Stupid Heated Seat...
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Posts like a Corvette
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,253
Likes: 0
From: Ontario

Anyone ever have a problem with their heated seat? My driver'* side will turn ON, stay on for like 2 seconds, then make a "click' noise and shut off. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and if there is a 'quick' way to fix it...i.e. not paying a dealership a milllion $$ to rip it apart :?
I'd thought I'd let you know it'* been a re-accurring problem with many other vehicles too. It seems that the seat elements (2/seat) pre-maturely break on the leather models. Most commonly it'* been the Driver'* seat, but that could be because the driver is usually always in the car too. If your car has less than 60,000 km it'* covered under warranty though.
My '97 Grand Prix GTP had a problem with the heated seat before I traded it in,...the seat would heat up OK but the heated seat relay(not sure of the part number,around $90 when I looked up the price)under the seat was making a 'shorting out' type buzzing/clicking sound whenever the heated seat was turned on.I'm thinking if the module shorted completely out (as it might do all at one time or initially instead of slowly crapping out like mine was)you could possibly get the condition that you are having,.....don't really know for sure.
Originally Posted by DeathRat
I'd thought I'd let you know it'* been a re-accurring problem with many other vehicles too. It seems that the seat elements (2/seat) pre-maturely break on the leather models. Most commonly it'* been the Driver'* seat, but that could be because the driver is usually always in the car too. If your car has less than 60,000 km it'* covered under warranty though. 
The "FIX" is replacement of the WHOLE SEAT COVER if you've got LEATHER or you can replace just the heater element if you've got CLOTH!
No you can remove the leather and replace only the element. Mine has burnt out twice on the drivers side and once on the passenger. The winters are long and I dont have a garage so I turn the seats on in October and turn them off in April.
There are actually 3 elements per seat and one bad one can keep the relay from closing (you say it turns on for a sec then goes out)
Going off memory here you should measure 50 ohms per element, they plug into the control module under the seat............move the seat all the way forward, tilt the back as far forward too for better access. If you have a bad back rest element great cause its easy, unzip the bottom of the leather seat cover and massage up to access the element, you may want to heat the leather first with a hair dryer. If its the bottom seat element (groan) it means pulling the seat and disabling the air bags first. About 4 hours if you never had the seat out before, it is a pita.
There are actually 3 elements per seat and one bad one can keep the relay from closing (you say it turns on for a sec then goes out)
Going off memory here you should measure 50 ohms per element, they plug into the control module under the seat............move the seat all the way forward, tilt the back as far forward too for better access. If you have a bad back rest element great cause its easy, unzip the bottom of the leather seat cover and massage up to access the element, you may want to heat the leather first with a hair dryer. If its the bottom seat element (groan) it means pulling the seat and disabling the air bags first. About 4 hours if you never had the seat out before, it is a pita.
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 6,127
Likes: 1
From: Westerville, Ohio 2000 Black SSEi

Originally Posted by PontiacDad
No you can remove the leather and replace only the element. Mine has burnt out twice on the drivers side and once on the passenger. The winters are long and I dont have a garage so I turn the seats on in October and turn them off in April.
There are actually 3 elements per seat and one bad one can keep the relay from closing (you say it turns on for a sec then goes out)
Going off memory here you should measure 50 ohms per element, they plug into the control module under the seat............move the seat all the way forward, tilt the back as far forward too for better access. If you have a bad back rest element great cause its easy, unzip the bottom of the leather seat cover and massage up to access the element, you may want to heat the leather first with a hair dryer. If its the bottom seat element (groan) it means pulling the seat and disabling the air bags first. About 4 hours if you never had the seat out before, it is a pita.
There are actually 3 elements per seat and one bad one can keep the relay from closing (you say it turns on for a sec then goes out)
Going off memory here you should measure 50 ohms per element, they plug into the control module under the seat............move the seat all the way forward, tilt the back as far forward too for better access. If you have a bad back rest element great cause its easy, unzip the bottom of the leather seat cover and massage up to access the element, you may want to heat the leather first with a hair dryer. If its the bottom seat element (groan) it means pulling the seat and disabling the air bags first. About 4 hours if you never had the seat out before, it is a pita.


