Heated Seat Option Heating Element
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 386
Likes: 3
From: Wisconsin
CL550 1976 450 SL
Heated Seat Option Heating Element
Out of warr. Indie has isolated it's the element. MB dlr. wants to replace whole seat and back, new leather etc. I find this dumb and objectionable (money, new vs. used leather look etc.) Seat back and steering wheel heat fine.
Anyone had this done or know if original leather can be r/r and simply the element replaced?
Thanks.
Anyone had this done or know if original leather can be r/r and simply the element replaced?
Thanks.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 386
Likes: 3
From: Wisconsin
CL550 1976 450 SL
Thanks to those replying.
But, my query is has anyone had the existing seat cushion leather removed, JUST the heating element/wiring part replaced and then the old seat cushion/padding and original leather fitted back on?
Phatisfy hit my concern. Besides simply wasting money and material, there is no way a "new" leather is going to have the patina of leather that has been used for any period of time. If the car was under a year old, maybe it'd be okay. But, cosmetically, I think all new would really standout out visually and look terrible.
Don't intend to whine, but sure could use guidance.
But, my query is has anyone had the existing seat cushion leather removed, JUST the heating element/wiring part replaced and then the old seat cushion/padding and original leather fitted back on?
Phatisfy hit my concern. Besides simply wasting money and material, there is no way a "new" leather is going to have the patina of leather that has been used for any period of time. If the car was under a year old, maybe it'd be okay. But, cosmetically, I think all new would really standout out visually and look terrible.
Don't intend to whine, but sure could use guidance.
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20
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2002 E320
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 427
Likes: 57
13 GL350, 14 SL550
Replaced the heating element on my S430 (W220) although I suspect it isn't much different on a W221.
I bought a kit from heatedseatkits.com and discarded the seatback, wiring, switch, etc.
Took the seat bottom to the car, and pulled up the leather on 3 sides (front, left, right). Slid the seat bottom heat pad under the leather and used a wooden stick to make sure it was pushed in completely and completely flat.. with no major folds or wrinkles.
Put the leather back on and spliced the wiring into the factory wiring connector.
The factory seat switches heat it up perfectly. Looks 100% stock.
Note that I put the heated pad UNDER the existing heated pad that no longer worked. So from top to bottom I had the following layers:
Leather
OLD heated pad
NEW heated pad
Foam/spring base
I realize I wouldn't get as much heat because the new pad has to heat through not only the leather, but also the old pad. It gave off about 75-80% of the heat the original pad did, so I am OK with that.
The proper way would have been to disassemble the leather from the seat completely, cut the stitching holding the old heated pad to the leather, sew the new one on, and reinstall.
If you wanted it to be 100% perfect, remove the seat leather and take it to an upholstery shop along with the new heated pad. When they give it back to you, it will be as good as new.
Price on the heated leather seat cover (from MB) was something like $1400 for back and bottom. The bottom one along was $800 if I remember. That was parts only, and the seat had to be disassembled to remove both.
I used the heatedseatkits solution for almost 6 years until I sold the car and it was a great solution for $100!
I bought a kit from heatedseatkits.com and discarded the seatback, wiring, switch, etc.
Took the seat bottom to the car, and pulled up the leather on 3 sides (front, left, right). Slid the seat bottom heat pad under the leather and used a wooden stick to make sure it was pushed in completely and completely flat.. with no major folds or wrinkles.
Put the leather back on and spliced the wiring into the factory wiring connector.
The factory seat switches heat it up perfectly. Looks 100% stock.
Note that I put the heated pad UNDER the existing heated pad that no longer worked. So from top to bottom I had the following layers:
Leather
OLD heated pad
NEW heated pad
Foam/spring base
I realize I wouldn't get as much heat because the new pad has to heat through not only the leather, but also the old pad. It gave off about 75-80% of the heat the original pad did, so I am OK with that.
The proper way would have been to disassemble the leather from the seat completely, cut the stitching holding the old heated pad to the leather, sew the new one on, and reinstall.
If you wanted it to be 100% perfect, remove the seat leather and take it to an upholstery shop along with the new heated pad. When they give it back to you, it will be as good as new.
Price on the heated leather seat cover (from MB) was something like $1400 for back and bottom. The bottom one along was $800 if I remember. That was parts only, and the seat had to be disassembled to remove both.
I used the heatedseatkits solution for almost 6 years until I sold the car and it was a great solution for $100!
