Norfolkian Posted June 8, 2007 Posted June 8, 2007 I inherited my parents 2000 Lexus 300 Platinum edition recently. It was a Florida car and obviously they had no use for heated seats. We live in Connecticut, however. Does anyone know if the seats for this vehicle were ALL installed with heated seat wiring? There are no switches on the console, but if all the wiring is in and beneath the front seats, the mileage is so low that I am considering having it retroactively fitted. Can this be done and how big a job is it?? Many thanks.
wwest Posted June 8, 2007 Posted June 8, 2007 I inherited my parents 2000 Lexus 300 Platinum edition recently. It was a Florida car and obviously they had no use for heated seats. We live in Connecticut, however. Does anyone know if the seats for this vehicle were ALL installed with heated seat wiring? There are no switches on the console, but if all the wiring is in and beneath the front seats, the mileage is so low that I am considering having it retroactively fitted. Can this be done and how big a job is it??Many thanks. I can only tell you for certain that the '98 LS400 seats did not include the heating elements if not ordered that way. Look at Ebay....
amf1932 Posted June 8, 2007 Posted June 8, 2007 I inherited my parents 2000 Lexus 300 Platinum edition recently. It was a Florida car and obviously they had no use for heated seats. We live in Connecticut, however. Does anyone know if the seats for this vehicle were ALL installed with heated seat wiring? There are no switches on the console, but if all the wiring is in and beneath the front seats, the mileage is so low that I am considering having it retroactively fitted. Can this be done and how big a job is it??Many thanks. Lexus cars that came from the factory without the heated seat option use a different wiring harness that does not have the necessary plugs for this operation. To do this you'll need, the proper harness, new/used seats that include the heater elements, switches, relays, and anything else that is normally used on cars so equipped. Very expensive conversion!!! My suggestion to you is to buy aftermarket heated seat pads that'll plug in to your cigarette lighter. Much easier and cheaper. :)
wwest Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I inherited my parents 2000 Lexus 300 Platinum edition recently. It was a Florida car and obviously they had no use for heated seats. We live in Connecticut, however. Does anyone know if the seats for this vehicle were ALL installed with heated seat wiring? There are no switches on the console, but if all the wiring is in and beneath the front seats, the mileage is so low that I am considering having it retroactively fitted. Can this be done and how big a job is it??Many thanks. Lexus cars that came from the factory without the heated seat option use a different wiring harness that does not have the necessary plugs for this operation. To do this you'll need, the proper harness, new/used seats that include the heater elements, switches, relays, and anything else that is normally used on cars so equipped. Very expensive conversion!!! My suggestion to you is to buy aftermarket heated seat pads that'll plug in to your cigarette lighter. Much easier and cheaper. :) Not really..... There are lots of sources for low-off-high control switches that can be mounted within easy reach, say on the side of the seat, and the power can be picked up at the cigarette lighter or even the fuse panel itself.
amf1932 Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Not really.....There are lots of sources for low-off-high control switches that can be mounted within easy reach, say on the side of the seat, and the power can be picked up at the cigarette lighter or even the fuse panel itself. Putting switches in is only part of this retrofit......what about the heated seat elements? If you read my last post correctly you'll have to agree that this type of job is very expensive, done properly! <_<
wwest Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Not really.....There are lots of sources for low-off-high control switches that can be mounted within easy reach, say on the side of the seat, and the power can be picked up at the cigarette lighter or even the fuse panel itself. Putting switches in is only part of this retrofit......what about the heated seat elements? If you read my last post correctly you'll have to agree that this type of job is very expensive, done properly! <_< Well, personally I bought the elements and installed them in a friend's '98 LS400 front seats. But I have also purchased two sets of heated and memory front seats off of Ebay. An RX300 set w/memory to put in our MH, and an ES300 set, also w/memory to put in our Ford Aerostar.
SW03ES Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Not really.....There are lots of sources for low-off-high control switches that can be mounted within easy reach, say on the side of the seat, and the power can be picked up at the cigarette lighter or even the fuse panel itself. I never thought I'd say this...but wwest is right... There are plenty of aftermarket heated seat systems that can be installed under the factory covers for not much cost, around $500, with switches mounted in various places. OEM would be expensive, but aftermarket would not be.
amf1932 Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 OEM would be expensive, but aftermarket would not be. That's exactly what I said in my above post: My suggestion to you is to buy aftermarket heated seat pads that'll plug in to your cigarette lighter. Much easier and cheaper.
