We're enjoying the heated seat feature of our VW here as the temps have dipped below freezing for several days. Is there such a thing as add-on heated seat pads that would plug in to the 12v socket? If so, are they practical, has anyone tried them? [This didn't seem to be a performance or appearance mod, so I've posted it here...] Thanks.
You could add the heated element to the seats. Someone has done that mod but I can't remember who. Also there's a pic of one Finnish owner who has added heated seats.
I actually gave one of these to my father for his birthday a few years ago. It's a combo massager/heat-type thing that will fit in just about any type of chair or car seat. It has a controller and uses either 12V or AC power. Presently, it's sitting in a box in his basement........unused. The only reservation I have about using it is the strap. I think it might interfere with side airbags.
My uses and likes the one I gave her for her prius, it cost $40. I see a cheesier version in Christmas Tree Shops for $12.
I bought one of these from Sharper Image. It's nice. I haven't placed it into my car yet though. But my cousin who uses his in his car loves it. You don't have to use the straps as it will sit perfectly in the seat and run when plugged in. Only thing is to make sure you don't have the massager turned up too high.
In that case, I might have to repossess the thing from my father. He clearly has no interest in using it and it's just taking up space in a box. One thing I noticed is that these things seem to be priced all over the place. The one that I bought for my father was around 100 bucks but I've seen them anywhere from $45 all the way up to $199 for the leather version.
Well mine is neoprine or something similar. I use a discount from the Sharper Image site and got mine for $50 or 60 and it's great. A really nice investment. I've considered trying to figure out how to put two in for both front passengers but got stuck at the electrical part.
I'm not sure about your Prius, but mine came standard with 2 12V power outlets: 1 near the glove box and 1 inside the storage compartment between the driver and passenger seats. So plugging 2 seat warmers in shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks very much all for your replies, I'm greatly encouraged now that this could work! Some of you didn't indicate the name of the product or where you found it; I'd like to go to web sites or search for the right keywords. Please write with the names of the products or some keywords that you used to find the products, ie "auto seat heater 12v" or whatever. I see Sharper Image listed and "Christmas Tree Shops". Thanks again and happy Priusing!
Dave, Link to one model: http://www.tfnutrition.com/hombacenbacm.html ($39.95) Link to the model offered by Sharper Image: http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/...jhtml?sku=SR280 Link in case you want to buy a pack of 4: http://egeneralmedical.com/bama10prbama1.html
This is the model I bought for my father: http://homedics.com/prod/detail.aspx?ID=91 I tried it and the massage function is great but heat is limited to the lumbar area.
:lolup: My problem using the massage feature at all would be........:sleeping: No problem, though, since the 12V adapter is MIA.
OK... so I knew that I'd eventually get a response like that. LOL As stated before...I've not used it in the car. But the Sharper Image one works really well...enough so that if set on a couch the person 2 coushions over can feel it. As for the plugging in of two, I realize that there are two outlets. I just don't want the cords to be all over the place and lower the asthetics of the clean design. If anyone decides to get a Sharper Image one...I can post whatever the best deal/coupon is.
For $5 or $6 you can get a tandem outlet that plugs into the dash and affords you two sockets. Unfortunately,the heaters have each about 6 feet of cord so use a rubberband to tidy the excess up.
Thanks very much for the urls and tips! I'll google around some more and see what I find in addition to these fine suggestions. Have a safe and snowy weekend!
As long as you only run it when the hybrid system is in Ready mode, it should have no impact. Don't sit there warming your hindquarters in ACC mode, though.