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Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 427
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13 GL350, 14 SL550
The old pad had 2 wires with a 2-pin connector on the end. I just cut off the connector and spliced it onto the new seat pad. Can't remember the wire colours but it was really obvious (ie. I think the new pad had a red and a black wire.. so red was positive and black was ground).
Remember almost always the brown wire is ground on an MB.
By the way, I didn't remove the seat or anything.. I pushed down really hard on the seat cushion edge with my knee and pulled the leather out at the bottom. It's folded in half and pushed into a crevice in the bottom of the seat.. if you make the leather 'slack' and then pull it out of the bottom of the seat, it's out in 2 mins.
The back stays attached (lots of work to get it out) but you can flip up the leather and work on the underside no problem.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,430
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From: USA
W140 Mercedes S350, W221 S550 sport
The new leather that was installed isn't as tight and doesn't fit as nice as the original. Any ideas? Dealer says they will order another new leather shell, but don't want the same thing to happen twice.
Just had this done:
But, the new seat leather isn't as snug as the original.
They said they can order another new seat bottom and try it again....
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 764
Likes: 10
From: North Carolina
2010 E350, 2015 S550
Just took mine to the dealer with this issue. They are going to replace the leather seat bottom with integrated heater. They cannot replace the heating element alone as already stated. I asked them the following three questions:
1. Can the whole cushion be replaced? Answer No. It is the leather cover with the integrated heater. That is what must be replaced in order to repair the failure.
2. Will the new cover match? Answer No. Your seat is 4 years old with 45k miles of wear and tear from entry/exit of the driver. So no. The new cover will look, well, new.
3. While I believe that your mechanics in the shop are good mechanics, are they also good upholsterers because that's what is involved in replaceing the seat "cover". Answer, no they are not upholsterers, they are mechanics. But... they replace a lot of these so they are not new to this repair and they are good at it.
I will find out in a couple of weeks what to expect. Part of me says WTF, I live in North Carolina at the beach so why am I worring about a freaking seat heater? The other part of me says why not get a known failure replaced, especially if it will be covered under warranty, original factory warranty. I may live in the frozen tundra again. Why am I concerned? Because I am afraid that the repair may make the interior look like crap. I am hoping that the dealer is correct in saying that their mechanics are good upholsterers because they do this a lot. New leather for the drivers seat may not be the end of the world. As someone has already posted, perhaps the good side to this is that the car may smell new agian. At least for a little while. Would you do it? Will try and post pix and report on the final result.
1. Can the whole cushion be replaced? Answer No. It is the leather cover with the integrated heater. That is what must be replaced in order to repair the failure.
2. Will the new cover match? Answer No. Your seat is 4 years old with 45k miles of wear and tear from entry/exit of the driver. So no. The new cover will look, well, new.
3. While I believe that your mechanics in the shop are good mechanics, are they also good upholsterers because that's what is involved in replaceing the seat "cover". Answer, no they are not upholsterers, they are mechanics. But... they replace a lot of these so they are not new to this repair and they are good at it.
I will find out in a couple of weeks what to expect. Part of me says WTF, I live in North Carolina at the beach so why am I worring about a freaking seat heater? The other part of me says why not get a known failure replaced, especially if it will be covered under warranty, original factory warranty. I may live in the frozen tundra again. Why am I concerned? Because I am afraid that the repair may make the interior look like crap. I am hoping that the dealer is correct in saying that their mechanics are good upholsterers because they do this a lot. New leather for the drivers seat may not be the end of the world. As someone has already posted, perhaps the good side to this is that the car may smell new agian. At least for a little while. Would you do it? Will try and post pix and report on the final result.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,430
Likes: 187
From: USA
W140 Mercedes S350, W221 S550 sport
Well, there is 16k on the car which is mint in every way. I don't think it smells any different. It's just the seat bottom, so your butt may smell different.
The match is good, I wouldn't really worry about the match. I would get it fixed since it's under warranty and the next owner may want it. People love heated seats.
You were smart asking the question about mechanics being able to do an upholsterers job. It all depends on the tech I think. As Mike215 suggested to me, if my dealer can't get it right, have them pay an upholstery shop to tighten it up. I'll give them one more chance.
The match is good, I wouldn't really worry about the match. I would get it fixed since it's under warranty and the next owner may want it. People love heated seats.
You were smart asking the question about mechanics being able to do an upholsterers job. It all depends on the tech I think. As Mike215 suggested to me, if my dealer can't get it right, have them pay an upholstery shop to tighten it up. I'll give them one more chance.
