Power seats transplant
 

I was thinking about buying the factory leather seats (power) to put in my car. Currently I have the cloth with no power. Does anyone know how hard that would be to install. Do they run the power to all the 8's and then only put power seats in some, or do they only run the power to the ones that need it? Also, if anyone is wanting to sell plz let me know :) Thanks for your help in advance. :

Factory leather seats… Would it be cheaper to have someone do a custom leather job in the style you wanted?

Just curious.

I have a buddy that is going to get aftermarket seats so he's giving me a good deal. I Think I could just have them done at a shop around here that does leather for around $1000 but I still wouldn't have the power part of the seat, or the seat warmers. Just wanted to make sure it was "doable" before I bought them.

You can get the butt warmers when they do the aftermarket leather. That's usually an offering of the upholstery places.

anyone???anyone at all????

No wires...
 

There are no wires for the seat if the car was not built for them.

No biggie, it is just a (fused) 12volt supply, you would have to put two console switches in for the heat, but all the other controls are on the seat frame. Almost Plug-n-Play!

The best source would be wreckers, or the new vendor MazdaBits (whatever!)
You would still be in competition with the Fast and Furious crowd though, expect to pay top $.
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doc

I think it is doable if you have the wire - there is no wire as doctorr said but there are connections for them for sure - just have to get the cable swhich is not hard.

doable but pain - looking at the wiring system - NY subway is easier.

That's what I was afaid of... I really should have bought leather to begin with. atleast it's only one seat. I have the wiring map, but I agree that it looks like the NY subway...oh well...only one way to find out if it can be done.... any other comments or help would be great. I'm sure I'll need it!

Easy.
 

I don't see the angst here - they fit right on the same frame, the switches are Radio-Shack technology, not rocket science, you even have the wiring diagram! (don't be afraid, wiring diagrams are our FRIEND!)
It would take me two hours, tops, even with two switches for seat heat.

Find some from a 'write-off' and stick 'em in, what's the problem?

S

Well that makes me feel better. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have to pay someone to do it or have to buy expensive parts to make it work. I have some knowledge of wiring and can install a system. Just never tried anything like this. Thanks! Anyone else....?

Hey, I'm a new RX 8 owner and new to this forum so forgive me for replying 4 months after the last post. My 8 was vandalized and my power seat wires were cut and section of wire removed. no problem, right? just get some wire, splice them together and get some new connectors. #1) warranty voided #2) Mazda doesn't sell new connectors individually but they'll gladly sell you a whole new wiring harness for $2400 and send you to the dealer for a $95 an hour install. (I'm guessing 6-8 hours because this harness runs from front to back and powers just about everything). oh, you want to install it yourself? see #1. #3) I'm told there are about 8-10 different wiring harnesses on the 8 depending on how it's equipped. no existing power seat connectors? no existing warmer connectors? see #2. Anybody got a wiring harness for sale?

Will your insurance not cover the damage?

Brits.......
 

Maniac Guy......
Don't forget that the Brits and Aussies also have the power right front seat - though their prices tend to verge on ridiculous! :D

S

I just wanted to let everyone know that I finally got my factory leather seats yesterday( I bought the car with cloth) I knew that I could change out the back seats and the passenger sit no problem... they are exactly the same! I figured while I was at it I should go ahead and take the drivers sit out and see how hard it was going to be to get power to it.(everyone told me I would have to) Well to make a long story short. ... I noticed that there were more prongs on the male adapter of the power seat then the non-powerseat...OK, that was expected, but when I look at the female plug in the car there were wires running to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! Plugged it straight in and it worked perfect. It only took a little over an hour to switch the entire enterior Weeeww! The guy didn't send me the seat warmer switches so I can't check that yet, but I'm pretty sure I saw the wires in the center console when I had it out. EVERYTHING IS PLUG AND PLAY YAYYYYYYYYY! Thanks for all the help anyway guys, this site is a blessing!

oh, as of today I have a complete Factory cloth interior for sale. It's grey and black! I'm asking 650.00...Is that too much?

Sounds fair to me.

Great news! Enjoy!