Factory Heated Seats Failure

My drivers side stopped working a few weeks ago.. oh boy..

 

I had to clamp the plastic in a set of vice grips, and slowly pry little by little while I melted the solder. I wasn't able to get it off just by desoldering alone. Good luck!

 

Before tear into the seats/hunt through the thread. Can anyone point me to the thread count where the soldering starts?

From what I gather so far:

-unbolt the seats
-look for burnt terminal
-take apart and resolder?

Do I need to buy new parts?

 

So curious if anyone has used 16 gauge and has tested long term? Is this thick enough wire you guys? Just finished soldering it up and it seems a little thin to me. How long should I make each of the wires to ensure proper operation?

 

post #376 is working good for me.

 

Anyone out of warranty try calling/taking to dealer to get it covered under Tsb T-SB-0130-18? Mine went out a couple days ago and found the TSB but VIN is not listed and seems pretty small amount of vins in comparison to the amount of vehicles it affects (Tacoma, tundra, sienna, etc). Trying to figure out how to handle with some experience

 

When mine initially stopped working, I called local dealership, and they acted like I was crazy, and they never heard of such an issue... Instead of wasting my time arguing, I just did it myself. Every dealership is different, and it doesnt hurt to try.

 

You and many others seem to have done the same. I concern about liability touching it and then something happening. Going to try the Toyota/nhtsa route and see what happens. Thing doesn’t work anyways so it isn’t stopping anything as of yet!

 

Question and sorry if I missed - head spinning a bit - great information and detail. **If I buy a new module do I need to also buy a new connector - or can I plug the existing connector into new module? Looks like they are online for like $75 - If I can do that fix every 3-4 years I may just go that route.

I know it will likely burn out again but I have not messed with soldering (may try to get a buddy who's an engineer help). I also tried to Toyota corporate site and filed complaint with the TSB reference and that I own multiple Toyotas blah blah and they basically told me thanks but I'm on my own.

 

my seats stopped working as well but my connector looks fine. Any thoughts ?

 

Did you pull it apart?
It may look like this inside.
Your red wire looks burnt. maybe

 

I didn’t take my seat out to get to the circuit board, but really want to fix this. I miss my heated seats.

 

You can just tip them back after you remove the bolts, very easy.
Careful there is a Airbag connector down there also.
pull the Battery cable and let it discharge for 20 min or so if you are worried with it.
(i didn't)

Im Post #376 #401 for some photos.

 

Mine just stopped 2 days ago. Kyle, did you end up with the seat heater repaired? Were you able to obtain the part? Anyone able to resolve with replacement part? Thanks

 

Just rewired mine this weekend. Looked fine on the outside, red wire melted inside the connector. hardwired to the pins and harness so far so good. Glad to have my butt warmer back.

 

SO the controller was fine and the burned terminal was the issue? I got mine out and it's the same deal.

 

Yeah, it always seems to be the red wire/power connection. I believe they dont seat completly, and the air gaps changing burns the connection up. Im no electrical engineer, but this makes sense to me. Good luck.

 

how did you get the plastic off of the circuit board? tia

 

Razor blade/box cutter carefully, of corse.

 

I held onto the plastic with vice grips while I melted the solder. Kept prying carefully until everything came off. My pins didnt look too healthy, so I scrapped them.