mikedr

I just got the GLK back from the custom shop. They add heated and ventilated seats to all four outboard seating positions. We couldn't match the mocha leather, so we instead matched the door panel black leather for a two-tone look.

They work great!

hondafan

I dig it. Was the factory leather not perforated to begin with?

I installed heated and ventilated seats on my wife's GLK and she loves them, but because the leather was perforated already we didn't have to do anything with the leather. Absolutely worth it.

mikedr

Wow -- no, ours didn't come with perforated leather. That would have made the job a lot less expensive. The custom shop got tons of samples of leather, but none really perfectly matched the existing mocha, so that's why we went with a shade of black that matches the "leather" on the door panels.

I also had them add remote start from the keyfob, via the Directed MB204D device that someone else here had posted a while back. Totally worth it. You press the panic button for a 1/2 second, and it starts up the car (if you hold down the panic button, it works as normal).

Rascally Wabbit

Basic interior is the MB-Tex material is perforated in the centre, the leather is not. Who does this type of installation & what kit was utilised for the ventilation of the seats? It amazes me that many lesser vehicles (price & quality) offer this option. MB does offer it in other models.

mikedr

The worst part is, Mercedes *does* offer this option in Europe, and even in Jamaica -- along with tri-zone climate control. I don't understand the rationale for not permitting North Americans to get this option; it's not like a different engine that has to pass emission requirements, etc.

The kit I used was from here:
http://www.championseatheaters.com/content/about.html

If you happen to live in Minnesota, you can even have them do it for you. I'm in Arizona, and had a local custom shop do it, who I can highly recommend:
http://www.autospaofarizona.com/

The kit itself strikes me as similar to those available elsewhere. We had heated rear seats put into a 2005 Cadillac SRX a long time ago, and the controls from memory look identical to what Champion's controls look like.

Rascally Wabbit

Thank you for the links! I am in southern Arizona, near Tucson, so you understand my interest in the ventilated seats. So disappointing that MB in their infinite wisdom does not offer certain options in the USA market. IMO the company is missing the boat in this instance.

mikedr

This place is just off US-60, maybe 6-10 miles east of I-10. For all the work I did, it took a week (all four outboard seats, an extra cigarette lighter in the trunk, and the remote start). So if you and a friend can drive up to drop the car off and pick it back up later, it's well worth the trip. The owner, Steve Nappi, and his guys do great work! They were even able to match the factory stitching pattern.

I bought all the equipment ahead of time, and just gave it to him. The price for all the work was $4,500, including the four seats worth of leather, but not including the auto start device and the heaters/coolers themselves, which I bought ahead of time and gave to him.

AvWuff

The simple reason, as I was told by a former MB executive, is that Americans prefer to buy their cars with features in packages, generally from a dealer, generally off the lot. In Europe the culture is much more so that you customize the car you want and they build it, but here it's more likely that you pick the packages you want (and often get things you don't need) and they find one with those features on a lot nearby.

Lots of things are offered in the European version of the GLK, such as 8 different engine choices, the diesel heater, SplitView for the screen, air conditioned seats, a front camera that reads speed limit signs, ECO Start Stop on the Diesel, etc, but none of this is available in North America.

Rascally Wabbit

Guess I am more European than I thought as my preference would be to order exactly what I want & not select off a lot. If the desire is to keep it OEM, then perhaps one could order the pieces from a supplier in whichever country offered this option & convert the seats. Saw this accomplished on a different model MB successfully.

AvWuff

Another important reason is that there are many states where there are laws preventing manufacturers from selling directly to the consumer. They usually have to go through an intermediary, such as a car dealer lot. Tesla Motors is currently going through this problem, as they are trying to offer custom cars sold directly to the consumer.

mikedr

Very much easier said than done ... Believe I tried.

100Pyatt

Wish you could still get this MB204D device

angryartichoke

You can, but looks like they're $1000+.

I installed an aftermarket ignition system from AliExpress. Gives me proximity lock/unlock and remote start all for $300

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801780611627.html

midcityeng

You absolutely can still get this product. It's actually our product that we sold thru directed a while back under that SKU number. We have a more updated version of this remote starter product available now, with factory heated / cooled seats and window defrost that come on automatically based on temperature

Check it out here: SMARTKEY STARTER FOR MERCEDES-BENZ