my apologies.

Thanks- Chris!

[Denlasoul]

Contact BoominBenz on the board. He has explored this option and could give you better details about wiring schemes and what is necessary.

[NISMOPOWERED]

They make kits to put them in almost any car. Try a mid level car dealership like Toyota or Honda as they put them in cars all the time. They use the same companys that install the leather kits for them.

[martattack]

As Dennis said, I retrofitted a universal seat heater into my front seats. It was pretty straight forward... not exactly easy however. It definitely took time carefully pulling off all of the upholstery. The end result was great though. All of the upholstery fit exactly like it should. The wiring was a big pain in the ass because I wanted to use the OEM seat heater switches. I recommend not using them just because it is a big PITA to wire up.***

The kit I got is one of the universal butt/back units. It is made by Webasto (which makes OEM heaters for many cars). I got a two-seat kit off of eBay for around $140-150




*** They aren't normal open/closed switches. Instead they are momentary with one direction direct , the other direction 165 ohms. and the idle position is off

[nordska]

Thanks for the info!

I was hoping to use the factory switches as well because I like the clean OEM look and feel. What all was involved in hooking it up to the factory switches when you installed your setup? I didnt know that about the wiring, not being a simple open/closed circuit, so that definately presents a bit of an obsticle......

I'm going to poke around on ebay tonight for heater elements... I was also thinking that since I have ZERO expierence removing the leather from the seat it may be better to pay a upholstry place to take it off and put it back on so I dont destroy my seats in the process!!