Retrofitting heated seats on the FL possible?

[Akash]

Hi all,

I'll update more on another thread but long story short - I've had to reject my A6 FL and is now being replaced. Only issue is, I've gone for one with a higher spec but missing the heated seats.
I know the pre-FL has a couple of threads on here about it but no firm answer.

So on the FL - are the seats pre-wired with the elements?
And where is the expense ? The seats (assuming above Q is no) or climate panel? I can see climate control panels available on the usual sites
Also if Q1 is no, do the 2011+ seats fit in-place of the 2015/2016 model? ie: are they the same?


Thanks in advance!

[Guest 2]

They are not pre-wired, to fit the elements it requires total strip down of the seats.

Looking at the parts cat there are quite a few variations of the heated elements depending on the PR code of the seat itself but to give you a rough price guide for the elements and panel;

Base
£72 x2 = £144

Backrest
£69 x 2 = £138

Climate panel for 4A3
£381

Then add the wiring and labour costs which I wouldn't dare think about.

[Akash]

Thats not bad at all parts-wise
It's more the labour/wiring

Hazzy are doing it for £1750+vat which I would have jumped on had I not had to pay an additional £2000 for the new car
But... I have saved on folding mirrors + black styling pack + a few other bits and it's as new (65-plate with a handful of miles)

[B5NUT]

You can save around £300 buying a used climate control panel on ebay, also the harness can be purchased from kufatec £60. https://www.kufatec.co.uk/shop/en/Au...g-Harness-Audi

However, you will need to get a trimmer to put the heating elements in the seat, they are a sod to fit and unless your a seat trimmer by trade then it's not a DIY job. (your looking around £300)

You also need to find someone with VCDS to code the climate control panel, Audi are not good at that and will most likely refuse to do the job, but you will need to pay Audi around £70 to get component protection removed from the control panel, once the unit is coded.

Wiring harness is easy enough to fit, all depends on your DIY skills, but an Auto electrician should be around the £100-£150 mark.


£282 heated Seat parts

£60 harness

£300 trimming

£150 Auto electrician

£70 Audi

£30 VCDS coding (some people may take less cash)

So you should be able to do the job for around/under the £900 mark.

[Splash]

OK, bit of a broadside here, but bare with it.

I have both heated seats and heated steering wheel. I would have specced the seats but not the wheel except my car was a cancelled order.

I find that the heated wheel satisfies my need for immediate warmth and hits the spot far before by seat has done so. i.e. I rarely use the seat now, although passenger experience clearly isn't the same.

The heated wheel retrofit would be easier and probably a lot cheaper to the point it might be worth the gamble depending on how often your passenger(s) want toasting.

[zollaf]

for 900 quid i would buy a tumble drier and pop my clothes in that for 1/2 an hour before going out on a cold morning.

[Akash]

for 900 quid i would buy a tumble drier and pop my clothes in that for 1/2 an hour before going out on a cold morning.

Thanks all for your replies - I have been on my honeymoon hence the lack of response but I am back from my 32c average day to -2c UK!
Zollaf - I had very little data out there but managed to see your response which certainly added a bit of humour out there so thanks for this :- )

The steering wheel suggestion was certainly one I was considering however it's not just a luxury but for health too (lower back). Having said that, it's not at a point where I would be really struggling without it otherwise I would have not said yes to the car.

I am in talks with Hazzy at the moment but also with a breaker who has a FL 2015 car that has the seats untouched and are heated.
He is struggling to find the part-numbers on the front seats - anyone have an idea on where this is located? I will try and check the A5 loaner I have if it's obvious enough or not.

The climate panel I have sourced too however if this guy has one that is intact and good condition, I might just grab it if the part number matches

I can just use mine and let hazzy do the elements too - I just don't know the end result. Have been assured by them the result would be as it is now but with the elements - ie: I would not be able to tell the difference but I just hate the fact the seats would be taken apart

[morski]

If you can get the seats from the breaker for a decent price then get them and have the wiring installed with a replacement panel. Trust me having the leather removed from the foam pads and refitted will never be the same. Ive recently just retrofitted electric memory seats to my A6 and the seats i bought were half leather with alcantara whereas mine were full leather. Removed all my leather covers with padding still attached and transferred them to the electric seat frames. Fitted some additional wiring for the memory buttons on the door panel but taking it a step further by separating the leather from the foam is a different ball game and involves really working the leather into stupid angles in order to get to the hog rings.
The additional wiring for heating is not that difficult. But the new panel will have CP

[Akash]

I thought as much! Thanks for your reply. I don't suppose you know where the part number for the seats are stored do you? I'm assuming that as the breaking car is a facelift a6 saloon like mine, it should just fit.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[morski]

The pre facelift cars have the same seats so you dont specifically need to find a facelift version. You are going to struggle to match part numbers as there are numerous part numbers written/labelled under the seat and breakers usually dont bother finding them.
Best way to check is; if they have the 3 buttons on the outer side then they are electric. Check the harness plugs on the new seat and your seat. Both will have RED, BLACK, YELLOW (airbag) and the crucial one is the GREEN which you wont have as its for the heated seat.
Oh and A7 front seats are exactly the same too!