After market front seat heaters

[retroenduro Member Find all posts View Profile Close retroenduro]

Has anybody fitted some of these?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/1610...=true&lpid=107


Ok so this wasn't one of my choices....my wife badgered me to get these but if it stops her 'being cold' whenever i try to drive with the windows down then its a win in my book.

Anyway for only 95 bucks i have ordered the kit. It seems fine, the switches look OE and of half decent quality, the wiring loom looks good too with decent gauge wire and quality switches. Ive also done alot of research on some of the US forums where fitting them seems to be a popular mod - just get a set of hog ring pliers they say.

All in all it doesn't look too hard but if anyone here has any pointers i would be happy to hear them.

Anyway ill try and video/photograph the install so others can learn from a day of me swearing at my car......

[retroenduro Member Find all posts View Profile Close retroenduro]

OK so i fitted it this weekend and thought i would report back just in case anyone else wanted to have a crack at fitting these.

General overview was that it was a much simpler job than first thought. As long as you have a bit of know how and the right tools (cant stress this enough) you will be fine. It took me about 6 hours as i was working a lot out as i went and being anal about wiring loom routing (off road rubbing etc)....if i did it again i could do it in about 3.

Apologies i didn't take any photos as i was having too much fun getting stuck in but there are enough resources on this forum and on YouTube to suffice

Tools you will need are a basic socket set
A set of plastic trim removal tools (don't try and use screwdrivers as you will ruin the fit and appearance of your interior trim - plastic trim tools are a great investment)
Soldering iron and flux (or scotch locks if you like but these can be temperamental....you have been warned)
Sharp box cutter
A pair of hog ring pliers and some new hog rings (probably about 12 per seat but they usually come with 150 in the pack), this guy is Melbourne based and ships very quickly http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hog-Ring-...41a6d9c&_uhb=1
A set of good quality cable cutters for cutting the old hog rings off the seat - i used ones for cutting bicycle cables and they worked fine, dont try and use normal wire cutters as you will be there all day....
A gazillion zip ties and electrical tape for keeping everything neat and tidy

first step is to remove the central panel of the dash and centre console, search this forum on details of how to do this but its pretty straight forward. Everything either unbolts or pops off. Also remove the seats (carefully....airbags!) before fitting the loom as you will need access to the floor for the cables. Then go ahead and fit your buttons and looms. Loom routing is up to you but i went full bore and ran everything under the carpet next to the looms for all the other stuff. Power was easy to get from the cigarette lighter circuit (green wire on the GX loom) and lighting (another green wire on the plug going to the shifter lights - manuals you may have difficulty and need to run the wire from elsewhere). There is even a well placed bolt under the centre console that serves as a great earthing point too....Its all pretty straightforward and the instructions are in US english not chinglish.

Once you have done this you can get onto the actual heater pads. To take the covers off the seats i suggest you spend a couple of hours watching how they do it on YouTube - just search 'seat heater installation'. The Toyota seats use hog rings rather than Velcro which means its a bit harder but if you have the right tools its not too bad. Just go slow and take care. Cut the old hog rings off and then clamp on the new ones when the time comes. Fitting the pads is child's play - they just stick down and putting the covers back on is easier than taking them off...Again routing cables is easy as the seats have cable cutouts for airbags and seat heater options on the Kakadu etc

Then re install the seats, plug everything in and enjoy. The seats get nice and toasty, i didn't think i would like the feature but having tried it......especially on the lower back which i can see being an advantage if you have spent a crap night sleeping in an uncomfortable swag....more importantly my wife loves them! And as they say Happy Wife = Happy Life!

Airbag note - just be sensible, have the car switched off when doing this...disconnect seat wiring loom before undoing seats, don't mess with the airbags system when you have the seat off etc...you can even disconnect the battery of you like but i didn't and was fine. Also you will see that this stuff goes nowhere near any airbag systems so i cant see how it would interfere with it in any way. To say that it would is like saying putting a bag on your rear spare will affect the traction control....If these systems were that sensitive to variables then they would be pretty useless...

If anybody has any questions please feel free to PM me.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

The pics, where are the pics?

I have always wanted to do this, thanks for the write up.

[retroenduro Member Find all posts View Profile Close retroenduro]

im so sorry my bad....i got stuck into it and about the point when i had re fitted the centre console i remembered about the pics and thought....well eff that im not taking it all apart again.

if you get stuck feel free to pm me tho

[maulbeagle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close maulbeagle]

retro do you have a facelift 150 or the old one ? I can't find info anywhere on how to remove any of the dash on the facelift 150. any tips ?
thanks

[retroenduro Member Find all posts View Profile Close retroenduro]

sorry maul i have the pre facelift version. what does the new one look like? i imagine it would be just as simple as in mine with pulling out a key piece to start the process.

[retroenduro Member Find all posts View Profile Close retroenduro]

ive just had a look at some library pics and it looks similar. so to start off you just gently lever the climate control panel away (use the plastic trim tools and be gentle) It should then pop out. Once off you can pull off the side trims and other bits. Just go slow and take a good look at all the parts before trying to pull them out...its all designed to pop apart