Heated seats issue
- Thread starter Ubryaj
- Start date
J T
New member
I'm glad someone else verified this.
This is my first car with heated seats and I just figured the slow heating time was normal.
Tgcat200129
New member
When the problem accured I pushed the button more than 3 times and it would just shut off after a minute. This was driving to work which takes 30 min so the seat should have been hot. The passenger seat is working not the driver side. The seat doesnt take very long to heat up less than a minute and you can feel the heat. After being on for a while the seat can get pretty toasty. I believe the heating element is bad and the switch is shutting off as a saftey precaution. I was supposed to be in this coming friday but someone hit my car today so now the dealer already has the vehicle so I cant show them the clip. One person post that their car had to have the seat cushion and lumbar replaced kinda thinking that might be what mine needs. **** happens I guess will find out sometime this week.
Tgcat200129
New member
So here's the update they replaced the heating modular but the seat still wasnt working. GM authorized them to replace the heating elements for the lumbar and seat cushion. Hope this will fix the issue.
J T
New member
Looks like I might be next in line for this fix. Today I had the issue with the heater turning off after one minute and twelve seconds....15 times! I kept trying throughout the day and used a stopwatch app on my phone to get the time. I even caught it on video...but oddly, when I recorded the video it turned off after about 40-50 seconds.
I'm taking my car in for an oil change on Saturday morning and hopefully they can diagnose the problem along with my heater issue (blows cold below a certain RPM when the engine is fully heated). Ugh...
CyberGreyTURBOZ
New member
I have had my drivers seat heating element replaced once so far. I need to take it back because part of it is curled upwards under the leather and I can see/ feel it with my hand. Its not noticeable when sitting in the seat. About two weeks ago after driving my sonic many times that day the last time i started it late in the evening both heated seats wouldn't turn on. I restarted it once or twice to see if they would work and nothing changed. Of course the next morning they worked fine so for now I'll keep an eye on them to see if they will stop again and maybe record it on my phone if I cant take it in to show someone.
J T
New member
Finally had mine diagnosed by the dealer today: faulty heater element. Fix: replace seat cushion. It's on order for replacement some time next week.
stimpy2301
New member
It appears these are two different problems, and I've had the joy of experiencing both. We'll call the instantly-shuts-off 'Problem A', and the stays-on-for-some-period-of-time-then-shuts-off 'Problem B'.
When I experienced Problem A, I started troubleshooting by pulling the fuse. The fuse looked good, so I put it back in, and the problem went away and never recurred. That was nice.
I am currently experiencing Problem B. I know it shouldn't be turning off -- I have a long commute and I usually would run the heated seats the entire way. Lately, though, I'd notice the seats not being warm, looking at the switch and finding it turned off. I'd turn it back on, and discover shortly later it was off again. Grr!
Unfortunately, even with carpooling, this commute has put me up to 39K miles already (bought Oct 2012), so I'm probably boned as far as warranty goes. No recall to fix this problem yet??
Going in for oil change soon, so I suppose I'll ask about warranty ... I've had no other problems with this car so I don't remember how long my warranty period was! lol
stimpy2301
New member
It appears these are two different problems, and I've had the joy of experiencing both. We'll call the instantly-shuts-off 'Problem A', and the stays-on-for-some-period-of-time-then-shuts-off 'Problem B'.
When I experienced Problem A, I started troubleshooting by pulling the fuse. The fuse looked good, so I put it back in, and the problem went away and never recurred. That was nice.
I am currently experiencing Problem B. I know it shouldn't be turning off -- I have a long commute and I usually would run the heated seats the entire way. Lately, though, I'd notice the seats not being warm, looking at the switch and finding it turned off. I'd turn it back on, and discover shortly later it was off again. Grr!
Unfortunately, even with carpooling, this commute has put me up to 39K miles already (bought Oct 2012), so I'm probably boned as far as warranty goes. No recall to fix this problem yet??
Going in for oil change soon, so I suppose I'll ask about warranty ... I've had no other problems with this car so I don't remember how long my warranty period was! lol
Weak .... 40K mi puts me out of warranty, and dealership tells me it's $89.95 just for diagnosis. That's not OK.
Wooksquatch
Member
Are the new heat pads hot hot? My seats are "heated" in that they are warmer than than the ambient temperature but aren't what I would call hot.
Wooksquatch
Member
Sure open question why not... I have been in a few cars where they get so hot they need to be turned off. Unfortunatly for me my Sonic is not one of those cars.
I do not have any other issues with my seats but with my warranty coming up I want to make sure that I get everything I can take care of before it's gone.
stimpy2301
New member
Ugh, my dealership just quoted me $532 to replace these ... $210 for parts and $313 for labor.
Having installed heated seat pads on my Tiburon, I might be able to manage this ... but finding the time will be the biggest challenge.
stimpy2301
New member
Screw it, I'm doing it myself. Just ordered parts ($136 incl. shipping from gmpartsdirect). Will write a DIY if I can find the time.
FYI: Part numbers (found myself and verified with service guy at the dealership) are 95919161 & 95019557. NOTE: These are driver's side.
Like I said, dealer quoted me 5 hours labor (probably milking the extended warranty at max hours for the job). Good luck on the swap. It shouldn't be too hard, but might include some issues with adhesive.
A DIY guide would be an excellent contribution, especially with most MY12 Sonics already out of bumper to bumper warranty!
