2013 bench to bucket seat wiring

Hey guys. Recently got a Tacoma (2013 2wd Reg Cab) and already purchased a set of matching 2013 (I think Access Cab SR5) buckets to replace the bench in mine.

Seats bolt up physically but I am wondering about the wiring changes. Driver side seat had all the same wiring harness connectors, so that was plug-n-play (hopefully all the signal wires are in the same pin of the connector for bench vs bucket).

However the passenger side had a different connector plug than what the truck side has. Does anyone who has performed this swap have info on how to correctly get it to hook up? I presume its just the side airbag sensor and signal wires, though I'm not sure if the seatbelt connector is integrated into that as well.

Second (and not so important) is the seatbelt receivers. Appears that the actual seat belt buckle on my 2013 is physically larger than the receiver end on the buckets. Just wondering if anyone noticed that change, I am thinking of just filing down my buckle ends to fit as my center (third passenger) belt buckle fits and is maybe 1/8" narrower.

Thanks

 

I have no clue. I was drawn here by the title of your post that I couldn't figure out until I read the post.

"2013 sench to sucket seat Question "

 

I guess I would "sench" because I definitely don't want to "sucket".

 

lol whoops! I guess that would be one way to welcome myself to the forum!

 

Instead of messing with the buckles, which could compromise their structural integrity, I'd snag a couple seat belts from a wrecked AC or DC. Replacing seatbelts is pretty straightforward on most vehicles, I've had to do it before on my GTO and ran into no issues. Or you could swap the receiving ends, if possible.

 

Anyone else have knowledge on the wiring? I'm going over the 2013 diagrams, but coming up short.

 

For one, I'd like to know where you got those seats and for how much.

And truth be told, there isn't anyone I'm aware of that has figured this out. I've been fairly "up to date" with these kinds of swaps and most have left the wiring 'undone'.

SO, you may be the one to figure it out for us RC owners! Personally, I haven't jumped into this adventure myself, but WILL do so if I can find a set of seats worth installing.

 

I looked on Car-Part.com to find a set. Website listed a 2013 Access Cab with front seats available only a few miles away at a wrecker so I checked them out. Price could have been better, but these were in pretty good shape with only two quarter sized areas that had discoloration from food or whatever. I'll get them cleaned eventually.

There is a small fitment "issue" with the passenger side seat. Its forward-aft range is limited by the transmission tunnel (not sure if that is unique to the RC/5-speed) so while moving it forward (about 60-75% towards the front), the seat starts to contact the center section preventing further movement. But no one sits that far forward so I am content with having it like that.

I'll take a deeper look today if I have time. Would love fully functioning airbags.

 

Okay, so, your post inspired me to hunt for some seats. I found some seats in really good condition! So I'll dive into the seatbelt/air bag issue myself. Hopefully you, me or we can figure this out!

 

Did regular cabs come with seat airbags?

 

I believe so, the seats I ordered are from an access cab.

 

Yes, my 2013 RC has airbags in both the seats and on the A-pillar/curtain area.

 

+1. Receptacle swap would probably be more cost effective.

 

Just swapped my old bench out today as well as put in a V6 console (manual transmission). The seats go in just fine and the console fits to the dash but doesn't ride well on the floor. I need to maybe get some bracket made to brace it from the rear of the cab. The seat belt issue I was able to fix by taking a small dremel bit and grinding the little red push button wider on the receptacle. plugs and plays just fine. my only two issues left are that my seats bolt in just fine in three of the four mounting holes. the brackets at the front bolt in fine and the one on the outside of the truck in the back bolts in fine, however there is no place to bolt into on the inner back bracket. I'll maybe try to drill a hole and tap it. the bolts that the seats anchor down with are a M10x 1.25 by about 25mm in length.

Now the airbag thing I believe that i've seen someone on TW took the "bladder sensor" out of the bench seats bottom and put it into the bucket seats bottom. I think he may have carried over the wire and plugs with the bladder due to the connectors not matching up. I'll be trying to tackle that in the coming week.

 

also found this little gem from another thread if the original sensor isn't available.

 

Man I'm really glad I haven't installed these yet! This is some good info for when I have time to get these installed! Knowing what I know now will save a TON of frustration!

 

Hmm, interesting. My '13 had all the holes there so maybe they changed things from '06. I know my friends '98 had a similar issue when installing his buckets, but there was a nice indent as if the factory placed a marker for where to punch and weld the bracket nut. Anything visible on yours like that?

Yeah I've been lazy and havent taken a look at anything yet regarding the sensors on the passenger side. Yours is pre side airbag correct? That may be easier to wire up than those with them, however I'll check my old bench to see how hard it is to pull in an attempt at transferring them to the buckets.

 

There is a little black sticker. I'm thinking that this is the correct location to drill into. I had the seat out and the carpet pulled up so I'm not sure where that spot is compared to the bracket but I'll have to check into it a little further.

It is pre side airbag. It looks simple enough. the most complicated part looks like the old bench seats sensor. There's wires all over and some go to the seat belt buckle... basically everyone I've seen has used the seat belt buckles from the old bench seat that mounted to the floor. I didn't wanna do that so I modified the new bucket seat buckles. Not sure if the wiring will be jacked up because of that either.

I'm going to try and dig into my bench seat late this afternoon and see if I can get that bad boy out of there.

Another issue I'm seeing is with the center console. Since I chose to go with a full length console from a double cab it doesn't like to sit very sturdy and there are not any actual mounting points to the floor. I'm thinking I take a small 2x4 and screw through the outside of the console into the 2x4 and then screw the 2x4 to the floor of the cab. This would only leave a small screw visible to the outside. My question though. The raised tunnel that the console rides on, if I screw through it will this cause catastrophic damage?

 

So there are all four mounting locations for the seats. I took a phillips head screwdriver and gently hammered it through the rear inside mounting bracket hole. I took the seat out and checked the area and it punched a hole through the little black sticker that was under the carpet. As far as an 06 reg cab it has all the mounting points.

 

Where did you find bucket seats for your 2013?