Can You Have Heated Seats Installed In a Car?

Sitting on warm heated car seats is a luxury, especially in the winter. If your car has built-in heated seats, you are lucky. However, some makes and models of the cars don’t come with this luxury. So, can you have heated seats installed in a car?

Absolutely yes. If you are willing to include this premium add-on in your car, there’s no particular restriction. Moreover, it’s up to you whether to go with cloth heated seats or leather ones. The price also varies from seat type to type and the material you choose for the heated seats.

So, this post will guide you about the aftermarket heated seats and their installation.

Aftermarket Heated Seats

If you live in a region where the climate is usually cold, installing heated seats in your car is good. However, there are a few things you need to consider before going for the aftermarket heated seats.

First, if you are buying a new car and are tight on budget, avoid spending your money on a car full of high-tech features. For example, since heated seats are considered to be a luxurious feature that uses cutting-edge technology, the overall cost of that car might be too expensive for you.

Moreover, vehicles that have built-in heated seats also have

• Terrain Analyzers
• Thermal Sensors
• Pedal Commander
• Hybrid Engine
• Sunroof

These are some of the major features of the cars that come with the heated seat arrangement. So now you can estimate how costly buying such models would be just because you want to get the luxury of heated seats in your car.

Therefore, it’s better to buy a car that is within your budget and doesn’t have built-in heated seats. Later, you can install the seats separately. That will save you good money.

Benefits of Heated Seats

The biggest perk of heated seats is that you get the therapeutic benefit. The seat soothes your back pain while you are driving. Moreover, if you are on a long drive and don’t want to take a break, the warmth of the heated seats will keep regulating the blood flow at a normal rate.

That way, you can drive a little longer without suffering from back pain. But it’s recommended to take frequent breaks after every 1-2 hours.

You might start suffering from highway hypnosis if you keep driving without any intervals despite the regular blood flow.

Another benefit of installing heated seats in your car is you save more on fuel as now only your seats need the energy, not your whole car. Therefore, now you don’t need to turn on the heater unless the weather conditions are severe. Only the seats will provide enough heat to the driver and passengers to keep their bodies warm.

When you turn on the heater, you save money on fuel.

Moreover, this feature can be controlled individually. That means you can adjust the temperature of your seat manually and even turn off the feature if you are comfortable without getting any heat.

Have a look at the HealthMate Heated Massage Cushion you can keep in your car.

These are some of the benefits of installing heated seats in your car. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of the heated seats.

Disadvantages of Heated Seats

No doubt, heated seats are useful for you and your beloved ones. But it does come with a few disadvantages.

For example, if you spend too long on a heated seat, your skin might get affected by “redness from fire,” aka “erythema ab igne,” which is toasted skin syndrome or TSS.

It’s a condition where your skin on the back and thighs loses its color due to excessive exposure to heat. The dangerous thing about TSS is you won’t feel the burning pain until it’s too late.

If you have heated seats in your car, you have to check the signs on your skin for possible TSS symptoms. Since people who live in colder areas wear thick clothing, they are more susceptible to getting affected by the negative effects of heated seats.

Moreover, they are used to spending hours sitting in the heated seats due to which their mind is trained, and now they feel little to no difference if they are sitting on a heated seat or not. According to a study, sitting for only 10 minutes on a heated seat having 120-degree temperatures can cause third-degree burns.

Therefore, randomly check for TSS on your skin. If you see any kind of symptoms, avoid getting heat from the seats for too long. Also, seek medical help and save yourself from bigger problems.

Also, the heated seats affect the leather, but you will see this effect over a long period.

Pros & Cons of Heated Seats

Car Heated Seats
Pros	Cons
Reduces lower back pain and keeps regulating the blood flow.	Can cause “redness from fire” for sitting too long on the heated seats.
Saves more fuel than turning on the car heater.	Dries out the seat’s leather over time.
Driver and each passenger have manual control over their heated seats.	Costly to install in some models.

How Do Heated Seats Work?

Heated seats use a strong resistor which resists the electric flow. It’s a long wire strip that is designed inside the car seats. This strip works as a coil and resists electricity.

When you switch on the heating function for a seat, the car battery gives an electric charge to the resistor via the circuit. When the charge faces resistance, it produces heat. That’s how the heated seats work.

Check out the Heated Massaging Seat Cushion.

Moreover, there are also thermostats installed in the heated seats. Each seat has a regulator through which you can adjust the intensity of the heat. In addition to that, the thermostat detects the temperature and turns on/turns off the heating function when the temperature reaches a certain threshold.

So overall, the heated seats are worth it if you use them carefully.

Final Words

You can separately install heated seats in your car. However, it’s best to bring your car to an automobile service center rather than DIY. Since the professionals have experience in installing heated seats, they can easily do that for you. Once you get your car back with the heated seats, you love driving your car in that warm luxury.