Adding Heated Seats?

[ScooterS]

Has anyone added heated seats themselves?

My new Venza will have the Leather Package, but couldn't find the right one with the Comfort Package (a.k.a. buttwarmers).

I'm thinking of adding one of the aftermarket kits.

Does anyone know if the high current, switched 12 volt supply is available under the seats? If so, the job should be fairly simple.

Does anyone have a brand to suggest?

Whatdayathink?

[bigallis1]

If I'm not mistaken, when you get the leather pkg on the venza, you get the heated seats!

[topdown73cat]

DSCF3079.JPGI added heated seats to my 2010 v6 AWD Venza last year when I first bought it. My situation is slightly different. I didn't want leather seats. So, I had to add my own to a cloth interior car that cannot be had from the factory with heated seats. Be careful what you buy as a "kit". I researched all of the better seat heater companies. Check Corp. is the set I installed in my own car. It is a task. I am from the aftermarket accessory world, just not heated seats. Not difficult to install, just time consuming. The reason I bought the Check kits from a local Check dealer is apparrent when you get the seat covers off. There are metal bars in the seat upholstery held down to the frame with hog rings. The Check kit takes this into consideration. Their elements are cut to go into the "dips" in the foam where these metal rods lay. There is no wiring to be had. Sorry, you don't buy it, you don't get it is the rule. Wiring is simple as it all plugs in as a harness. Find a good switched 12volt source and a good ground. I didn't want the cheesy aftermarket look of cutting the switches in the seat trim as most shops do. I ran the wiring up to the dash panel and drilled the 5/8" holes for the switches in the same location the factory switches would be. Looks and work great. Probably took me a total of six hours to do.

[bigallis1]

Good info. Thank's for posting.

[ScooterS]

Bigallis1: There are 2 packages. Leather doesn't have them. The comfort package does.

Topdown72cat: GREAT information! I installed the leather interior in my old RAV4, so I'm not too worried about a few hog rings. I do want to make sure that I get a good kit. From my limited research, the Check kit looked the best, so I'm glad that we both came to the same conclusion. I found it online at www.heatyourseat.com .

I need to get the car in a couple of weeks and then get a reading from "she who must be obeyed" before I move forward. I will update if I get the kit.

The service manual shows the plug with the seat heater 12VDC under the seat. It the plug is real and the circuit is hot, It should make for an easy install. Not sure how I will handle the switches. Sure would be nice to have them snap into the rectangular Toyota switch holes on the dash (I assume that the Venza has them like all of their other cars).

[topdown73cat]

DSCF3079.JPGWhen I added the seat heater kits, I found NO existing wiring anywhere. I really doesn't matter since the aftermarket kit has it's own unique plug-n-play harness. I am from the aftermarket accessory world. There are good products out ther and there are bad. I only buy from the good companies. Sure price falls into play, but I don't want junk in my own car. The Check kits are 1st class. All connectors are of OEM quality, good quality wire, and of course excellent fit heating pads. I bought mine from a Check dealer here in Ohio for about $200.00 for the pair. You have to almost completely peel the fabric off the foam to be able to stick the double sided adhesive heat pads correctly. Again, a bit of work and care needed, but turned out great. Each kit comes with a Hi-Lo lit switch. I drilled the holes in the plastic panel where the factory switches would go and it looks as close to factory as you could ask for.

[bigallis1]

You are right on the 2 pkgs. Thank's for setting me straight.

Bigallis1: There are 2 packages. Leather doesn't have them. The comfort package does.

Topdown72cat: GREAT information! I installed the leather interior in my old RAV4, so I'm not too worried about a few hog rings. I do want to make sure that I get a good kit. From my limited research, the Check kit looked the best, so I'm glad that we both came to the same conclusion. I found it online at www.heatyourseat.com .

I need to get the car in a couple of weeks and then get a reading from "she who must be obeyed" before I move forward. I will update if I get the kit.

The service manual shows the plug with the seat heater 12VDC under the seat. It the plug is real and the circuit is hot, It should make for an easy install. Not sure how I will handle the switches. Sure would be nice to have them snap into the rectangular Toyota switch holes on the dash (I assume that the Venza has them like all of their other cars).

[topdown73cat]

DSCF3079.JPGNow that I finally got my car back form the dealer, I got to take some pictures. When I added the heated seat kits to my cloth interior 2010 V6 AWD Venza last fall, I intended to drive it in the winter. I spent a bit more on the Check Corporation kits, well worth the money. I wanted the switches on the dash, not on the side of the seats where aftermarket shops usually put them. These are much easier to see and use. I drilled the two 5/8" holes in the dash panel where the factory switches would go. Run the harness up to the center dash and plugged them in.

[ScooterS]

I got the Check Corp. heated seat kit from their online site Heat Your Seat - Aftermarket Seat Heaters from Check Corp and installed them today. No, I didn't take pictures (sorry), but here are some notes from my install:
- Despite what I thought from the service manual, there is NO, I repeat NO, switched 12VDC underneath the seat. There is ground and constant 12VDC there.
- If you try to tap off of the Seat Heater fuse under the dash, you will still end up with unswitched 12VDC.
- I ended up pulling power off of the Cigarette Lighter circuit at the fuse panel. Running a hot wire to/from there was not a big deal.
- You must do significant disassembly of the seats themselves. This involves removing and replacing a number of hog rings. Get hog ring pliers and hog rings before you start the project. The Venza Service Manual helps with the disassembly, but is still a bit unclear. I had no problem, but this isn't for the faint of heart. I'd give it a 3.5 on a 1-5 difficulty scale.
- I decided not to mount the switches on the dash. I chose to mount the on the side of the seat. Caution: most areas around the side of the seat don't have enough clearance for the depth of the switch. I found a spot (exactly) 1 inch forward of the lumbar support.
- A (very cheap) trim removal kit from Harbor Freight was a great help. Expecially when removing/reinstalling the pseudo leather from the back plate of the seat.
- The instructions call for a odd size drill bit. However, I found that a 3/4 inch brad point worked fine.
- The kit seems solid and the seats work fine, although they don't warm up as fast as my factory seats in my RAV4.

Overall, I'm pleased! The first seat took about 2.5 hours. Once I figured out how to do it, the second seat took a bit over an hour. I spent another 2 hours looking for power at the seat and trying to figure out why it wasn't there. I'd allow a "Saturday" for your first go with 2 seats in a Venza. I'd say once you figure it out, your second car could be done in an afternoon.

Of course, YMMV on all of this.
Enjoy!

[ScooterS]

Just took a quick drive to the store in the Venza.... Now that I've cooled off from the install, I can do a more objective review.
- The seats began to feel warm in a minute or two. They were cookin' within about 5 minutes. .... close to, if not the same as, the RAV4.
- Heat Your Seat - Aftermarket Seat Heaters from Check Corp has I, II, and III element heaters. I got the mid-range II model. Here in Texas, I don't need the Turbo Charged version. That model got me as warm as I needed, without overheating.