replacing seat cover, but with heated seats
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 12
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replacing seat cover, but with heated seats
Just picked up a '13 GLK 350 4matic. Drives great, and the window wipers work worlds better than our '22 Tesla Y!
A couple of things I need to tackle on this car are upgrading the head lights -- still reading up on that one.
And replacing the driver's side bottom seat skin. I've reading and there seems to be 2 options - OEM with the heating element for ~$400, or ebay/online specials for ~$50. Now that's a big difference in price, so it may be worth it to get the cheaper option. What I can tell is that the cheaper option does NOT have the heating element in them. You'd need to transplant it from the original seat cover to the new one. Anyone do this? How hard is it? How much time? Any tutorials? I haven't found anything in the interwebs' forums thus far.
Thx!
A couple of things I need to tackle on this car are upgrading the head lights -- still reading up on that one.
And replacing the driver's side bottom seat skin. I've reading and there seems to be 2 options - OEM with the heating element for ~$400, or ebay/online specials for ~$50. Now that's a big difference in price, so it may be worth it to get the cheaper option. What I can tell is that the cheaper option does NOT have the heating element in them. You'd need to transplant it from the original seat cover to the new one. Anyone do this? How hard is it? How much time? Any tutorials? I haven't found anything in the interwebs' forums thus far.
Thx!
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 490
Likes: 150
From: Lac Ste. Marie, Quebec
2006 Alfa Romeo Brera, 2010 GLK350, 2018 BMW 640i GT, 1997 Subaru SVX, 2012 Moto Guzzi Norge GT8V
I got this one. They have a full tutorial on swapping the element etc.. The side bolsters are leather and the middle is synthetic. Richmond Upholstery
Swapping the element is not too difficult but the job overall is quite tough and time consuming. Lots of stretching and pulling. You need strong hands and fingers.
Do a search, there's a lot of info available on this forum.
Swapping the element is not too difficult but the job overall is quite tough and time consuming. Lots of stretching and pulling. You need strong hands and fingers.
Do a search, there's a lot of info available on this forum.
Last edited by Silver Shadow; Feb 18, 2024 at 05:30 AM.
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 728
Likes: 271
2011 GLK 350 4Matic
Agree with SS on this one... I've done both jobs (headlights and driver's seat bottom). I also transplanted the original heater into the new upholstery (which I sourced from eBay, but from a US maker that cost more, but I'm very happy with the result). The one thing you will have to do is struggle getting the new cover clipped onto the seat frame with the heater in place (the cover is designed to be tight withOUT the heater, which adds a fair amount of extra padding). I found the easiest way to do it was to have my wife stand on the edge of the seat bottom to REALLY compress the padding, giving me that extra 1/4" of slack to get the cover clipped on.
Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 133
Likes: 11
From: Campbell, CA (San Francisco Bay Area)
2013 GLK250, 2022 Tesla MYLR, 1997 Correct Craft Ski Nautique
Just picked up a '13 GLK 350 4matic. Drives great, and the window wipers work worlds better than our '22 Tesla Y!
A couple of things I need to tackle on this car are upgrading the head lights -- still reading up on that one.
And replacing the driver's side bottom seat skin. I've reading and there seems to be 2 options - OEM with the heating element for ~$400, or ebay/online specials for ~$50. Now that's a big difference in price, so it may be worth it to get the cheaper option. What I can tell is that the cheaper option does NOT have the heating element in them. You'd need to transplant it from the original seat cover to the new one. Anyone do this? How hard is it? How much time? Any tutorials? I haven't found anything in the interwebs' forums thus far.
Thx!
A couple of things I need to tackle on this car are upgrading the head lights -- still reading up on that one.
And replacing the driver's side bottom seat skin. I've reading and there seems to be 2 options - OEM with the heating element for ~$400, or ebay/online specials for ~$50. Now that's a big difference in price, so it may be worth it to get the cheaper option. What I can tell is that the cheaper option does NOT have the heating element in them. You'd need to transplant it from the original seat cover to the new one. Anyone do this? How hard is it? How much time? Any tutorials? I haven't found anything in the interwebs' forums thus far.
Thx!
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
I'm trying to figure out if I should go with the aftermarket skin, and transplant the heating element, or get an OEM one with the element in there already. Is the juice worth the squeeze.
If someone said, "MB improved the material and it no longer splits," then it would be a no brainer. OEM, one and done. But if I'm going to have this issue again in 3-5 years, then I'd go aftermarket.
So looking for insight into how hard/easy it is to swap the element over. Any videos or links are appreciated!
If someone said, "MB improved the material and it no longer splits," then it would be a no brainer. OEM, one and done. But if I'm going to have this issue again in 3-5 years, then I'd go aftermarket.
So looking for insight into how hard/easy it is to swap the element over. Any videos or links are appreciated!
Member
Joined: Nov 2023
Posts: 128
Likes: 58
2011 GLK 550
Hmmm (on heat element). I replaced my driver skin years ago and I believe I used the same element that was in the original seat. But I did something wrong and I only get heat on the back, not the seat. I don't know if I damaged the element or for some reason the connector had an issue, but I haven't been too keen on going back in to see what's wrong. Assuming you have good results, I may attempt it again. I don't recall which videos I watched, so if you have some good ones, please post them. BTW, I don't remember it being super hard to pull the skins over the seat; didn't need my wife's help.... I'm lucky since it's her 'car' but she's never complained/noticed (I don't think she uses it).
I also recall it being pretty easy to replace both top+bottom covers.
