Aftermarket seat heaters; and they fill the blanks too!

[swooopeno]

any problems with the passengers air bag sensor???

 

[jharris2]

any problems with the passengers air bag sensor???

Sounds like yours is still giving you trouble. No problems here with the passenger air bag sensor - but remember that I have cloth seats, not Katskin like you have. The sensor looks to be just like yours, though. It really seems that the thickness of the leather is what is causing your problem.

I tested the sensor before the installation, then afterwards and could not see a noticeable difference in the amount of force needed to trigger the seat belt light. I've also sat in the passenger seat a few times to test and no issues. Also checked the seat belt warning light to make sure the light goes out when the seat belt is buckled.

I never could find anything in the manuals about recalibrating the sensor, either.

Only problem I had was with the upholstery -- the cloth seats are built to make it difficult to remove the covers. Either that, or my lack of upholstery experience made the job much more difficult than it really is.

 

[swooopeno]

ya.. getting the leather off was no easy task either... Had it been 'velcro'... the entire job would have taken 20 minutes.... (although I probably would have questioned toyota for using velcro... ) : )

oh well.

I haven't had the chance to finish the install. Still just have the sensors installed. I will probably just remove the seat portion of the passengers seat elements.

Must do this soon.. its getting cold here!!! : (

 

[jharris2]

ya.. getting the leather off was no easy task either... Had it been 'velcro'... the entire job would have taken 20 minutes.... (although I probably would have questioned toyota for using velcro... ) : )

oh well.

I haven't had the chance to finish the install. Still just have the sensors installed. I will probably just remove the seat portion of the passengers seat elements.

Must do this soon.. its getting cold here!!! : (

Getting the seats out was the easy part. Routing the cables to not interfere with the console took a couple of tries. Funny thing is, the seat rails must have been slightly misaligned before, because the driver's seat wouldn't always easily lock when adjusting it....but it works fine now.

By the way, I'm impressed with how quickly they warm up. Tried it a couple of mornings ago, and it took about 200 yards before my backside was feeling warm.

 

[rook]

By the way, I'm impressed with how quickly they warm up. Tried it a couple of mornings ago, and it took about 200 yards before my backside was feeling warm.

I agree, they do heat up fast. It was in the low teens and they were warm in about 60sec. Cloth seats must transfer the heat more quickly than leather.

Question for all. Has anyone noticed the heaters will not work on occasion when starting the truck with the switches in the on position?

I wonder if it has something to do with the ignition temporarily interrupting the current to the module causing it to open the circuit? They will heat up if you flick the switch off then back on.

 

[swooopeno]

Update # 48:

Heaters are in, minus the passengers seat heater. The seat belt and weight sensor work as they should now. I guess the katskin leather and heating element were just to thick. I feel MUCH better about doing it this way. Anyway, it was down to a chilly 65 degrees the other morning. Flipped them on, and was quite surprised how quick they warmed up.

Thanks for the pics. They helped A LOT!

Did anyone use the flexible styrofoam that came with the kit? There were about 5 small rectangular pieces in the box. Couldn't figure out what they were for (or didn't read the instructions that well).

Cheers to a warmer winter!!! I'm a little less scared of the chicago weather I'll be undertaking in a couple weeks. Hmm... maybe that deserves its own thread.

hasta

 

[wolfgang]

Ordered a set and got within a couple days - hopefully won't be too cold on Sunday to install so I'll have a warm tush for the new year. Wife is going to want them for her Camry next (I do see that someone else carries them for the Camry).

 

[T4RUSAF]

Update # 48:

Did anyone use the flexible styrofoam that came with the kit? There were about 5 small rectangular pieces in the box. Couldn't figure out what they were for (or didn't read the instructions that well).

hasta

I think I may have used a piece or two. I put it over where the wires exit the pads in the rear. Probably didn't do anything, but thought I'd be creative. Have had mine for about a year now and its still warmin'!

 

[jharris2]

Ordered a set and got within a couple days - hopefully won't be too cold on Sunday to install so I'll have a warm tush for the new year. Wife is going to want them for her Camry next (I do see that someone else carries them for the Camry).

