MB Guru Opinions needed for heated seat issue
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 89
Likes: 2
2005 E500
MB Guru Opinions needed for heated seat issue
Hi all. I need some assistance troubleshooting an issue with my wife's 02 ML320. We had to take the truck in about 4mo ago because the driver's side seat was getting WAY too hot. They replaced the seat and things semed to work great. Day before yesterday I was taking her truck in to get an estimate for a radiator hose replacement and noticed that the heated seats did not work. Both driver's and passenger's seat warmers click on (to both positions) but they never get warm. I thought that the fuse was probably blown so I did a quick check and found out that it was just fine. The folks at my local stealer wanted ~$180 (1.5 hours) to troubleshoot it. When I asked if they could just hook it up to the computer to check for any error codes, I was told that any hookup to the computer is automatically billed one hour labor. Nice...
Anyone have any ideas I can look into to try and troubleshoot this on my own?
Anyone have any ideas I can look into to try and troubleshoot this on my own?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 4,260
Likes: 6
From: Philadelphia area
2010 ML550, 2010 E350 4M, 1966 Corvette Convt C2
Lack of heat in the seats is possibly caused by a bad relay which may be found in the electronics box on the drivers side under the hood. Other causes are bad heat pads in the seat which can be replaced. The high heat you experienced could also be caused by the relay hanging up or a short in the heat pack in the seat. You mentioned that you were getting an estimate for a radiator hose, I guess if its too expensive you will tape it up!!?? Why not just have it changed out and pay the bill.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 89
Likes: 2
2005 E500
I am taking the truck in for the radiator hose replacement ($140 + tax) to a local garage. MB wanted $460 for the exact same job which is a complete rip off for a simple hose replacement.
The $180 for the heating seats was just to diagnose the problem and not for the repair. The guestimate for repairs was $1500-$2000. If it does turn out to be that significant of an issue, we'll be trading in the truck for a new vehicle. For us, it's not worth it to sink another $2k into a 5yr old vehicle with 75k mi on it. It would be better to upgrade the vehicle to a new one which is under warranty and can offer my wife and I peace of mind.
The $180 for the heating seats was just to diagnose the problem and not for the repair. The guestimate for repairs was $1500-$2000. If it does turn out to be that significant of an issue, we'll be trading in the truck for a new vehicle. For us, it's not worth it to sink another $2k into a 5yr old vehicle with 75k mi on it. It would be better to upgrade the vehicle to a new one which is under warranty and can offer my wife and I peace of mind.
