Heated Seats -Again!

[Jerrysimon]

Ok I know its been covered before, but I thought I would post my options/findings so far. I had heated seats on my Corsa and learnt to love/rely on them.

Before I go down the route of having after market ones fitted professionally which has been covered here exstensively in previous posts and which might be my only final option I thought I would post details of my DIY attempt with off the shelf options first.

Options

1. Pay 5K more for the spec that includes them over my newly delivered Edge (already ruled out).

2. Professionaly fitted as an aftermarket upgrade £500+ for two ?

3. Argo generic tried and too big/clunky.

Here

4. Amazon. Dont fit around the built in head rest.

Here

5. Dual pair from AliExpress (ordered) still unsure if they will fit and running two of the ciggy lighter might be problamatic. I will be measuring the current draw when they arrive.

Here

6. Trying to get hold of this one from Halfords. It's mainly my lumber bit that appreciates heat, so this looks promising and easy to chuck in and out.

Here

I'll report back with some pics but I thought worth a try (given cost) before I just give up or go down the aftermarket fitting option.

[forkingabout]

For a proper permanent stealth job either.

https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdoor/motorhome-and-van/driving-assistance-support/seat-heaters/msh60-28031?v=9600000393

Or 

https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdoor/motorhome-and-van/driving-assistance-support/seat-heaters/dometic-waeco-magiccomfort-msh-300-28032?v=9600000395

 

I've fitted both kits to various vehicles in the past, both excellent quality.

[Jerrysimon]

@forkingabout Yes thanks great options. It's probably not beyond my cabablity to fit as an ex engineer, but scary to do on a brand new car under warranty.

 

[forkingabout]

My top tip is - long cable ties work fine to replace the metal hog rings that hold the material to the seat cushions, just make sure to cut flush. 

I did the front seats on my 308 T9 & had to spend £7 on a special Peugeot service tool for refitting the back rest covers as they had zips on, you could remove the covers without the tool but not refit them. 

No idea if Toyota use a similar system on the Aygo X but might be worth checking. 

[Chas G]

Are you expecting a long arctic winter in Cambridgeshire? 🤪

[Jerrysimon]

@Chas G

Yes initially that was always my thought about heated seats. However having had them supplied unexpectingly in my previous car, the surprise was how nice they were when my back ached!

It also had a heated steering wheel and like you say, that was of benefit only really on extra cold mornings.

[TriumphMan]

Heated seats are very useful for ongoing back conditions regardless of the outside temps 👍

I would have paid for them if they had been an option on mine, but they weren’t so that was an end to it. I have considered trying one of the after-market ones that sit on to of the cover but havnt bothered yet.

i have fitted them to the seats on my Triumph, so my 62 year-old car has the creature comfort lacking from the new Aygo X 😂 

[Puglet]

As mentioned strange that heated seats not an option, considering the initial 'Limited Edition' had them, which I would of liked, shame I didn't like the colour or its folding roof! Think iirc even the Mk1 had heated seats in some European markets, it's like us Brits are not worthy to have a warm bottom! But as mentioned good to know there are aftermarket suppliers that can fill the gap.

[Donrald]

I keep thinking of this but it’s a heated steering wheel I need and that I think is a different ball gaming and possibly something that has to be bought from Toyota and fitted at great expense! I have Reynauds and a heated wheel has obvious benefits.

[forkingabout]

8 minutes ago, Donrald said:

I keep thinking of this but it’s a heated steering wheel I need and that I think is a different ball gaming and possibly something that has to be bought from Toyota and fitted at great expense! I have Reynauds and a heated wheel has obvious benefits.

It helps if your vehicle has the dash part of the wiring already installed.

Normally it's just the switch, relay, squib / rotary unit & the heated steering wheel required for a retrofit.

No idea if a heated steering wheel is available for Aygo X 

[Jerrysimon]

I can finally report back showing the aftermarket heated seats I chose and installed.

The dual one from Aliexpress were the best fit. The Halfords lumber cushion would be ok if you just wanted something to throw in place when you needed it for one seat.  The Argos one was too big and stiff.

The great thing about the Aliexpress ones is they are thin, very smooth and have a non slip backing that sticks to the seat. It comes with a reassuringly 6 amp removal fuse in the ciggy plug which also has a red LED to indicate on/off. According to the specs, at full heat setting each seat draws about 2 amps.  An electronic switch circuit (others I tried had mechanical contact switches) allows three different heat settings. When the ignition is off the ciggy port is dead so no chance of leaving them on. Also when the circuit is activated again the default goes back to seats off. Pushing the button shows LEDs to turn on max heat, then mid, then low then off again.

The covers shown, sit nicely on the seats and I just had to make an extension piece for top straps to go round the larger built in head rests.

The wire comes out on the front in the middle of the seat, again great, as in most cases they come out of one side or the other. The front straps have metal clips that hook nicely under the seat. A large stap goes over the whole seat to hold the main cover in place.

To make it as tidy as possible, I got some wire clips (lose enough to allow the wire to move freely if necessary) and hook and loop pads to fix the switches in place for easy access on the side of the center console, one for  each seat. I find the mid setting is adequate and they heat up within minutes. The heat is well distributed on both back and seat bottom, concentrated lower down and towards the back of the seat which is great for soothing my back. The ciggy lead has two plugs one for each seat. I could probably shorten the wires from the ciggy lead as I opened it up and it would be easy to cut and resolder in the plug, but for now its just coiled up. None of the wiring gets warm.

The next test will be to see how long they last and if not, I will probably go down the OEM seat mod route which is obviously a lot more costly and would probably fund 10 of these.