M&R carries the Highlander set and the universal set made by Rostra. That's probably the closest you will come to the Camry.

 

[jharris2]

Update # 48:

Heaters are in, minus the passengers seat heater. The seat belt and weight sensor work as they should now. I guess the katskin leather and heating element were just to thick. I feel MUCH better about doing it this way. Anyway, it was down to a chilly 65 degrees the other morning. Flipped them on, and was quite surprised how quick they warmed up.

Thanks for the pics. They helped A LOT!

Did anyone use the flexible styrofoam that came with the kit? There were about 5 small rectangular pieces in the box. Couldn't figure out what they were for (or didn't read the instructions that well).

Cheers to a warmer winter!!! I'm a little less scared of the chicago weather I'll be undertaking in a couple weeks. Hmm... maybe that deserves its own thread.

hasta

Glad they are working well for you. My driver side switch started acting up so a new one is on the way.

As far as the styrofoam goes, I don't even remember it being in the package....

 

[T4RUSAF]

yeah, I actually had a switch swapped out too. Odd, I bet they go bad often cuz they didn't even hesitate when I called them. They sent a new one and had a new UPS label for me to use for its return trip

 

[jharris2]

yeah, I actually had a switch swapped out too. Odd, I bet they go bad often cuz they didn't even hesitate when I called them. They sent a new one and had a new UPS label for me to use for its return trip

M&R told me that I had to send the switch in first, then he would ship a new one. Maybe he was getting too many suspicious claims. He received mine on Tuesday, so we will see when the replacement arrives. In the meantime, it's not been too cold without it.

 

[jharris2]

As far as the styrofoam goes, I don't even remember it being in the package....

OK, found the foam -- obviously, didn't use it. But the driver side control box sometimes bangs on the seat when going over a bump, so I just used one piece to stop the noise.

 

[wolfgang]

Reference availability for other Yota Models --
Brandon Distribution in MN has the Rosta Kits for the complete line of Yota vehicles -

http://www.brandondist.com/rostra_prices.htm


250-1756 DUAL CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT CAMRY/SOLARA $212.88
250-1757 DUAL CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT SEQUOIA/TUNDRA $226.44
250-1758 DUAL CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT HIGHLANDER $226.44
250-1759 DUAL CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT 4 RUNNER $226.44
250-1760 SINGLE CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT SIENNA $120.91
250-1772 DUAL CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT COROLLA/ECHO/MATRIX $226.44
250-1776 SINGLE CUSTOM SEAT HEATER KIT COROLLA/ECHO/MATRIX $120.91

The Lumbar support kits look interesting too!

 

[greasefingers]

Ok I am getting very interested in this Mod. Such is great price as well. Two questions:

1- can install these heaters with the seats in place correct?
2- people with cloth seats

 

[jharris2]

Ok I am getting very interested in this Mod. Such is great price as well. Two questions:

1- can install these heaters with the seats in place correct?
2- people with cloth seats

 

[greasefingers]

Thanks John and Happy New Year to ya.

This is exciting

 

[jharris2]

Thanks John and Happy New Year to ya.

This is exciting

 

[jharris2]

M&R told me that I had to send the switch in first, then he would ship a new one. Maybe he was getting too many suspicious claims. He received mine on Tuesday, so we will see when the replacement arrives. In the meantime, it's not been too cold without it.

Update: switch still has not arrived. Called Michael at M&R yesterday -- he said that the switches have been a problem and that Rostra has changed how they handle warranty claims. He's awaiting a new batch of switches to arrive. Said he hopes they arrive today or tomorrow. Figure that about the middle of next week I will call again if the replacement has not arrived.

 

[jharris2]

Update: switch still has not arrived. Called Michael at M&R yesterday -- he said that the switches have been a problem and that Rostra has changed how they handle warranty claims. He's awaiting a new batch of switches to arrive. Said he hopes they arrive today or tomorrow. Figure that about the middle of next week I will call again if the replacement has not arrived.

The UPS guy brought the replacement switch today. While installing the replacement, I was glad I left a pull string in the console when the bad switch was removed.

It's all working now -- as the sandwich commercial says, now it's "m-m-m-m-m toasty!"