Aftermarket seat heaters installed in my 2011 Sierra SLE

rt66er · March 1, 2014

Finally tackled the seat heater installation in my 2011 GMC Sierra SLE last weekend. After a week I'm glad I did. They work great! The wife especially appreciates the bun warmers. I did a custom button installation that required a bit of material removal behind the center dash trim panel, but I was happy with the results. Total cost was $64 ($40 for the seat heater kit for two seats and $24 for an additional relay and associated connectors and wiring). (BTW, in the photos, the drivers' side is on high and the passenger side is on low)

Edited March 2, 2014 by Rt66er

dgrinnell · March 1, 2014

Like the install! Looks Good!

2017SierraSLT · March 1, 2014

Who was the manufacturer and relay info?

esox07 · March 1, 2014

Nice job on the switches. I installed a seat heater on the drivers side of my PU but I dont have the guts to drill a hole in the dash bezel. I just have the switch pulled out from under the console on the floor right now. I will have to figure out something a bit more permanent after it warms up a bit. Maybe I should just buy a spare dash bezel and have at it like you did?

That way, if I don't like it or mess it up, no big deal. Thanks for the idea though. I also have to get the passenger side seat heater installed. My wife will appreciate it as I am quick to announce, when it is -5 degrees outside, that my butt is nice and warm already.

I think the seat heater mod is a great mod, especially when you factor in the low relative cost. The biggest obstacle is the installation which essentially requires that you remove the seats from the truck. I wish I had done this mod in September instead of January.

I just got the OEM GM Factory remote start installed yesterday....another worthy mod for us up north folk. And if you shop around, it isn't nearly as expensive as you might think. I got it done for $185 total for the Factory GM system.

Mikeb52r · March 1, 2014

Finally tackled the seat heater installation in my 2011 GMC Sierra SLE last weekend. After a week I'm glad I did. They work great! The wife especially appreciates the bun warmers. I did a custom button installation that required a bit of material removal behind the center dash trim panel, but I was happy with the results. Total cost was $64 ($40 for the seat heater kit for two seats and $24 for an additional relay and associated connectors and wiring).

Dude, what's the info on the seats here? Brand and such, and also, is it just the bottom or the back also? Cool mod, I know I would like to do this!

Edited March 1, 2014 by MikeB52r

rt66er · March 1, 2014

Purchased the kit on Amazon ("2 Seats Carbon Fiber Seat Heater Kits"); paid $30 plus $10 shipping. I think it now is $39.99 with free shipping. This is for both seats, bottom and back, with 3-way switches (off, low and high), fuses, relays and wiring harnesses. I had to purchase an additional relay (Advance Auto generic 12v 30a SPST relay) as GM doesn't seem to provide any switched power points with enough current capacity and I definitely wanted the power cut when the truck is off. And, yes, it was a ton of work. Removing the seats was a bear, but the really hard part is pulling off and then re-installing the leather upholstery to install the heating elements. Took me about a day and a half to complete.

rt66er · March 2, 2014

Like the install! Looks Good!

Thanks.

esox07 · March 2, 2014

OK, Here is my install info.

Seat heaters: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PJ334G/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and yes, those are both seats and the seat as well as backrest.

Here is a video I used for pulling the seats and removing the seat covers necessary for installing the seat heaters. The videos are actually from a Seat Shop for installing custom seat covers but they are great for showing the process of removing the seats from the truck and taking off the stock seat covers which you need to do to install the seat heaters.

Bottom seat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-bz0DJ1yWw

Back of Seat:

The seat heaters come with instructions that will guide you with actually installing the heaters.

$40.00 total cost of mod.

Good luck.

67z400 · March 6, 2014

Where did you guys install the power wire?

esox07 · March 7, 2014

I used the MBEC - IP Junction Box. It is right behind the parking brake on the firewall. It has a black cover on it. pin 7 or 8 in block X14

Gray Fox · March 7, 2014

I had heated seats installed in my truck last fall. I found an installer in my area from the Check Corporation (http://www.checkcorp.com/) website. I paid $150 a seat for the install (back and seat). I didn't want mess with removing the leather myself. I had the switches (same ones as RT66er) installed on the lower side of the seat near the power seat switches. I wanted them installed in the dash as well, but couldn't trust having the installer mess in my dash not knowing if they would be right or if the dash would crack later. The lowers seat position was the same location in my '99 Yukon.