2014 Sierra SLT Seat Heater Not Working (Help Please)

HydrogenCyanide · January 19, 2017

My driver side seat heater stopped working. I have an SLT with leather and cooled seats. This happened on the passenger side a year ago and the dealer replaced as I was still within warranty.

The dealer estimated fixing the driver side would like cost $700+ dollars. I am fairly handy and would like to tackle the repair myself and see if I can source the parts cheaper than the dealership can. I can't seem to find much information on this online though.

Does anyone have any information they can provide. Part Numbers, How To's, etc. I do like heated seats but not $700 like them.

Any help would be appreciated.

TJay74 · January 19, 2017

Until you pull the seat apart you are not going to know what you need. There is the heating element and then a control module as well. You need to find out what went bad first so you know what the next step is to fix it.

newdude · January 19, 2017

Just some food for thought. If its just a bad bottom element...its 1.6 hours book time to replace. Figure 100/hr shop rate, that's $160 for labor. Add $130 for the part, and $100 for diag. That's right near $400.

What did they estimate as needing replacing for the seat?

HydrogenCyanide · January 19, 2017

It is both the back and bottom that are not working. The light on the dash does light and the ventilation portion is working as well. I am pretty sure I either need both elements or I require a new module.

If I were to take the seat apart, how would I know which part I require? Is there a way to test whether it is the module or the elements. At the rate the dealership wants to charge it the job is simple enough I could simply replace all three for half the price.

They gave me the following Part Numbers

23338340

23223775

23223774 or 23170194 (they said can't tell which one so they order both and use the one that is needed once they get the seat apart)

I see online I obtain parts way cheaper than they were quoting than there was the labor they wanted to charge on top of it

HydrogenCyanide · January 19, 2017

Until you pull the seat apart you are not going to know what you need. There is the heating element and then a control module as well. You need to find out what went bad first so you know what the next step is to fix it.

How would I know which is working and which not? Would I just apply 12 volts to element and see if it works?

moosehead1 · January 19, 2017

FWIW I had an issue whereby my SLT heater would not turn off after a period of many trailer hitch 7-pin plug use. I was on a road trip at the time and just pulled the fuse to avoid swamp arse. Dealer just replaced fuse after the trip and all seemed fine. There may be other seat heater threads here not sure.

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HydrogenCyanide · January 23, 2017

Any other feedback on this?

Garykk · January 26, 2017

You say the switch does not light up either...this may sound stupid but did you check the fuse?

Dub1796 · February 3, 2017

It is both the back and bottom that are not working. The light on the dash does light and the ventilation portion is working as well. I am pretty sure I either need both elements or I require a new module.

If I were to take the seat apart, how would I know which part I require? Is there a way to test whether it is the module or the elements. At the rate the dealership wants to charge it the job is simple enough I could simply replace all three for half the price.

They gave me the following Part Numbers

23338340

23223775

23223774 or 23170194 (they said can't tell which one so they order both and use the one that is needed once they get the seat apart)

I see online I obtain parts way cheaper than they were quoting than there was the labor they wanted to charge on top of it

Do you know how to use a multimeter? If you do you can determine if it is a bad start element of module. There are 2 black 2-pin plugs under the seat with a red and black wire in it. Test the red wire for 12 volts when the switch is on. Looking from the back seat, the seat element plug is attached to the console middle side and the back element is on the drivers side back. I would take pictures, but it's snowing here