[cbprado]

Hey all. Looked all over but count find an answer to my questions.
I just purchased a set of leather seats, they have the heater function, whereas my stock seats are fabric. So I have 2 questions before I decide whether I´m trying to replace them myself:

1) I´ll need to take my original seat airbags to install in the new one. How hard is removing/installing? is that something an amateur with some mechanical experience can do? anyone could guide me on this?

2) the new seats have heating function. I doubt that the fabric model comes with the heater wiring... I wouldn't´t bother to leave this function aside, however, as I´ll take some time installing the new seats, I wonder if I can adapt the wirings to use the the seats heating... anyone would tell me how to move?

Thanks

CP

 

[wynb]

Why change the airbags? They are likely to be the same and are not coded so I'd just plug the seat in and see if the airbag warning light comes on and then goes out after self testing. Wiring for the heated seats may already be in place if's not you will need the additional loom(s) and switch.

 

[cbprado]

The passantes seat has the airbag deployed. The way it´s deployed do not seem to have inflated in an accident, rather seem that someone messed with it and screwed it up, as it do not show signs of inflation... will add some picts... as per the drivers seat, it seems to be ok. I was just wondering if that was coded, if so I´d rather pull out my original and install on this new seat. As per the heating seats, what should I be looking for to make sure they will fit my car with no adaptations?

 

[storeman]

My experience with seat airbags is you will destroy yhe seat trying to replace them. The airbag is riveted to the frame with very large rivets and getting the plastic outer surround out of the seat is nigh on impossible without severely damaging it.

Now for the hard part. Getting the seat covering off without damaging it would be a feat in itself then ther is the problem of getting it back on, again without damaging the material be it leather or cloth.

It's likely that the two seats will have different connectors and possibly a different number of connectors. I replaced the fabric seats with full leather in my 307. The original seats had two wiring connectors while the leather seats had three. I tried to remove the airbags from the old seats to transplant into the leather replacements but after damaging the seat and airbag plastic trims I gave up. The internal wiring was identical in both sets of seats, just different connectors. In the end, I cut the connectors off the old seats and connected them to the replacements making sure the wires connected correctly.

If the airbag has deployed than my advice would be to look elsewhere.

 

[cbprado]

Not sure how a busted airbag looks like but I guess it would be dirty and messy. Mine rather looks like it's been manually unfolded, like somebody opened the plastic cap that secures it in place and it came out from the case. It's clean and has the mark as it was folded before. Any guesses? If so, would that be the case to fold it back in place?

 

[storeman]

The thing is are you prepared to risk driving a car with a potentially faulty airbag even if it did pass an mot. There is no guarantee it will inflate fast enough if at all.

In my opinion, it's not worth the risk or the hassle.

 

[cbprado]

Think you are right, which takes me to the original question o how to replace the airbag...

 

[storeman]

Which brings me back to my first response to your question.

 

[cbprado]

Thank you dude, however I don´t have a third option... I would like to know what is required to replace the seat airbags... I´ll have to give it a try. I truly consider your advise that it is not the best thing in the world to replace it, but that is what I have for now. Do you know what should I do? are there bolts holding them in place? where are those located? Thanks

 

[storeman]

$ torx screws through the runners hold the seats in place. remove the bolts and get the seat out. From then on it's all downhill in a vertical drop. If by any chance you do manage to successfully transplant the airbags tou are likely going to need some kind of controller for the seat heaters if they even work. If the controller can't be sourced then I guess they could be wired via a switched relay but definitely use a fuse in the supply. The power to switch the relay should come from an ignition switched live to prevent them being left switched on and flattening the battery or worse, overheating and burning the seats. Why can't you stick with the original seats ? You haven't said there is anything wrong with them just that you bought the leather seats.

There is a third option. You could take the seats to a vehicle upholsterer. These guys know all the tricks to stripping the seats and have all the right gear to tear them down, repair and rebuild them as good as new. Will cost a fair bit though but their knowledge and expertise is worth the cost. I've had to use them twice and I never regretted using them.

 

[cbprado]

read twice, three times your advice and followed it. Found this upholster that seems to be very experienced. Let´s see the result.
He will take the airbag from my car and will replace the deployed on the leather seats I just bought. The driver´s seat seems to be ok, airbag in place. I wonder if I´ll have issues with the ECU with this. The seats came from a 307, same model as mine, so one could expect the ECU will "complain"? if so, is there anything I should do in order to have it recognizing the "new" airbag installed?

 

[storeman]

If your car hasn't had an airbag deployed then there should be no problems. They are basically the same airbag in a seat with different coverings. The seat heater connections will be seperate from the airbags so won't interfere. If the connectors on the leather seats are different make sure you connect them correctly or the ecu will complain about them. Otherwise it's a like for like swap and the ecu won't see any difference.