Seat heating defective? Symptoms, repair, costs summarized!

Reading time 4 Min.

Is there a defective seat heater in the vehicle? How do you recognize that? And what needs to be considered with regard to the repair and the costs? We have summarized all important information on the subject in this article. If the seat heating fails, it is not always due to defective heating mats inside the seat. The defect is often caused by a faulty fuse or a damaged relay. Another indication of a defective seat heater is seat surfaces that do not heat up at all or only partially. Also a seat heater that is cannot be switched on or does not switch off correctly above a certain temperature, should be checked urgently due to the risk of fire.

Is the seat heating defective?

What causes can be hidden behind a defective seat heater? Depending on the symptom, different triggers can be considered: a defective fuse or relay, a defective seat heating switch, a broken cable or a defective heating mat in the seat (e.g. due to punctual stress caused by kneeling on the seat, etc.). The workshop experts first have to determine the exact background as to why the seat heating failed. For this it must be checked whether it is a melted one Fuse and a replacement is needed. If that is not the case, the Power Supply checked at the seat concerned. Also studies on the Switches, at Relais and at the cabling may need to be carried out. If there is power to the seat, the cause may have to be looked for inside the seat. Maybe there is Defect in the heating mat.

Repair of the seat heating and the costs incurred!

The type of repair that needs to be carried out depends on the defect. The easiest way is to replace a defective fuse, because the material costs are high less than 1 euro. However, if there is a defect in the relay or the control unit, the costs for the material are usually included 10 to 100 euros quantified. In the event of a cable break, usually only that part of the cable harness needs to be replaced, which is between 50 and 500 euros can cost. You are usually only in the upper price segment if the spare part can only be bought as an original from the vehicle manufacturer (OE). A defective switch that needs to be replaced is no less expensive. Because if an original part is required for this, this can be done with up to 200, - Euro to book. If the switch is permanently installed in the switch panel or the control element of the air conditioning system, it can even be much more expensive. Switches that are available as accessories can often be purchased as spare parts for a small amount of 10 Euros to be bought.

If you are affected by a defect in the seat heating mat, you cannot avoid removing the respective seat and partially disassembling it. After that, the heating mat can be replaced with a new one, which, depending on the manufacturer, is between 50 and 300 euros costs. Of course, the time required also depends on the vehicle and its construction. 10 minutes to 4 hours can be calculated for the diagnosis as well as a simple solution of the problem. If the diagnostic effort is even more extensive, replacing the heating mats can also take 2 to 3 hours. Assuming an hourly rate of 100 euros, the labor costs will be around 20 to 700 euros Info: Was upgraded seat heating, then you should take all the information as well as the invoice, the old product description and the installation instructions with you to the workshop. This saves the workshop employees time and money!

The following note is essential: For safety reasons, tuningblog recommends all repair, inspection and maintenance work exclusively to be carried out in a specialist workshop! Although our information is summarized to the best of our knowledge and belief, we cannot assume any liability for the content. All information is therefore "without guarantee".

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

In this tuningblog category there are guides and instructions for common defects/repairs on the vehicle and for installing accessories/tuning parts. Our articles explain in a simple way common defects and the corresponding repairs, as well as explaining how the first signs of a defect become noticeable. In most cases, we also have initial clues to the repair instructions in our repair instructions approximate The costs of the pending repair are listed. The goal of our subcategory “Auto Repair Guide“ is to create a head start in knowledge for the next visit to the workshop with initial tips. This may save you from tedious troubleshooting and small things can perhaps be done directly on your own. The same applies, of course, to the installation of accessories/tuning parts. Here, too, we would like to help with the implementation with instructions and tips. There are many other posts on this as well. Below is an excerpt of the last and HERE there are all previous instructions:

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