twisted8

Has anyone added an aftermarket heating option to their stock leather seats? I have an 04 GT package and I thought it came with heated seats but i guess not or maybe i'm just too dumb to find the switch hehe. They get really cold in the winter so i was thinking about adding it. Any opinions? thanks

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Pretty sure all leather are heated. Should be two switches between the shifter and the cup holders.

CarAndDriver

Maybe you should look at the manual or the PDF manual?

But someone was kind enuff to give you the answer.

ChaseRX8

no my friend has leather seats with out heated, i think the touring package had the option to add leather seats and then another to add them with the heaters

CarAndDriver

In the US, the only way to get leather AND heated seats is to get the GT package.

If it came with leather and no heated seats, the leather must have been dealer or owner installed.

NoTears316

CarAndDriver

SilverStreak

I bought a seat heater system for my wife's Miata with cloth seats. Purchased the heater system from Duetto Motors although I think there are Miata aftermarket vendors that stock them. Other heaters are made by Katzkin (see www.katzkin.com). The Duetto version is very well made , you don't need any wiring , everything that you need including switches comes with the set. There are three versions one with switch on and off, one is a low & high, the last is a low,med, high heat. Switches would match well inside the 8. I spent about $150 for the on-off system. which works just fine for us.

I wired the switches in the console ran wiring under the carpet to the seats. But I took the seats out and had the heaters installed at a good auto upholstery shop because that was just too much for me to attempt. The shop I went to charged $150 per seat as they had to remove and reinstall the seat and the seat back covers at $75 per. So my out of pocket costs were about $450 to install. Leather seats may cost more, so check with an auto upholstery shop.

My wife was not crazy about the cost until she started using the heaters in the fall and early spring when she would usually have the top up. Now she loves them...now whenever her a$$ is warm...she thinks of me!

Now to get them installed in my 8, should be easier since I believe that the wiring is pre-installed.

twisted8

thanks for the info, i will look into the Duetto set. Not a bad price, those seats can get very cold.
In the center console all i have is the controls for the NAV, would they be located somewhere else if the car came with nav?

CarAndDriver

^ The pic helps greatly. That is not a Grand Touring/GT. That is a Touring model. The GT models have a power drivers seat and yours is the manual seat. The Nav could come with any model.

You do not have heated seats and the leather is aftermarket, but it looks good from the pic. The GT models came with black rubberized leather that has lines in it also.

The pic below shows a GT model. You can see the heated seat switches right forward of the armrest console.

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

could it just be a candadian car? it looks like a lot of trouble to take a touring and do that good a job on the leather.

CarAndDriver

Nope--I just checked Mazda Canada Website. GS or GT levels there and GS has no leather nor power seat or heated seats.

twisted8

how confusing, my car has the Homelink Auto/Day night dimming mirror! the carfax show that it originally came from arizona if i remember correctly. Maybe it was an option for 04's?

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

touring has the homelink auto/day night dimming mirror. GT added heated power seats and leather.

twisted8

oh ok that makes sense. Thanks for the info. I would've never guessed the leather was aftermarket. They did do an amazing job with it.

caaahhlvinn

i hope that whoever you bought it from didn't tell you that you were buying a RX8 with a Grand Touring package..

CarAndDriver

I thought the same thing too.

twisted8

they never said it was, i mean they never mentioned what trim it was but i did assume it was a GT because of the interior. I don't know if they would've known. It wasn't a mazda dealer. I still got a good deal on it.

User24

iTrader: (1)

The stock heating system is not too helpful anyway.

1. The heating element heats the lumbar support, drawing attention to itself. The lumbar is not comfortable to begin with and unnaturally curves my back inwards.

2. The switches are mounted such that I accidentally activate them from time to time, noticing it only when my lower back starts getting uncomfortably hot.

I suggest instead a custom fabricated seat attachment that wraps around the neck and heats neck and shoulders as you drive. Possibly a pair of hair curling irons powered with the cigarette lighter, with padded towels wrapped around them.

In addition, the rotary hollow-out in the headrest may fit a motorized shiatsu massager of the correct size.

CarAndDriver

Glad to hear that you still got a good deal.

I think the heated seats should have at least a high/low setting and the switches should be in a better locale too.