Aftermarket plug-in heated seat pad

jimmyrose · 08-08-2006, 08:04 AM

When we were car searching, one of the things my wife REALLY wanted was heated seats. But, she doesn't care for leather seats (which I think may be the only ones that come heated, on just about any car). Has anyone ever tried the aftermarket pads that plug into the 12V power outlet on a cloth seat Prius? I imagine mpg will suffer slightly from the addional electrical draw and subsequent recharge cycling of the ICE, but any other negatives I should be concerned about?
The things I'm willing to do for my wife's butt....

BobZ · 08-08-2006, 10:11 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ Aug 8 2006, 08:04 AM) [snapback]299547[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

When we were car searching, one of the things my wife REALLY wanted was heated seats. But, she doesn't care for leather seats (which I think may be the only ones that come heated, on just about any car). Has anyone ever tried the aftermarket pads that plug into the 12V power outlet on a cloth seat Prius? I imagine mpg will suffer slightly from the addional electrical draw and subsequent recharge cycling of the ICE, but any other negatives I should be concerned about?
The things I'm willing to do for my wife's butt....

[/b]

I have installed aftermarket heated seats and leather interior. The company was called ASC (914)633-1550 Ask for Tony and tell him BobZ sent ya

David Beale · 08-08-2006, 10:19 AM

Most "leather" seat cover companies will do whatever you ask them - for a price. Both these will use cloth if you want and do heated seat covers:
http://www.autoleathers.com/HTML2/AL.MAIN.FS.html
http://www.leatherseats.com/

eagle33199 · 08-08-2006, 10:57 AM

You'll want to be careful with any sort of pad that plugs into the outlet in the car. Remember, those outlets are fused at 15A (for both of them). i only mention this cause heating units of any type are historically power hungry beasts that require a lot of current.

onerpm · 08-09-2006, 05:39 PM

yeah! My 2005 has the cloth fabric, and last fall I picked up a heated seat pad at Fleet Farm. I think it was on sale for $20 or $25. It's great! Black, doesn't look bad. I took it off for the summer. Has a couple stretchy bands that you click together underneath the seat (that was bit of a challenge on the second one, closer to the center console), and a couple that go around the seat back. It stays in place pretty well. I used it a lot last winter, as I live in Minnesota. No problem with fuses or anything like that. I believe the pad has its own fuse too.

The cigarette lighter plug easily reaches into the center console, and it has a separate control, with High and Low settings. Heats up fast, actually faster than my wife's former Accord that had factory heat (probably because the heat is just going through fabric instead of leather). I'd recommend it highly. I will find the receipt tonight and post the brand and website, if any, tomorrow on this thread.

Now my wife just picked up a 2006 Prius last week that has the leather package. She won't go for the aftermarket pad, no, no, I've gotta get seat heaters professionally installed for her. It's about $250/seat, and two installers told me they might not be able to put in the butt heater on the passenger seat (but they can put the element in for your back) because of the airbag passenger sensor. Won't know for sure until they have leather off.

jimmyrose · 08-10-2006, 08:06 AM

Thanks for the input everyone... luckily, I've got a couple of months to make a decision which way to go.

onerpm · 08-10-2006, 12:15 PM

Zen, I found my stuff on the heated seat cushion that I bought for my 05 Prius, and like a lot:

1. Brand is Tranquil Ease, made by Raffel Comfort Science, LLC out of Saukville, WI. The instruction brochures lists a website of www.raffel.com; an one-sheeter glossy advertisement that came with it, promoting the seat heater as well as travel pillows, etc. lists a website called www.tranquilease.com.

2. My notes show I bought it (at a regional store in MN called Fleet Farm) on sale for $16.95, and that it was sold online for $24.95. That was probably on the tranquilease.com site, because that's where I registered it for the 6 month warranty.

3. The glossy ad listed a promotion code of LC10 that is supposed to give you 10% off your next order. No expiration date listed, so you might try that.

It gets pretty hot...I usually start off with it on High, but can't leave it there for very long without kicking it down to Low.

Rob

and, by the way, I am pretty sure that you can have aftermarket heat added to your cloth seats; you don't have to go to leather. About $250/seat.

bruceha_2000 · 08-10-2006, 02:57 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(onerpm @ Aug 9 2006, 05:39 PM) [snapback]300424[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

and a couple that go around the seat back.
[/b]

If you have side air bags, make sure those straps won't interfere with the airbags functioning properly.

jimmyrose · 08-10-2006, 04:19 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(onerpm @ Aug 10 2006, 12:15 PM) [snapback]300852[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Zen, I found my stuff on the heated seat cushion that I bought for my 05 Prius, and like a lot:

1. Brand is Tranquil Ease, made by Raffel Comfort Science, LLC out of Saukville, WI. The instruction brochures lists a website of www.raffel.com; an one-sheeter glossy advertisement that came with it, promoting the seat heater as well as travel pillows, etc. lists a website called www.tranquilease.com.

2. My notes show I bought it (at a regional store in MN called Fleet Farm) on sale for $16.95, and that it was sold online for $24.95. That was probably on the tranquilease.com site, because that's where I registered it for the 6 month warranty.

