looking into purchasing an SL55 or 600 some time in the upcoming months and just thinking about what I plan to do to make it more me, and I know the newer model has the airscarf system, does anybody know if the heater and fan mechanism is all self contained in the headrest? i was also curious if there is a way to rig up a simple switch for them (possibly in the console) or if it requires all kinds of heavy knowledge of bus systems resistors, etc.

 

SL5 is out of production. Airscarf is on 2009+ models. It has a switch.

 

From the looks of the headrest it is self contained. The switch is on the door near the seat switches. I had it on just today. Works great.

 

I know the 55 isn't being produced, I guess I should have specified that I'm looking into a used vehicle. I was curious if this would be a direct fit replacement to the older headrests and I would just need to add some form of switch into the door panel. any installation thought would be good, I wonder what my dealer price is for the airscarf headrest.....

 

did you find out if you can wire up a switch

 

There is a control module in the trunk (boot), so you would need that plus wiring, the door switch, upgrades to other modules, software, etc, etc.

 

Airscarf is a nice feature, but for it to really work, you have to tilt your head back into the headrest. Any space between your neck and the headrest reduces the effectiveness significantly.

 

It's basically a hair dryer and it pulls a lot of juice. The car does not really need these imho. The heat is exceptional on the R230 and wind management is first rate. We have driven our SL many times with the outside temp down into the high 30s with no major discomfort.

Only one side of our air scarf still works and I will not be fixing it.