Official Heated Seat Retrofit

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

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

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

Same here.

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.

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

[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!).

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…….