CBX RNS510 & Accessories: Heater Seat Retrofitting on Golf 7 : Is it viable ?

Retrofitting Heater Seats on Volkswagen Golf 7.3

Is the heater seat useful in tropical hot Singapore ? I guess it is not in most cases. However for those with back ache or injuries or old tired backbones, the comfort of heat applied to the back whilst driving is a comfortable thing that only some can appreciate.

Ladies during their "days" also love the heater seat soothing comfort for those cranky pain. My lady passengers swear by them.

Many of the Volkswagen Trendline, Comfortline and even some Highline models do not have the heater seats fitted at factory anymore. These were common options on earlier models in the Volkswagen range but due to cost ( keeping OMV low ), VCS have deleted this option for most of the baseline models.

Have received many inquiries about the retrofit of the seat heaters. I had made a study on the possibility of the work. Here are my findings :

1. The heater element is not supplied as a separate part. This mean that you cannot buy the heater coil or element and replace it when it is faulty aka shorted or burned.

2. The heater element is supplied as part of the cushion aka it is built inside the foam for the seat and back rest. This mean that if your original heater is damaged, you need to replace the respective foam padding....i.e. seat foam or back rest foam.

3. The heating function is performed by the Central Electric Module which is a common part in all VW cars. However, there are many variants. If the car is not originally fitted with the seat heating, the CEM supplied would be a low variant which does not have the necessary circuit to support the heating element function.

4. The control of the heater seat is done via the Climatronic Control module. The seat icon can be seen on both side of the controller. A new Climatronic module is needed if retrofit is to be done.

5. Programming of the new Climatronic module is needed to enable the heater function. No additional wiring is required between the modules.

6. Power to the CEM for the heaters is supplied from Fuse # 27 on the glove box fuse box. The fuse is supplied with 12 volt power but no wiring to the CEM. A good gauge wire need to be added from the fuse box to the CEM connector.

In conclusion, it would be a costly exercise to retrofit the heater seat considering the above requirements. No a viable task unless it a die-die requirement for the heater seat to be available.

My 2015 Golf Mk VII did not come with the heater seats much to my disappointment when I first purchased it. Seems that even on the EQP version, the heater have been deleted.

I have replaced my seats with the GTE seats from Germany. They came with heaters. I had also replaced the CEM on my Golf when I upgraded to the Golf R Headlights . So, all I need was the wiring to connect the seats to the CEM and a new Climatronic controller.