Heated Seats

[landar]

Disclaimer: I am not a Lexus owner.....yet. But I have the hots for a nice, used LS400.

However, I am having trouble finding one with heated seats. Since I live in Indiana,

with cold winters, I would REALLY like to have heated seats. Not to mention, Mama would REALLY

like to have heated seats. And we all know that if Mama is happy.....well, it will help me buy a Lexus.

So, whats up with these heated seats? Are they a rare option? And which models were most likely to

have them? Could a model without the heated seats be retrofitted? (I am guessing yes, if you want to shell out

major buck$$$).

Thanks,

Lan

[new to lexus]

Disclaimer: I am not a Lexus owner.....yet. But I have the hots for a nice, used LS400.

However, I am having trouble finding one with heated seats. Since I live in Indiana,

with cold winters, I would REALLY like to have heated seats. Not to mention, Mama would REALLY

like to have heated seats. And we all know that if Mama is happy.....well, it will help me buy a Lexus.

So, whats up with these heated seats? Are they a rare option? And which models were most likely to

have them? Could a model without the heated seats be retrofitted? (I am guessing yes, if you want to shell out

major buck$$$).

Thanks,

Lan

I have a "new" to me 03 LS 430, and the seats are both heated and cooled. It does not have nav system, nor some other options mentioned in the manual, so I don't know how you will know which models have the heat.

[RFeldes]

I have heated and cooled front and heated rear on my 02. Nothing like prepping a cookie for the oven. I've been known to turn up the passenger seat to heat in the summer. I'm single, lol. If I was a guessing man, I would think heated came out in 96/97 since my 98 Trooper had heated front. After that is when I hunted them..lol. Just a guess on the year, but I can say, I will never do without. Neither will my tush.:whistles: The best option "EVER" .

[chilkoot]

swapping them in would be a pain in the !Removed! due to dash buttons unless you were to rig up a stealth underseat button. If you're looking specifically for an older model with heated seats then there's a higher chance it will originally have been a northern car, so you'll either want a 95+ with rust-resistant body (not listed in Gen1 features, but is in Gen2) or to inspect the underbody carefully to make sure it hasn't seen many a long hard salty winter (especially if it also has traction control).

No reason not to consider a healthy Gen1 though, especially if keeping wifey happy is a factor. You could get into a Gen1.5 (93-94, will feel more modern than a 90) that may just outlive you for $5,000, just check for rust (especially on the parts of the frame underneath the coolant tank and power steering cylinder, which are two common leak points). Make sure the timing belt, timing idlers AND water pump were all replaced within the last 50,000 miles, there should be a sticker somewhere under the hood denoting this if it has been done.

Stereo, windows and power steering are also possible problem areas, check for a thin layer of oil on the bottom of the car, on the metal thing directly behind the engine under cover. if there's any engine oil stay away, that's an expensive fix and not a DIY project.

Another good option would be finding one in need of a service interval. You could concievably find a gen 1.5 for a couple grand, as people get scared of $1,500-$2,000 mechanic quotes (for just basic 100k, then the mechanic tells them it's wise to do this and that and it gets real expensive) for a standard 100k service and dump their cars cheap for newer models when they see it's only worth 5 or 6 grand in the first place. You can do it yourself and replace EVERYTHING (all belts, tensioners, idlers, water pump, plugs, wires, dist. caps+rotors if you've got a garage and a couple days of free time for less than $1,000 in parts with hand tools (you'll have to buy a chain wrench, a breaker bar and a 200ft/lb torque wrench as well as rent a harmonic balancer pulley removal kit, but aside from that a set of socket wrenches will do it). There are guides illustrated with actual photos of the process online and it is fairly straightforward, there's just a lot to replace. If you're mechanically inclined and love projects it would be hard for the wife to argue with a $3,000 Lexus that you know is absolutely mechanically capable of running another 100,000 miles. Doing it yourself means you know it was done right, which is important if you're going to go used and 75k+ miles.

[zowiiee]

I have a 2002 LS430 and it has heated seats in front and back. I love them when it's cold.

My model doesn't have the cooled seats.

[SKperformance]

All Lexus models have always had heated seat options .In Canada it was standard but everywhere else it was an option when sold new.

[blake918]

So, whats up with these heated seats? Are they a rare option? And which models were most likely to

have them? Could a model without the heated seats be retrofitted? (I am guessing yes, if you want to shell out

major buck$).

If you don't want to do an oem retrofit, aftermarket heaters aren't very expensive (~$150), and I don't think it would be too expensive to have them installed by an unpholstery shop.

I have two spare plugs behind my ashtray that align perfectly with where the heated seat buttons go, and I can't help but wonder if these cars are prewired for heated seats. In Louisiana, seat heaters aren't that important, but I'm still curious...

[dutch357]

So, whats up with these heated seats? Are they a rare option? And which models were most likely to

have them? Could a model without the heated seats be retrofitted? (I am guessing yes, if you want to shell out

major buck$).

If you don't want to do an oem retrofit, aftermarket heaters aren't very expensive (~$150), and I don't think it would be too expensive to have them installed by an unpholstery shop.

I have two spare plugs behind my ashtray that align perfectly with where the heated seat buttons go, and I can't help but wonder if these cars are prewired for heated seats. In Louisiana, seat heaters aren't that important, but I'm still curious...

Any info online on getting this feature installed??? where would I start looking for something like this?? I have a 97 LS 400 but it doesn't have the heated seats. I have a 92 with heated seats

[SW03ES]

What generation are you looking for?

Pre-01 it really seems like the cars shipped with or without heated seats depending on your geography. When I was looking at 00 LS400s any cars I found down south never had them, but the cars up in the northeast always did.

[01 Ultra]

if you find a vehicle you like that doesn't have the heated seats, there a couple of aftermarket solutions. one website that i found looks to be decent (no experience with them, my ls430 has both the heated and cooled seats - a really nice option). their website is www.heatedseatkits.com

[dutch357]

What generation are you looking for?

Pre-01 it really seems like the cars shipped with or without heated seats depending on your geography. When I was looking at 00 LS400s any cars I found down south never had them, but the cars up in the northeast always did.

2nd generation ...97 to be exact