If the seat heating in the car does not work, it is quite unpleasant in winter. There does not always have to be a serious cause behind it. In this article, you will learn how to recognize a defect in the seat heating, how the repair is carried out and what costs you will incur.
Seat heating in the car defective: common symptoms
Clearly, if the heated seats in the car don't work, they stay cold – the clearest sign. However, there are also some symptoms that are not quite so clear:
- The car seat does not get as warm as usual.
- The seat heating cannot be switched on
- The car seat heater does not switch off correctly, which poses a risk of fire.
- They perceive a scorched smell.
In the worst case, fires can even occur due to areas that have become too hot.
Causes of a defect
A non-functioning seat heating can have quite harmless causes - in the worst case, however, the whole seat has to be taken apart. Common causes at a glance:
- a defective relay
- a blown fuse
- a defective switch to turn the heating on and off
- a broken cable
- a defect in the heating mat inside the seat
The heating mat can break if it is loaded on one side and the weight is not optimally distributed over the surface. This can happen, for example, if you kneel on the seat or put something heavy on it.
The specialist in the workshop first checks whether the fuse of the seat heating is defective and whether there is electricity everywhere. If no cause can be found here, he then tests the seat heating in the car for defects in the relay, switch or wiring. If he can rule out all these factors as the cause, the problem is most likely in the heating mat itself.
Seat heating defective: repair and costs at a glance
How much the repair costs and how it works depends on the cause. The following overview shows the costs that can be incurred:
| Defective component | Repair | Materials |
| Fuse | Replacement of the fuse | 1 Euro |
| Relay or control unit | Component replacement | 20 to 90 euros |
| Cable break | Partial replacement of the wiring harness | 60 to 400 euros |
| Switch | Installation of a new switch | 15 to 150 euros |
| Heating mat | Removal of the seat, disassembly, replacement of the heating matter | 70 to 260 euros |
In addition, there is the time required in each case. This varies depending on how long the diagnosis takes and which component needs to be replaced. If the heating mat has to be replaced, the amount of work can be up to three hours. Replacing a defective fuse, on the other hand, takes no more than a quarter of an hour.
Can I retrofit a heated seat in my car?
If an expensive repair of the seat heating is pending, retrofitting a new model instead of repairing it could be cheaper, especially for older vehicles. The simplest variant is a heated seat cushion. It is often available for less than 25 euros and is easy to install. All you have to do is attach them to the car seat and connect them to a power source. You can often plug in the heated seats for the car to the cigarette lighter.
There are other ways to retrofit a seat heater in the car. You can retrofit this into the seat – but to do this, you will have to remove the cover of the car seat to position the heating mat. This involves a certain amount of effort and is often no longer cheaper than repairing the existing seat heating in the car. The same applies to replacing the car seat with a model with integrated heating.
Spare parts for your car's seat heating, such as switches, can be ordered cheaply online from Motointegrator.