# Anyone have "dealer installed" heated seats?



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

last I seen it was an aftermarket option, though the button is mounted on the seat & looks nice. The factory button is the center of the fan & hot/cold knob for the drivers & passenger seat. 

If you wanted factory heated seats you could look at a 2LT which is much cheaper than the LTZ.


----------



## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

My grandparents had them installed in a new car a few years back because it wasn't optioned with it. The dealer didn't actually do the work, a local shop did (and put a small sticker inside the glove box with a manual). They worked great but they were only one setting instead of three like the factory ones. Might have been able to specify otherwise though. 

Everything looked factory except the switch. The factory three position switch worked just like the Cruze's and was on the lower dash, and the vehicles without it had a blank in place. The shop simply drilled a small hole on the blanks and mounted the small rocker switches on those blanks.

I'm not sure if the factory style switch could be functionally added to the Cruze or not.


----------



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Don't forget if you get the aftermarket heated seats it will not work with remote start(if equipped).


----------



## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

I've heard rumors of dealerships being able to install heated seats using the same factory button locations, as in spacedout's first post. I'll have to check out the dealership to confirm just how they add them. Only really interested in the ECO, and not really interested in aftermarket options for heated seats.


----------



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

BowtieGuy said:


> Only really interested in the ECO, and not really interested in aftermarket options for heated seats.


Depending on which eco your looking at(manual or automatic transmission) there might not be much difference jumping up to the 2LT to get the heated seats like you want. With the automatic the Eco only gets(window sticker) 1MPG better than any other automatic cruze, including the 2LT. Manual trans the eco is rated at 42mpg highway, the 1LT/2LT manual is only rated at 38mpg. 

The 2LT also has leather, the sport tuned suspension & 4wheel disc brakes, If I had the choice I would buy the 2LT over the ECO any day manual or automatic.


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Paying a thousand bucks extra for a couple of bucks worth of GPS chips in the radio didn't appear to be a very attractive option. Then to get nailed another 180 bucks for each map update.

Paying a thousand bucks extra for a better audio system, leather seats, electrically heated seats of both passenger and drivers side with three levels of control, power drivers seat, four wheel disk brakes, and a spare tire with a jack, did.

Wife and I sat at the computer looking over all the options and different Cruze models, she wanted the electrically heated seats, I thought these were a bad joke. But even with the AC on, man, on long trips that heat has a very soothing effect on my back. Even after a long trip, she says, I think I will seat here all night.

In regards to an add-on, good question as to how much the car is prewired for them. Center buttons on the blower and temperature control are touch controls, meaning they fire signals to the BCM, that activates relays applying 12V to various taps on the resistive elements, then the heating elements. Installation requires fooling with airbags.

Since I have worked 40 years in the automotive field, even seen my own stuff marked up on the dealers shelve by a factor as much as 150 times. In other words, a part that including all overhead that cost us a buck to make, there it sits on the dealers shelve for 150 bucks!

Dealer labor is far greater than production labor and you are paying more to undo assembly work besides the reassembly work. Seen dealers spending more time searching for the correct tool you are paying for. All the tools use in production are there for each job, all are computer controlled for proper torque.

Wise buying is the most important factor, doing research and getting what you want. Every step in manufacturing is inspected, just dealing with one guy with unknown experience. 

May be cheaper to trade your car in for what you want if you are good at wheeling and dealing. Even doing the work yourself buying the components will require a second or third mortgage on your home.

Replacement parts have to be individually packaged and priced on the basis lacking a crystal ball as to ever they will be ever sold is one key reason they are priced so high. Then our IRS comes in treating these parts gathering dust on the shelves as profit, taking a huge hunk of your money in taxes. Money that you haven't even earned yet requiring banks that also rob you blind with interest. IRS won't take dusty parts, want cold hard cash, instead.

They can survive, just increase taxes, but as a business, you at least have to break even to stay in existence. Then there is the EPA, OSHA, ERA, DNR, DOT, insurance companies, also to deal with. They all get paid well with our tax dollars and don't even realize a business has to make a profit to survive. 

Back in the 60's could actually buy all the parts cheaper than what that vehicle sold on the floor, but you had plenty of labor to supply. Another thing that has really escalated is S&H charges. May find better prices at gmpartsdirect,com, but wait until you check out. Darn near doubles the price.


