Been shopping for an 01-02, and every truck I've looked at with leather seats, the heaters don't work! Can any of you tell me what the most probable cause/cure is? Are the dash switches notorious for failure, or a multifunction box, or the heating elements themselves? I'd like to know: what is it, and how much am I looking at to spend above what I pay for the truck?....I don't want to listen to my wife complain!
BC

 

i have heated seats and well over 150,000 miles and no troubles with mine...........yet. not much to go wrong though. generally if the light on the switch comes on then the switch has power and it is between there and the seat. check the plug under the seat. also keep in mind that these take some time to heat up. may take as much as 7 minutes to start to feel it. as for repairs you can get new elements for about 100 bucks and they are easy to install. next time you come across one that does not work get your multi meter out and pull the plug under the seat and see if you have power there. a test light will work too.

 

The most common failure is the wire conncetions to the heater element. The dash switch will flash if the system is shorted or open. If no lights at all, it is the underseat controller or the fuse.

 

It "seems" that the most common problem is the wire in the seat bottom breaks. It's a simple fix to pull the seat bottom, separate the cushion form the cover, find the break, solder and reassemble.

If the lights on the switches in "rig to be" flash, here is what it means:

High and low flash = shorted heating element
High flashes/low off = open circuit in heating element
Low flashes/high off = sensor value is out of range

The two top ones, would be easiest to fix IMHO.

 

Thanks to all you gentlemen...I'll be sure to observe the flashing patterns Blue described above...and then remedy using the repair suggestions...Sadly, I haven't actually been able to see any 'in person'..just on the phone. Nice to hear that none of the causes are big $$!!
First, I gotta sell my 03...anyone?