Driver seat heating/cooling inoperative after 10 minutes of driving
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 57
Likes: 10
From: Calvert County Maryland
2016 G550. Bone stock.
Driver seat heating/cooling inoperative after 10 minutes of driving
Both features will work immediately after starting the vehicle. But if one of them is not turned on within a minute or so of starting the vehicle, the buttons become inoperable for the rest of the drive. Shut the car off and turn it on, and both features available again.
Scan revealed there is a short circuit on positive. My guess is that after a few minutes of the vehicle running, the SAM detects a short on that circuit and shuts down the feature.
Dealer tested and replaced the heating element (under aftermarket warranty). The symptoms continue.
Will do another scan to see if the same fault is occurring - short circuit on positive. I would assume it is, so the next step I think is to check the switch and the wiring. Beyond that, I will probably give up. Not worth the trouble.
Anyone have experience with this type of gremlin?
Passenger side works fine all the time. Starter battery is new. Main battery is two years old. The front SAM is a year old... replaced last year for a different issue. This seat issue occurred before and after the new SAM.
Scan revealed there is a short circuit on positive. My guess is that after a few minutes of the vehicle running, the SAM detects a short on that circuit and shuts down the feature.
Dealer tested and replaced the heating element (under aftermarket warranty). The symptoms continue.
Will do another scan to see if the same fault is occurring - short circuit on positive. I would assume it is, so the next step I think is to check the switch and the wiring. Beyond that, I will probably give up. Not worth the trouble.
Anyone have experience with this type of gremlin?
Passenger side works fine all the time. Starter battery is new. Main battery is two years old. The front SAM is a year old... replaced last year for a different issue. This seat issue occurred before and after the new SAM.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 253
Likes: 34
From: San Diego, CA
2015 G63, Sold 2010 C63 AMG Development Package
I've ran into this too. I thought it was because the previous owner of the car had a stereo in it and very haphazardly ripped it out before selling it. Passenger side works fine but driver side now only works if I turn it on before i start the engine.🤷♂️
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 57
Likes: 10
From: Calvert County Maryland
2016 G550. Bone stock.
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 19
Likes: 3
g550
Same issue
Hi folks. I am having the same issue. After about 10 min the driver side heated or cooled seats do not work. Dealer replaced the control module 2x now. Could it be something else? Anyone else have the issue and find another solution? My dealer is at a loss. 2018 g550
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 57
Likes: 10
From: Calvert County Maryland
2016 G550. Bone stock.
First step is to read the faults. Mine indicated a short circuit on positive. There are only a few things it could be, and it could be a combination of them. Heating elements, cooling unit (fans/motors), control module, SAM, wiring/switches/harness. With Mercedes dealer service, they may do some diagnostics but for the most part they just replace one thing at a time until it's fixed. It's an expensive process and for most people not really worth doing. If I could go back I probably would not have bothered.
