Official Heated Seat Retrofit

Big Jimmy Jan 27th, 2005 Link

Gabe, Sorry to be the bringer of bad news but the link is broken…

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Gabe Jan 27th, 2005 Link

There was a typo in the URL. All fixed.

BTW big thanks to Mike for the PDF!

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Jack07734 Jan 27th, 2005 Link

Am I reading the install directions correctly? To me it looks like every MINI made has heaters in the seats. All that is needed is to add some wires and a swicth!!!!

Cheers, Jack

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petecrosby Jan 27th, 2005 Link

If you look closely at the instructions you will see a note that the seat covers with the heater elements installed must be ordered separately and there is a separate installation advisory for them.

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ewturner Jan 27th, 2005 Link

Jack, I think your right. It reads to me like all you have to do is wire up the existing seats.

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ewturner Jan 27th, 2005 Link

I missed that heating elemets part the first time I read through it :(

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Jack07734 Jan 27th, 2005 Link

Same here.

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Amit Jan 27th, 2005 Link

I want to put a set of Sparco Milano’s later on. My new car is coming with heated seats, but does anyone think I would be able to retrofit the heating elements into the sparco seat?

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DavidK Jan 27th, 2005 Link

Heated seats would have been nice earlier in the week for sure.

It got all the way down to the 40s here in South Florida earlier in the week….brrr.

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Mike Jan 27th, 2005 Link

All,

I’ve done some research on this one and the retrofit kit itself only includes the wiring harness and switches for the heated seats (BTW, the retrofit kit can be ordered/purchased from your local dealer for around $180 or less I believe). If your car didn’t come with heated seats originally (which it probably didn’t since your interested in the retrofit kit) then you either have to purchase a set of used MINI seats with the seat heaters already installed in them, or your have to replace your existing seat covers with new ones that contain the integrated heating elements (as mentioned in the PDF). The problem is that there are a total of 4 seat covers for the two front seats (two bottom covers and two seat back covers) and they sell for around $275 each for the leatherette seats (I assume that the leather ones would be quite a bit more). On top of that, you’d then have to pay the labor to have the covers installed (making the retrofit really expensive). What I ended up doing was buying a set of used MINI seats with the heaters and then ordering the retrofit kit from my dealer. That was the cheapest way for me to get the heated seats.

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gmini Jan 29th, 2005 Link

wow. maybe a dc/ac converter for heating pads.

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Rocketboy Jan 31st, 2005 Link

Does anyone else not really care for the MINI’s heated seats? Granted, they were nice on the loaner I had during negativesomething degree weather, but they were either too hot, nor not very noticable. Either way, quite an expensive option just to keep your ass and your back warm…

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Mike Feb 2nd, 2005 Link

[ED: this comment is also a full post that can be found here]

Hi All,

Okay, I’ve just completed the retrofit of the heated seats in my wife’s 2005 MCS yesterday and everything is working perfectly (and on the first try too! GRIN). The installation of the wiring harness and the new switch was straight forward (although probably not for the faint of heart as you really have to tear apart the interior of your car in order to install them) The retrofit instructions (i.e. the PDF which can be downloaded from Motoringfile.com) are spot on with only a few confusing parts (where you are kind of just left hanging and aren’t really sure of what to do next).

The retrofit took me a total of around four hours (the instructions claim three, and I could probably could do it again in under two now that I know what I’m doing) using a replacement set of all black leatherette seats (taken out of another MINI) that included the heating elements. It would have been quicker, but I was taking my time and making sure that everything was done properly, and I had to swap the seatbelt pieces and their wiring harnesses over to the new seats as they were removed by the previous owner from the replacement seats (which is common in the aftermarket racing seats you’ll find on the market as the original seatbelt pieces are needed when adding in replacement Sparcos, Recaros, etc.).

I’m VERY happy with the heated seats and so is my wife. They work wonderfully! If anyone has any specific questions on the retrofit (such as where the X33 connector is located, how to do the install/replace the seats without having the airbag warning light come on, etc.), I’d be more than happy to help you out. Either post a note here or send me an e-mail/PM.

BTW, the factory installed price of $270 for the heated seats has got to be the biggest bargain out of all of the options that are available for the MINI. If you’re in the market for a new MINI, I HIGHLY/STRONGLY suggest that you add on the heated seats to your spec (even if you’re not going to use them) as they’re a really big selling point for the car should you ever decide to sell it later on, and they’re very expensive to retrofit. The retrofit kit (which includes the wiring harness and the new switches) cost $148 from Classic in Ohio and the heated front seats sell on the aftermarket from around $600 to $800 a set depending upon the deal you can find (and even more if you want leather! – Probably around $900 to $1,200). It cost me right about $800 to do the retrofit on our car (not including my time for the labor of course) and so that puts the total cost at about $500 over what it would have cost us to have purchased them from the factory. I think that they’re worth every penny though and I would have paid $800 for the heated seats if that’s what they originally cost from the factory (as we like them that much!).

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Dennis @ Metalliform Mar 7th, 2005 Link

i am looking for heated seat pads to install in our stadium seats 240v or 12v with a transformer can you help

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LordOfTheFlies Aug 25th, 2005 Link

I’m planning on putting in Sparco Milano Prestige seats. I wonder if I could take the heating elements out of my stock sport seats….but I doubt it. And I think the JCW sport seat heating kit (if it exists) would only be available in the UK…….

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