# Seat Heating Elements ARE Installed, but no buttons on the dash.



## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

Hello everyone, one of the things I was disappointed my Tiguan didn't come with (due to being forced to get the S trim to have the third row seats) was a lack of seat heaters. I live in Utah so they are definitely worth while during the winter and my 2015 Jetta I used to have had them as well and they worked VERY well.

I was cleaning my Tiguan's interior yesterday and noticed the same thick cables my Jetta had for the heating elements were under the front seats and had more cables going into the bottom and upright cushions. I looked more closely at these cables and each one has a barcode sticker on them with the VW logo, part number, and the words "heating element."

So correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the elements are in fact installed in my Tiguan but VW simply removed the buttons on the S trim and turned the feature off in the ECU. 

Has anyone known about this? Because my next plan of action is to purchase the buttons, install them, and turn them on using VCDS (which I have and is the newest HEX+CAN cable you can get).

Thoughts?


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## southpawboston (Feb 3, 2018)

Goose---Lung said:


> Hello everyone, one of the things I was disappointed my Tiguan didn't come with (due to being forced to get the S trim to have the third row seats) was a lack of seat heaters. I live in Utah so they are definitely worth while during the winter and my 2015 Jetta I used to have had them as well and they worked VERY well.
> 
> I was cleaning my Tiguan's interior yesterday and noticed the same thick cables my Jetta had for the heating elements were under the front seats and had more cables going into the bottom and upright cushions. I looked more closely at these cables and each one has a barcode sticker on them with the VW logo, part number, and the words "heating element."
> 
> ...


Here are a few thoughts, from a non-Tig owner, and in no particular order, so take with a grain of salt:

1) MQB Tig and MQB Golf (mine) share the same Body Control Module. Part #s are the same- I confirmed this with a new Tig owner.
2) My BCM has all the coding options for heated seats and controls the heating elements (my car is an S without heated seats)
3) VW historically does not include looms or parts needed for an accessory if said accessory is not installed on the assembly line. If you have seat heater elements, I'd be surprised.
4) VW part numbers can be very confusing, even when deciphered as far as they can be deciphered, and when it comes to control modules (e.g., BCM), a "low" trim level module may not have all the same output pins as a "high" trim level module, yet may have the identical part #. Very confusing!
5) My Golf S *should* have a "low" BCM, yet when I examined it, it was a "high"-- meaning it has the pins to support all possible accessories made to be controlled by it.
6) Your Tig may or may not have a "high" BCM, the part # will not reveal. You will have to remove the BCM and photograph the pins, referencing a schematic to see which pins it has / doesn't have.
7) If your Tig has the "high" BCM and the seat heater elements, you're in luck-- now you just have to source the wire loom and the HVAC switch unit for the dash, the version with the seat heater buttons. New these are around $300 but can be found used on eBay for under $100 (this is for the Golf, which has been around longer-- for the Tig it might be hard to find used parts)
8) Kufatec.com is a German supplier of OEM-like accessory add-on kits for DIYers. They make looms specifically for projects such as these.

There you have it. Good luck and let me know how it goes!


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

Called the dealer, they claim that buying the left/right side buttons for turning on the seat heaters are not an option. The seat heater buttons 'only' come with the panel made for the automatic climate control system.

The auto climate control panel is about $50 online but the next question is: Does the vehicle have the necessary systems installed to run an automatic climate control system?

Hmm... this may become a project. The heating elements are literally in my seats TEASING me. There must be a way to turn them on. I even saw the option in VCDS (currently set to off) for these seat heaters. I just need the buttons!


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

southpawboston said:


> Here are a few thoughts, from a non-Tig owner, and in no particular order, so take with a grain of salt:
> 
> 1) MQB Tig and MQB Golf (mine) share the same Body Control Module. Part #s are the same- I confirmed this with a new Tig owner.
> 2) My BCM has all the coding options for heated seats and controls the heating elements (my car is an S without heated seats)
> ...


Thank you for this! Definitely something I'm going to continue looking into. I'm convinced this is possible. 

The elements are DEFINITELY in my seats. So I'd imagine the pins needed for such a function are behind my current panel.


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

Wow, that KUFATEC website is pretty cool. Unfortunately anything with these seat heaters is not currently in existence but the rest of the retrofits are definitely cool to look into.

I'll keep updating this thread as I move forward with this seat heater research. If anyone else runs into anything, please share. Thank you!


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## noreastdub (Aug 6, 2018)

Is this the control module? Hope the link works. Judging by the parts diagrams on this website, there definitely is a seat that comes without the heating element. Maybe you got a lucky mistake from the factory!? I'd also be happy to post pictures of whatever you need to compare and confirm to the SE. 

https://www.volkswagenpartsamerica....=5NN907044KWZU&vehicleid=500638&siteid=216129


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## D3Audi (Feb 18, 2016)

Maybe your car got built with Canadian trendline (base model) seats on accident? Either way. If the seat heater element is there it sounds like it won't be too complicated to enable them. 

