Leather Seat Swap

[cortman]

I have a 2008 Legacy 2.5i with ratty cloth seats. I am going to do a swap with a full set of leather seats that came from an '06. Just looking at them it looks like it should be a straightforward upgrade.

 

Two things bothering me though.

 

1. Both front seats are heated power seats. With the factory seats, only the driver's side is powered and neither of them are heated. Does anyone know what sort of wiring debacle I am letting myself in for?

I am considering just forgetting about the seat heaters(aka rump roasters). I live in a temperate climate and would only get to use them a few months of the year.

 

2. My power seat had 3 wires hooked up to it. I tried putting in the '06 leather seat for a trial. One of the plugs must have undergone a minor revision since 2006.

 

I can get some pictures if I need to. Thanks for any help in advance.

[Drift Motion]

I believe people have said the non leather GT seats have seat warmers built into them and they are just a OEM switch away? not sure how that thread ended...if you try look that up, it might help...

[cortman]

I looked at the thread that you were referring to Drift Motion. There seemed to be a lot of speculation but no definite conclusion.

 

My cloth seats do not have warmers and are not wired for it at all.

 

I did not have a power passenger seat and was just hoping that the wiring would be tucked away under the carpet. Wishful thinking. It looks like I will be doing some wiring for that one.

[cortman]

Trying to post some photos I have taken of the power seat connectors.

 

 

1st one is the powered, unheated seat from my 2008 Legacy 2.5i. Only three connectors.

 

 

The 2nd photo is the powered heated seat I am planning to install from a 2006 Legacy GT. There are 5 connectors here. Does anyone know where I can get some useful wiring info?

Three of the connections are basically the same, in fact the yellow one and the white flat one plug right up. The larger black one is different. The spades are turned sideways. Are they just making my job difficult?

 

Btw, does anyone know how many wires it takes to run the seat warmers? Just looking at the wires it looks like it takes two. That would seem slightly odd to me.

[cortman]

Changing the topic slightly here. I bought a full set of seats. I seem to have really stepped into a mess here. I should have done my homework a little better before buying these.

 

Beware! Anyone else who's thinking of doing this, make sure it will be a perfect swap before you buy! The rear seats seem to have undergone some subtle but major changes between 2006 to 2008. The rear seats in my car fold down. The seats that I bought obviously aren't made to do that.

 

Hm. I'm wondering what my options are now?

[Drift Motion]

07+ seats fold, 05 and 06 doesn't

[cortman]

Ok. I'm finally back with an update on this. I got both front seats installed after quite a bit of shade tree mechanic work.

 

The driver's seat was the easiest. I simply got a two wire connector with male and female connectors and crimped it in. Everything else hooked right up. I decided to skip the seat warmers. If I decide I want them later I can always hook them up.

 

The passenger's seat was a nightmare because of the occupancy sensor. We ended up swapping out all the electronics for the passenger's seat. Even the occupancy control sensor itself. And the little computer that goes under the seat. Isn't that kinda creepy having a computer under the seat to keep track of you?

 

I am still looking for ideas on the back seat. I think I will talk to someone that does upholstery to see if they can swap out the leather covering for me. The contouring looks nearly identical, but I will have to see what they would say about it. I'll try to remember to keep you posted.

[bmer19]

I know it's been awhile since you did this but I was wondering if you would have any wiring info for me. I'm putting 05 power seats in my 06 without. The driver seat hooked right up and, minus heat, works. The passenger nothing matches. Did you find a wiring diagram or how did you know what wires did what? Thanks for any help.

[Scoobaru08]

Did anyone figure our the problems with passenger side? Also the rear seats in the 08 are fold-able. The ones out of the 06 aren't fold-able. Will these bolt up?

 

I'm new to the forums so thanks in advance.

[Merc6]

Did anyone figure our the problems with passenger side? Also the rear seats in the 08 are fold-able. The ones out of the 06 aren't fold-able. Will these bolt up?

 

I'm new to the forums so thanks in advance.

Yo need the brackets for the bottom to hinge down and the one up top for it to latch onto. You also need to remove 2 hooks that hold the non folding seats up. These hooks are on the sides by the door and body colored.

 

I know it's been awhile since you did this but I was wondering if you would have any wiring info for me. I'm putting 05 power seats in my 06 without. The driver seat hooked right up and, minus heat, works. The passenger nothing matches. Did you find a wiring diagram or how did you know what wires did what? Thanks for any help.

 

Swap the passenger seat electronics to your seat.

[Scoobaru08]

Yo need the brackets for the bottom to hinge down and the one up top for it to latch onto. You also need to remove 2 hooks that hold the non folding seats up. These hooks are on the sides by the door and body colored.

 

 

 

Swap the passenger seat electronics to your seat.

 

Thank you so much. I'm going to try that.

My passenger seat in my car now isn't powered, I pulled up the carpet and didn't see any harness to power them. What should I do?

[cortman]

It has been a long time since I did this. But I just tapped into the wire powering the driver's seat. I figured that it was unlikely that both seats would be working hard at the same time. It has worked fine for the last ? years.