Heated Seats stopped working C5 x7

[wfdTamar]

Actually, got a different story last time A$9000!

Only recently got my C5 and not impressed by the number of things wrong with a four year old car.

[wfdTamar]

They finally called my car in to do it and now they're saying they'll pull them to bits and put new heating pads in. Bit annoying as the last time I was in they said the third party warranty company had agreed to new seats. I'm wondering if the dealer got paid to get new seats, but reckon they can make a bit by fixing the old ones. Stupid thing is it's an intermittent problem, so I reckon it's the wiring or a connector. Just hope they don't make them worse to sit in.

[white exec]

If the job is not done correctly, then refuse to sign it off, or endorse the signature (with date) with "subject to satisfactory road testing". The job should carry a warranty, for both parts and labour. It is the insurance company's responsibility to ensure the repair is done satisfactorily, as your contract is with them. It is not up to you to have to argue with or take on the repairer.
Hope things go well.

[wfdTamar]

It’s being done under the original 6 year warranty (a 2015 car). At that time here (Australia) they had 3 years Citroen warranty, then a further 3 years warranty from a third party warranty company, supposedly with the same conditions as the first 3 years. It’s not an add on extended warranty. I only get to talk to the dealer. They deal with the warranty company.

[white exec]

That simplifies things, hopefully.

[Peter.N.]

You need heated seats in Australia I do actually have a friend that lives in Sydney who went to Tasmania and came back with a cold.

One of the reasons I bought my particular C5 was for the heated seats (you definitely need them here) the passenger side one (wifes) works fine, mine doesn't.

Peter

[GiveMeABreak]

They finally called my car in to do it and now they're saying they'll pull them to bits and put new heating pads in. Bit annoying as the last time I was in they said the third party warranty company had agreed to new seats. I'm wondering if the dealer got paid to get new seats, but reckon they can make a bit by fixing the old ones. Stupid thing is it's an intermittent problem, so I reckon it's the wiring or a connector. Just hope they don't make them worse to sit in.

The issue with these is that the leather is bonded to the seats! I'd like to see how they do that without wrecking them afterwards. They don't supply the heated pads themselves according to parts - just the whole seat cushion or back that incorporates them at factory.

All the electronic controls are in the seat base sides and frames. But what happens is the elements simply break inside the pads causing intermittent use and ultimately they stop working. I'm happy to say mine are still working a treat - BUT I am cautious about getting in and out of the car and not putting any undue crashing onto the seats as I get in (the welcome function is very good in this regard, retracting the seat back on exiting and forward again when starting).

[wfdTamar]

Well, the drivers seat seems to feel better - and the heating in it works. I don't think they did the passenger seat though (I did tell them it was both). Here's the work order. Some replacement cushioning as well as the heating pads and some electric components. I can't tell if that's one seats worth or two.

The rear camera is blurry, so they got a replacement, but found what they say is a third party camera. So now I have a spare genuine camera. Does anyone have a camera on their C5? Which one does it look like? The one they gave me looks too big to fit in the space.

The sound system loses the right channel sometimes. They tried to blame that on the third party rear camera! Bit of a stretch. Much more likely broken wire where it goes through the drivers door or a connector.

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, as I suspected, there is no repair for the heating elements - it has to be a new seat cushion (otherwise they would rip the bonded leather) - so this is what they have done

Basically they have replaced the following:

1609939180 Heated Pad Electric Unit (19)
6509ER - Electronic control unit? (not shown)
6505A3 - Seat Harness Driver (12)
6505A2 - Seat Harness Passenger (12)

8864A8 - Driver Seat cushion (1)
8864A5 - Passenger Seat Cushion (1)

However - there is also a heated pad in the seat back cushions (2)! - There is no mention of having replaced these anywhere on the parts list as you can see. So I would check that the seat backs also get heat on both seats.....

As for the cameras, there was a known issue on the DS range and early C5 X7s with a poor image especially at night and the camera was replaced with an updated one - but I don't see the part number of this on the list, so not sure what they have done there.

[wfdTamar]

The passenger seat does nothing, no heat at all. The switch barely lights up and only when the seat heating is on.

The drivers seat back is fine, much warmer than the base (which I gather is the bit they renewed - on both seats).

Marc - the leather on the seat base feels 'loose' not attached to the cushion under it Not a big deal unless it gets worse. Are you saying it should be bonded to the cushion all over, not just pulled down at the seams?

[GiveMeABreak]

The leather is bonded to the cushion with glue, which is why I mentioned the unlikelihood of them replacing the pads. As for the underside of the seats and the finishing of the trim - a photo might help so that I could do a comparison with my seats to see if this is normal.

If the passenger seat is not working then take it back - they indicate that the parts have been replaced (seat cushion and plug harness) on both, so if still no heat, then job not done.....

[wfdTamar]

Right, so they've taken the whole seat base off the steel frame, taken the cushion and heat pad out of the leather cover, then put the new cushion and heat pad in and reattached that to the frame. As you can see in the pics, the leather is not stuck to the cushion inside it. I can pinch it to make the ridges, but the rear seats (which haven't been touched) are the same. The leather doesn't feel like it's stuck to the foam inside it. So it seems that's how it's done (in this car at least).

I'm guessing the foam padding and heat pad are bonded together and that's one reason they're so expensive.

I took the cover off the inside of the boot and the camera is a third party one with a round 4 pin connector. It actually works, just is a bit blurry, so I reckon I'll leave it.

[GiveMeABreak]

I thought you meant on the underside of the seat base - those pics are normal as mine is the same. I believe it is bonded at the underside of the cushion. But they don't seem to sell the heated seat pads separately as they are not available on their parts database.

[Bandit12]

I successfully replaced the heated seat pads on my previous (2002 2.2hdi) leather seated c5. I bought a kit from ebay for about £50. It did involve removing the seat, the trim and then carefully separating the leather and top layer of foam before sliding in the replacement. Because the new element was positioned under a bit more foam than the original it took a little longer to warm up but it worked a treat. Unsure if the seat construction is identical on the x7 but the pictures look very similar.
On a separate note, my missus tends to leave the passenger seat on when she leaves the car and I sometimes forget to check so I'm devising a simple LED warning to be placed discreetly somewhere as a reminder.

Gino

[myglaren]

Test this but I am reasonably sure that they only operate if someone is sat in the seat.