colinallcars
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2007
- Messages
- 829
- Car
- B180, SLK 230
A few years since I’ve been on here but still very much in the Mercedes fold with a W246 B Class and R170 SLK.
The seat heater on the base of the B Class stopped working (did it before when under warranty) which seems to be a common problem on this and the current A Class. At £150 for a new heating element from MB, I was keen to know if aftermarket, carbon fibre pads could be used but a search of the internet proved inconclusive. At £12 for a pair on eBay I decided to give it a go. Dismantling the seat was straightforward, the only special tool required being a T45 torx bit to remove the backrest. Instead of hog rings the seat cover is secured by plastic clips which made removal easier and provided secure fixings for the new pad which needed four holes cut in it to allow the clips to pass through. The connector was different from the original so I cut it off and joined the wires. Reassembly was a reversal of the process. I reconnected the battery, crossed my fingers and switched the heated seat on. Success! Within two minutes my backside was toasting nicely. So there is a very low cost option for repairing a failed seat heating element in a merc - hope this helps others with the same problem.
The seat heater on the base of the B Class stopped working (did it before when under warranty) which seems to be a common problem on this and the current A Class. At £150 for a new heating element from MB, I was keen to know if aftermarket, carbon fibre pads could be used but a search of the internet proved inconclusive. At £12 for a pair on eBay I decided to give it a go. Dismantling the seat was straightforward, the only special tool required being a T45 torx bit to remove the backrest. Instead of hog rings the seat cover is secured by plastic clips which made removal easier and provided secure fixings for the new pad which needed four holes cut in it to allow the clips to pass through. The connector was different from the original so I cut it off and joined the wires. Reassembly was a reversal of the process. I reconnected the battery, crossed my fingers and switched the heated seat on. Success! Within two minutes my backside was toasting nicely. So there is a very low cost option for repairing a failed seat heating element in a merc - hope this helps others with the same problem.