SW03ES Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Even if he wanted them hard wired into the car's power, heated pads that plug into the cigarette lighter are different things.
amf1932 Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 Even if he wanted them hard wired into the car's power, heated pads that plug into the cigarette lighter are different things. This I understand, but as I said before.......the seats, including the backrests have to be changed or modified to accept heating elements. The Lexus heating elements are designed to fit a Lexus seat perfectly, but as I said, it's a pretty expensive deal. Re-read what I wrote before: Lexus cars that came from the factory without the heated seat option use a different wiring harness that does not have the necessary plugs for this operation. To do this you'll need, the proper harness, new/used seats that include the heater elements, switches, relays, and anything else that is normally used on cars so equipped. Very expensive conversion!!!My suggestion to you is to buy aftermarket heated seat pads that'll plug in to your cigarette lighter. Much easier and cheaper. I don't know how to spell it out any better! All you're trying to do is give some heat to your frozen butt. LOL :whistles:
wwest Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 Even if he wanted them hard wired into the car's power, heated pads that plug into the cigarette lighter are different things. This I understand, but as I said before.......the seats, including the backrests have to be changed or modified to accept heating elements. The Lexus heating elements are designed to fit a Lexus seat perfectly, but as I said, it's a pretty expensive deal. Re-read what I wrote before: Lexus cars that came from the factory without the heated seat option use a different wiring harness that does not have the necessary plugs for this operation. To do this you'll need, the proper harness, new/used seats that include the heater elements, switches, relays, and anything else that is normally used on cars so equipped. Very expensive conversion!!!My suggestion to you is to buy aftermarket heated seat pads that'll plug in to your cigarette lighter. Much easier and cheaper. I don't know how to spell it out any better! All you're trying to do is give some heat to your frozen butt. LOL :whistles: Having had the experience of installing aftermarket seat heaters in a 98 LS400 I tend to believe the average joe could accomplish the same, no big deal. The seat covers remove fairly easily, bottom and back, the aftermarket kit comes with switches and all the wiring you will need. I purchased mine off of Ebay, dual heating levels, and my friend's wife was simply pleased with the results.
SW03ES Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 This I understand, but as I said before.......the seats, including the backrests have to be changed or modified to accept heating elements.The Lexus heating elements are designed to fit a Lexus seat perfectly, but as I said, it's a pretty expensive deal. No, its not expensive at all. You can have professionally installed seat heaters that work exactly like the OEM units with switches installed at the side of the seat with no visible wiring and nothing plugged into the cigarette lighter for under $500. I had it done on my Explorer and I know several people who have had it done and its very inexpensive. There are free form kits that install under the padding for the seat so the seat looks and feels exactly the same afterwards. wwest is right, an average joe with some tools and a little know-how could do this mod in a day and save even more, its really easily done.
amf1932 Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 No, its not expensive at all. You can have professionally installed seat heaters that work exactly like the OEM units with switches installed at the side of the seat with no visible wiring and nothing plugged into the cigarette lighter for under $500. I had it done on my Explorer and I know several people who have had it done and its very inexpensive. There are free form kits that install under the padding for the seat so the seat looks and feels exactly the same afterwards.wwest is right, an average joe with some tools and a little know-how could do this mod in a day and save even more, its really easily done. Maybe for you $500 is inexpensive, but to some it's not. :)
SW03ES Posted June 11, 2007 Posted June 11, 2007 You know as well as I do you meant you thought it was much more expensive than $500 ;)
amf1932 Posted June 11, 2007 Posted June 11, 2007 You know as well as I do you meant you thought it was much more expensive than $500 ;) My original assumption after reading the 1st. post on this thread led me to believe that the member was talking about retrofitting factory heated seats in a car that didn't come equipped with this option, rather than an aftermarket type. THIS is what I meant was expensive. Please take the time to re-read the whole thread so you'll see what I said was correct! :whistles:
Norfolkian Posted June 11, 2007 Author Posted June 11, 2007 My thanks to everyone who replied to my inquiry. Your responses were very informative. I have more than enough data to decide what to do next.
SW03ES Posted June 11, 2007 Posted June 11, 2007 You know as well as I do you meant you thought it was much more expensive than $500 ;) My original assumption after reading the 1st. post on this thread led me to believe that the member was talking about retrofitting factory heated seats in a car that didn't come equipped with this option, rather than an aftermarket type. THIS is what I meant was expensive. Please take the time to re-read the whole thread so you'll see what I said was correct! :whistles: Um hmm Steve 1 Alan 3,482 Hey, at least now I'm on the board! :D
wwest Posted June 11, 2007 Posted June 11, 2007 The ones I used are still on Ebay for $75/seat dual level top/back and bottom heaters.
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