Heated seats

my biggest dissapointment in 2011 Leaf - absense of heated seats. And it was funny how staff on test drive event explained this - heaters were not installed to prevent extra battery drain. To me this is quite upsetting - Nissan chose to save $100 of material, and forced users to run 2KW heater longer, instead of 100W heat in the seat. 2kW will greatly affect range.

Was wondering if there are any BKMs already how to add heaters? Clearly there is space reserved for switches, and i'm sure there are parts from other Nissan cars that would be a straight fit. But not sure what is the most elegant way to install heater elements.

It's especially vexing because early in the development a few months ago they were going to include heated seats and steering wheel for just that reason. Geesh! That's why I listed the Cold Weather package as the number one missing option in the last survey.

When the heated seats do become available in 2011, can a dealer just remove your LEAF's front seats and bolt in the heated seats?

Or, is the wiring to the switches, seats, and fuses missing from the earlier LEAFs?

Stunt822 said:

Nissan chose to save $100 of material, and forced users to run 2KW heater longer
<snip> But not sure what is the most elegant way to install heater elements.

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I doubt it was a matter of cost. My guess is they ran into some sort of snag/problem/issue and didn't have enough time to resolve it before production started.

At this point it seems to me that the best option would be to wait for the version that offers the Cold Weather package. In this thread there is some speculation on how to do heated seats yourself but there really is no detail yet, just guesses.

garygid said:

Or, is the wiring to the switches, seats, and fuses missing from the earlier LEAFs?

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I believe you're only going to get speculation on this but I would be very surprised if everything is there except the seats.

There are MANY after market heated seat pads that go inside the seats and are not that difficult to install so there are options and they are low draw and low price. The people ad the test rides are mostly clueless temps.

I have installed this product in one of my cars and love it:
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/pecafidutewa.html

My Leaf will definitely get the upgrade for 1 to 4 seats. I may look to Nissan for their switches so that it looks stock...

I agree with JasonT - I don't think the absence of heated seats was a mis-guided cost decision on Nissan's part. What I think we have here is another example of test drive staff who don't know what they're talking about.

Just out of curiosity - how beautiful or handsome, as the case may be, were the staff?

Stunt822 said:

my biggest dissapointment in 2011 Leaf - absense of heated seats. And it was funny how staff on test drive event explained this - heaters were not installed to prevent extra battery drain. To me this is quite upsetting - Nissan chose to save $100 of material, and forced users to run 2KW heater longer, instead of 100W heat in the seat. 2kW will greatly affect range.

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Yodrak said:

I agree with JasonT - I don't think the absence of heated seats was a mis-guided cost decision on Nissan's part. What I think we have here is another example of test drive staff who don't know what they're talking about.

Just out of curiosity - how beautiful or handsome, as the case may be, were the staff?

Stunt822 said:

my biggest dissapointment in 2011 Leaf - absense of heated seats. And it was funny how staff on test drive event explained this - heaters were not installed to prevent extra battery drain. To me this is quite upsetting - Nissan chose to save $100 of material, and forced users to run 2KW heater longer, instead of 100W heat in the seat. 2kW will greatly affect range.

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2kw heater? I would expect it to be closer to 3kw, that's going to take a while to heat that water. Here is what they are like:
http://www.metricmind.com/

Those seats draw no more than 60 watts per seat, that is nothing in an EV, I will be doing something like this for sure and it really should have been an option since radiant heat always make things feel warmer and it would be a very practical, low weight option.

I think Nissan has to give a proper answer about this. I've posted the question on the wall of Nissan's Facebook page. Is there a way we could get Mark Perry's attention to see if his next ask Nissan session will give us the proper skinny?

Personally, I still hold out hope that come December, when my Dashboard opens, the Cold Weather Package and 6.6kW charger options will magically be there. I can dream, can't I? Actually, IMHO it's still not too late to send all you confirmed orders e-mails asking if you'd like those 2 options added to your car, especially the Cold Weather Package in TN.

garygid said:

When the heated seats do become available in 2011, can a dealer just remove your LEAF's front seats and bolt in the heated seats?

Or, is the wiring to the switches, seats, and fuses missing from the earlier LEAFs?

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Yep ... there are a couple aftermarket warmers that go under the upholstery.

Where does one get power for the aftermarket warmer?

I was hoping that the "seat-warmer" properly-fused wiring was already in the LEAF's wiring harness, just needing the addition of 2 fuses in the fuse-box, 2 switches in the console, and connection to the switched power under the seat.

garygid said:

Where does one get power for the aftermarket warmer?

I was hoping that the "seat-warmer" properly-fused wiring was already in the LEAF's wiring harness, just needing the addition of 2 fuses in the fuse-box, 2 switches in the console, and connection to the switched power under the seat.

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12V, not difficult to do and there are surely open slots on the fuse block and ways to get the power. A non-issue. Almost every fuse block has empty positions and if not it's still no big deal.

Well, adding the wiring might not be very difficult for some people,
but MY question is about finding out if the wiring is ALREADY there.

I had a dealer install aftermarket leather and heated seats in my Saturn L300 when there wasn't the right color combo available in my area. The leather quality ended up blowing away the factory leather, and the heated seats work great. I wonder if this is a potential dealer option, especially since it's sister car has already been out a while anyway. Nissan has residiualized this type of install in the past, so I'd imagine this is an option for even leasing--as long as the dealer actually does the install.

What did it cost to get leather added? I'd go for that, even without the heat. The complexity now is all the in-seat airbags and sensors. Were they able to do the right thing there?

The Saturn did not have in-seat airbags. I guess that's a serious issue and I didn't even realize the leaf had these. I'd imagine that even seat covers aren't an option?!

The leather + 2 heated seats + appointments were $1400 in 2001 including install. They outsourced it to some place in a business park.

I'd imagine a diy job would be cheaper....but this was included as a dealer option and financed...

rainnw said:

The Saturn did not have in-seat airbags. I guess that's a serious issue and I didn't even realize the leaf had these. I'd imagine that even seat covers aren't an option?!

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For what it's worth, airbag-compatible seat covers are available from third party suppliers.

I wonder what the impact of range would be if you just add your own 12-volt battery pack to power self-installed heated seat pads? Maybe 20 pounds worth of VRLA batteries on the floor of the back seat... Just have to work out separate recharging.
=Smidge=

GroundLoop said:

What did it cost to get leather added? I'd go for that, even without the heat. The complexity now is all the in-seat airbags and sensors. Were they able to do the right thing there?

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The '04 Prius didn't come w/ leather. Within 18months the kits were available on Ebay. They had no impact on the airbag sensors. Manufacturers for products that potentially effect ancillary goodies now days take all that into account, for liability's sake.

.

A year later, but I thought I'd post here that I just installed these in my Leaf.

Just installed mine.
Chose rectangular switches wtih dial - they fit very nicely, almost like factory. And provide 5 levels of heat.
kit was $80 from ebay, no extra parts needed. I only modified backlight of switches to allow it to light up when hearlights are on. My kit ba default illuminated both LEDs only when seat heat was turned on.
Kit turned out very good carbon made - unlike kits with metal wire in them - this one shall never break and heats up very evenly.
recommend!


http://youtu.be/jdNdUx6-Sx8