3. The glossy ad listed a promotion code of LC10 that is supposed to give you 10% off your next order. No expiration date listed, so you might try that.

It gets pretty hot...I usually start off with it on High, but can't leave it there for very long without kicking it down to Low.

Rob
and, by the way, I am pretty sure that you can have aftermarket heat added to your cloth seats; you don't have to go to leather. About $250/seat.
[/b]

So, what you're saying is you don't have much information on it..

Wow, thanks so much for all the great detailed info...I'll definitely check this out as well as adding the aftermarket heat. My wife's pretty frugal, so if the plug-in's 10% of the cost of an aftermarket seat, built-in heater I'm pretty sure she'll go cheaper...

08-08-2006, 08:04 AM	#1
jimmyrose Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 644 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	When we were car searching, one of the things my wife REALLY wanted was heated seats. But, she doesn't care for leather seats (which I think may be the only ones that come heated, on just about any car). Has anyone ever tried the aftermarket pads that plug into the 12V power outlet on a cloth seat Prius? I imagine mpg will suffer slightly from the addional electrical draw and subsequent recharge cycling of the ICE, but any other negatives I should be concerned about? The things I'm willing to do for my wife's butt.... __________________ 2006 Classic Silver Package #7 aka "The Silver Surfer" BT Stiffener Plate (Prius "Viagra"), 2" Coastal Receiver, Front Grill Blocking, Trim rings removed, Prius decals, Chrome Realtor license plate frame 2001 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Custom At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
AfterMarket Plug-In company Hymotion bought	EricGo	Prius and Hybrid News	3	05-20-2007 02:44 PM
Aftermarket Plug-in from Europe	etyler88	Prius and Hybrid News	1	04-04-2006 03:05 PM
Heated Seat Switches	cairo94507	Prius Modifications	6	01-21-2006 07:45 PM
Great cheap heated seat option!	onerpm	Prius Modifications	0	11-28-2005 06:45 PM
Heated seat pad?	NJ Dave	Prius Main Forum	22	01-22-2005 05:58 PM

08-08-2006, 10:19 AM	#3
David Beale Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 1,547 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Most "leather" seat cover companies will do whatever you ask them - for a price. Both these will use cloth if you want and do heated seat covers: http://www.autoleathers.com/HTML2/AL.MAIN.FS.html http://www.leatherseats.com/

08-08-2006, 10:57 AM	#4
eagle33199 Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,607 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #7 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	You'll want to be careful with any sort of pad that plugs into the outlet in the car. Remember, those outlets are fused at 15A (for both of them). i only mention this cause heating units of any type are historically power hungry beasts that require a lot of current.

08-09-2006, 05:39 PM	#5
onerpm Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: MN Posts: 476 My Car: Other Hybrid Package: N/A Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	yeah! My 2005 has the cloth fabric, and last fall I picked up a heated seat pad at Fleet Farm. I think it was on sale for $20 or $25. It's great! Black, doesn't look bad. I took it off for the summer. Has a couple stretchy bands that you click together underneath the seat (that was bit of a challenge on the second one, closer to the center console), and a couple that go around the seat back. It stays in place pretty well. I used it a lot last winter, as I live in Minnesota. No problem with fuses or anything like that. I believe the pad has its own fuse too. The cigarette lighter plug easily reaches into the center console, and it has a separate control, with High and Low settings. Heats up fast, actually faster than my wife's former Accord that had factory heat (probably because the heat is just going through fabric instead of leather). I'd recommend it highly. I will find the receipt tonight and post the brand and website, if any, tomorrow on this thread. Now my wife just picked up a 2006 Prius last week that has the leather package. She won't go for the aftermarket pad, no, no, I've gotta get seat heaters professionally installed for her. It's about $250/seat, and two installers told me they might not be able to put in the butt heater on the passenger seat (but they can put the element in for your back) because of the airbag passenger sensor. Won't know for sure until they have leather off.

08-10-2006, 08:06 AM	#6
jimmyrose Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 644 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Thanks for the input everyone... luckily, I've got a couple of months to make a decision which way to go.

08-10-2006, 12:15 PM	#7
onerpm Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: MN Posts: 476 My Car: Other Hybrid Package: N/A Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Zen, I found my stuff on the heated seat cushion that I bought for my 05 Prius, and like a lot: 1. Brand is Tranquil Ease, made by Raffel Comfort Science, LLC out of Saukville, WI. The instruction brochures lists a website of www.raffel.com; an one-sheeter glossy advertisement that came with it, promoting the seat heater as well as travel pillows, etc. lists a website called www.tranquilease.com. 2. My notes show I bought it (at a regional store in MN called Fleet Farm) on sale for $16.95, and that it was sold online for $24.95. That was probably on the tranquilease.com site, because that's where I registered it for the 6 month warranty. 3. The glossy ad listed a promotion code of LC10 that is supposed to give you 10% off your next order. No expiration date listed, so you might try that. It gets pretty hot...I usually start off with it on High, but can't leave it there for very long without kicking it down to Low. Rob and, by the way, I am pretty sure that you can have aftermarket heat added to your cloth seats; you don't have to go to leather. About $250/seat.