----------



## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

I'd be going manual ECO, no interest in the automatics, at all. And thats where the ECO blows the 2LT away, with much better mpg. Once I hear back from the dealership on just what "dealer installed" heated seats means, and price, then I will likely make a decision. Its just disappointing that the one option I wish this car had, that nearly all others do in this segment, and it doesn't have it.


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Got the 2012 2LT with the 1.4L turbo and a manual transmission. Everyone reads that big mileage EPA fuel economy on the window sticker, but fail to read that small print under it. How you drive, can get even better fuel economy with the 2LT, that is really what makes the huge difference.

I can easily make a round trip down to Chicago on a tank of ethanol free top tier 91 gasoline I can buy up here. Especially carrying three extra gallons. And the kind of gas you buy also makes a huge difference. No complaints on the 2LT fuel economy.


----------



## elegant (Jan 6, 2011)

Loving my 2012 Cruze Eco (manual), with its aftermarket installed heated seats (that work perfectly).


----------



## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

elegant, were these seats installed by the dealer, or did you take them to a separate shop for installation after you bought it? Do they use the factory stock buttons in the stock locations(center of fan and A/C knobs)?

Also, I don't have much interest in the 2LT. Its slower(albeit marginally, manual vs manual) around town than the ECO, weighs more(which the Cruze is fairly porky for a compact to begin with), doesn't have the ECO specific rims which I prefer, and costs more. The Cruze ECO fits exactly what I want in my next car for the price I want, with the exception of not having heated seats.


----------



## Christrit (Jun 23, 2012)

So has anyone actually installed heated leather themselves?? I can get the Katzkin kit online for $789, and the upholstery shop is going to charge me $400 for installation. Still below the "dealer pricing" to get the whole thing installed ($1500)....


----------



## Patman1776 (Feb 8, 2013)

Had Katzkin heated seats installed prior to delivery. Buttons are on seat base, and are very convenient. Seats themselves look and feel great!


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The Cruze leather seats are not at all comfortable. Cloth or the aftermarket leather would be the way to go.


----------



## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> The Cruze leather seats are not at all comfortable. Cloth or the aftermarket leather would be the way to go.


9 months ago I would have agreed with your statement but now I find them really comfortable I guess either I am used to them or they needed settling in?


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Aussie said:


> 9 months ago I would have agreed with your statement but now I find them really comfortable I guess either I am used to them or they needed settling in?


Maybe. Our 2LT rental has 16000 miles on it, so I'd reckon the seats are "broken in" by now (my car has about the same mileage). 1 hour into a 15 hour trip, my butt hurt and my girlfriend was complaining her back hurt. That numbness went away after a while. 

I've spent 7 hours in my Cruze before and I had no complaints at all about the cloth seat comfort - which is surprising, considering most cars I've had with cloth were pretty hard and uncomfortable, but these are soft and cushy. 

The seat heaters are super nice though. Very quick and I like the heat in your back.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Recall reading about dealer installed floor mats, but nothing on dealer installed electrically heated seats. Maybe the latter is too complicated for them.

Leather or cloth? Does that really make a difference in comfort? Would think whats under that thin material is what makes the difference. Never was interested in the Cobalt for that reason, swear my tail bone was resting on a steel bar.

$1,500 to get them installed. Paying an extra thousand when ordering the car was a much better deal, not only electrically heated seats, both passenger and drivers' side, but a better radio, leather, power adjusted drivers' seat, and a compact spare tire with a jack was tossed into the deal.

I am over 200 years old, been severely banged up in a bad accident, but find the 2LT leather seats very comfortable. But who knows, maybe I also experienced nerve damage in the process. Very first thing I did when I first looked at the Cruze, let me get in and sit for awhile. Feel prior to the Cruze, GM hired German engineers for the seats. Their idea of comfort is sitting on a softer pine box as opposed to sitting on one made of hard maple.

Wife demanded electrically heated seats, thought they were a joke. But have to admit, that heat on your back feels great on a long drive. Also had to redefined what a long drive was, use to be 2,200 miles only stopping for gas, ha, now 750 miles is enough.

Another thing that changed was interstates, most boring highways they could ever come up with. State roads were nice, but until the population growth caused towns to be one block wide and ten miles long. Then with a traffic light on every corner.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Shrug. You would think the leather ones are softer and more comfortable. They're not. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


----------

