Heated seat not working

[calumdonaldc]

Driver's heated leather seat on my 2015 (second gen) Superb 2.0 TDi Elegance isn't working. However, the back rest and passenger seat are fine. Fuses ok. Any suggestions welcome. Is this a known problem with our cars? Calum

[Danny 57]

Will be curious as to the answers as mine is the same.

[Snapper1725]

Think mines the same, just the back rest seems to warm up.

i’ll be Interested in answers also

 

[edwards]

On my mark 3, the plug and wiring hung down under the seat and subsequently came loose when the kids shoved their feet under the seat. clipping it back in and fixing the wires out of the way cured it.

 

The seat pad heater on our old yeti failed and that was the element. It was replaced under warranty, the dealer told me it was a relatively common failure (possibly just on Yetis, can't remember) and also said kneeling on the seats or any other 'point loading' can break the element.

 

Worth a check of the plugs at least. if not, then I can't think a new element is that hard to do - seat out and cover off, presumably.

[benny oopz]

The drivers side seat pad failed on MK2, event thought it was under 3 years old. The back still worked. Unfortunately I'd exceeded the warranty mileage, so cost just over 300 pounds to replace by a Skoda dealer, which was a bit painful. I did try an research alternative repairs and even looked into buying the part, but couldn't find anything of any use.

[Tropheus]

My wife's 2013 is the same.  Over the past year she's noticed that the driver's heated seat was not very warm.  Now it's just the back that's working and not the base.

 

I'll take a look at the fuses and connections, but I'm guessing it's the heating element that's at fault.  I'd have a go at replacing it myself if there were any details on how to approach it.

[lullable]

Interested in this thread as 2013 Elegance 140bhp model is exactly same. Seat pad not heating in Drivers Seat

[calumdonaldc]

I am grateful to all contributors but I have not solved this one yet. Next step, I suspect, is to seek quote from Skoda dealer...?

 

[chimaera]

One thing to try would be to measure the resistance of the heating element in each of the front seats. Both are basically the same, and should have the same resistance. If the driver's seat one is very different to the passenger one you can probably assume the element is dead and in need of replacement. Having had a quick look at the replacement procedure, I'd find a good upholstery specialist to fit a new one rather than pay dealer rates for a mechanic to fumble around with it for a few hours.

[DEL80Y]

@chimaera

is the heating element not sown in to  the leather? 
Thats what I was told so I was just going to fit a retro carbon heat pad underneath base.

[chimaera]

4 minutes ago, DEL80Y said:

@chimaera

is the heating element not sown in to  the leather? 
Thats what I was told so I was just going to fit a retro carbon heat pad underneath base.

Looking at the service manual and this suggests that the pad is available separately and can be replaced. The procedure for removal and refitting of the seat covering looks fiddly and involves single-use clips and upholstery pliers, so I figure a good trimmer would be better at doing that than a DIYer or a dealer mechanic.

[DEL80Y]

I have the clips and pliers already as retro fitted carbon pads to the wife's Merc C class.



The problem with the retro kits is the switches are appalling looking and she wanted O.E. switches which gave me a complete headache getting them coded to car

I have another set of carbon so going to look into this in the new year😎

[Jules Tohpipi]

Same thing happened on my mkII. Driver's seat base heater failed two years from new and replaced under warranty. Two years later it failed again outside warranty. Backrest heater still works.

[26DIPP]

If you want to fix it yourself, measure whether you have power in the connection. Then as said above check resistance across the heated element to locate the problem. You can unclip the seat cover and remove the heated element. Fiddly but doable.

[DEL80Y]

I bought a dear set for my Merc about £75 pair then got this kit from Amazon just for the drivers side front of our Dog Van Meriva

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heater-Universal-Heated-Switch-Carbon/dp/B07ZLLFW8N/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=carbon+fibre+heated+seat&qid=1576494980&sr=8-11

The carbon fibre kit seams to has lasted 3 yrs in Merc and 2 years in Meriva 

They both can be cut to size

And got these upholstery pliers to get the right tension on seat covers for £15 with loads of new hog rings

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WATERCARBON-Industries-Upholstery-Installation-pack-100-Piece/dp/B01HR5ARY4/ref=sr_1_28?crid=G0FBB8F0ZV8&keywords=upholstery+pliers&qid=1576495360&sprefix=upholstery+plier%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-28

Edited 16 December, 2019 by DEL80Y
More info

[Jonnyboy95]

@DEL80Y thanks for the links above for the aftermarket heated seat pads and upholstery pliers and hog rings, looks like this could be a cost effective solution, as I'd been looking into this type of repair as a possiblity

[Bugsyt]

Hi, I would say this is a common problem, I’ve had driver’s side seat element replaced twice, once when still under warranty by main dealer, and again 18 months later by independent specialist. Main dealer only gave 12 month warranty on initial repair. On both occasions the back element was OK, Hope this helps.

[numskull]

Basically, they're crap. I had the passenger seat unit replaced by a dealer 2 years ago and 3 months later, the driver unit failed. They car has only covered 48,000. Frankly, I can’t justify another £300 (net £200 as SUK contributed a goodwill £100) for another replacement so may attempt it myself. The front and rear seat units on our 130,000 mile 14 year old MKI Superb still work perfectly and heat-up three times faster. 

[teacake]

My Skoda is exactly the same, on both front seats. Beckrest fine, nothing on the seat base. Rather annoying, and I'm not sure I want to entrust the car to a Skoda dealer to fix it.

[Bartfarst]

I have the same problem yet I've seen in the handbook that a low performing battery, which I have, can be detected by the Battery Control Module and high current non-essential services (and seat heating is listed as one of them) are suspended. I hope to get a new battery in the next few days so will let you know if that solves the issue.

[Trapdoor]

Slarti, That would be amazing if that solved it, I'm waiting eagerly to find out what happens with the new battery.

[Jayw13702]

On 16/01/2024 at 14:38, Bartfarst said:

I have the same problem yet I've seen in the handbook that a low performing battery, which I have, can be detected by the Battery Control Module and high current non-essential services (and seat heating is listed as one of them) are suspended. I hope to get a new battery in the next few days so will let you know if that solves the issue.

just out of curiosity did the heated seat display light up when you switched the seat heaters on?

 

Mine gives all the indications of the seat heaters working but no heat coming from either seat

[woodenspatulas]

I have this issue too. Passenger seat works fine. Back rest on the drivers side also ok. But the seat base, nothing!

 

I'd like to swap all the bits I can over from a second hand passenger seat if I could. The seat base on mine seems a bit weak Vs the lesser used passenger side.

[Trapdoor]

Keep us posted on how easy that turns out to be.