Also, you don't need an auto climate control. Just buy a Canadian trendline (base model) control panel. In Canada all Tiguan's come with heated seats - even the base models. 

Here's a picture of one I screenshot off of Kijiji:









Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

D3Audi said:


> Maybe your car got built with Canadian trendline (base model) seats on accident? Either way. If the seat heater element is there it sounds like it won't be too complicated to enable them.
> 
> Also, you don't need an auto climate control. Just buy a Canadian trendline (base model) control panel. In Canada all Tiguan's come with heated seats - even the base models.
> 
> ...


This! This is the panel I have but on the left and right side the buttons are just empty keycaps. Thank you for showing me this! I hope I can access these Canadian parts here in the US. Searches on Google for a picture you just sent me has returned nothing.


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

noreastdub said:


> Is this the control module? Hope the link works. Judging by the parts diagrams on this website, there definitely is a seat that comes without the heating element. Maybe you got a lucky mistake from the factory!? I'd also be happy to post pictures of whatever you need to compare and confirm to the SE.
> 
> https://www.volkswagenpartsamerica....=5NN907044KWZU&vehicleid=500638&siteid=216129


Yes that is what I need. At least the left and right buttons for the seat heaters. I'd be pressed to find out I'd be forced to get the whole panel just to have those buttons.


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## southpawboston (Feb 3, 2018)

So that's the panel you need with the buttons, and you do need it... but it's not the control module (BCM). The BCM is behind the lower driver's side dash. It controls a LOT of things (all lighting, seat heating, central locking, alarm, wipers, rear defrost, etc). 

It's this part: https://www.oemvolkswagenparts.us/oem-parts/volkswagen-body-control-module-5q0937087ap

The BCM communicates with the buttons on the HVAC unit and relays power and regulation to the heating elements. This is the part that you need to remove and examine the pins, and compare to this pin legend: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PyumaFCJL4OmU78j9Ft13sAXzZxkjwfP There are three connectors for a total of 192 pins 

If your BCM does not have the necessary pins, you will have to upgrade it. I got extremely lucky when I found out my BCM on my base S model Golf was the "high" version and supported extras like the OEM euro chirp siren, fog lights, etc. And I do have the pins for seat heaters.


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

southpawboston said:


> So that's the panel you need with the buttons, and you do need it... but it's not the control module (BCM). The BCM is behind the lower driver's side dash. It controls a LOT of things (all lighting, seat heating, central locking, alarm, wipers, rear defrost, etc).
> 
> It's this part: https://www.oemvolkswagenparts.us/oem-parts/volkswagen-body-control-module-5q0937087ap
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for your time in providing this information, I appreciate it. I will definitely be looking into this this weekend and provide updates. Hopefully this can be the start of a seat heating retrofit for many others out there. I also mean to provide photos of the cables running into my seats here soon, stay tuned.


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## southpawboston (Feb 3, 2018)

Goose---Lung said:


> Thank you very much for your time in providing this information, I appreciate it. I will definitely be looking into this this weekend and provide updates. Hopefully this can be the start of a seat heating retrofit for many others out there. I also mean to provide photos of the cables running into my seats here soon, stay tuned.


I took a look at my wiring diagram for the MQB Golf based on the fact that the MQB Tig has (a) the same BCM and (b) visually identical HVAC cluster with seat heater buttons, and found that there are 8 wires that pertain to the seat heaters that go to the BCM, and what appears to be four wires that go into the climatronic (HVAC) unit. 

I've posted the wiring schematic for the Golf seat heaters here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U6LOYsIoObs5bMz3SRhVhgBxFY_VL-QR

Again, caveat is that these are for a different car, but I suspect that 90% of the wiring and logic controls are identical, if not 100%.

I would urge you to go to erwin.vw.com and purchase a 24 hour download subscription for $35 which allows you to download all the official workshop manuals for your car (you have to enter your VIN and can only download manuals specific for your vehicle).


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## Goose---Lung (Jul 26, 2018)

southpawboston said:


> I took a look at my wiring diagram for the MQB Golf based on the fact that the MQB Tig has (a) the same BCM and (b) visually identical HVAC cluster with seat heater buttons, and found that there are 8 wires that pertain to the seat heaters that go to the BCM, and what appears to be four wires that go into the climatronic (HVAC) unit.
> 
> I've posted the wiring schematic for the Golf seat heaters here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U6LOYsIoObs5bMz3SRhVhgBxFY_VL-QR
> 
> ...


Again, I am very grateful for your help. Definitely a great starting point thanks to you. I had no idea you could purchase a temporary download subscription to Erwin. I have ElsaWin on my 'vehicle laptop' but only with data for all VAG vehicles up to 2015. 

Thank you for the documents, hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to dig deeper into my Tiggy.


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## D3Audi (Feb 18, 2016)

Some really good info in this thread. I presume it's the same as the MQB Tiguan https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?t=9227919

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