[crodgers79]

I bought a beautiful off-lease 2013 Volt that had about 50K miles on it. Checked everything, or so I thought. After the 30-day warranty ran out I discovered that the heated seats don't work. If I push the icon I hear the click sound but the icon bar does not light up. If I go into Climate and push the icon I can see in Climate where it changes from Automatic to Manual so the dash button is registering even though the little light beside the icon does not light up.
Here's what I've done so far to check it:

1. Checked 25 amp use panel - OK
2. Checked under both front seats for signs of loose wiring or loose connectors - everything OK
3. Checked fuse panel under hood to see if there was any secondary fuse - none found

I figure that if I go back to my dealer it's going to be $300 just to drive it into their service bay and I'm not disposed, especially this time of year, to spend hundreds of dollars on a repair for what is, in-essence, a luxury item.

I saw that there was some issue with 2011 Volts, a radio programming function of all things, but mine is a 2013 so I don't think this applies to me..

Any thoughts????

Thanks in advance,

Chris R.

 

[hellsop]

I bought a beautiful off-lease 2013 Volt that had about 50K miles on it. Checked everything, or so I thought. After the 30-day warranty ran out I discovered that the heated seats don't work. If I push the icon I hear the click sound but the icon bar does not light up. If I go into Climate and push the icon I can see in Climate where it changes from Automatic to Manual so the dash button is registering even though the little light beside the icon does not light up.
Here's what I've done so far to check it:

1. Checked 25 amp use panel - OK
2. Checked under both front seats for signs of loose wiring or loose connectors - everything OK
3. Checked fuse panel under hood to see if there was any secondary fuse - none found

I figure that if I go back to my dealer it's going to be $300 just to drive it into their service bay and I'm not disposed, especially this time of year, to spend hundreds of dollars on a repair for what is, in-essence, a luxury item.

I saw that there was some issue with 2011 Volts, a radio programming function of all things, but mine is a 2013 so I don't think this applies to me..

Any thoughts????

Thanks in advance,

Chris R.

Well, if you're not fixing a heated seat at the beginning of winter, you're never going to fix it. So don't worry about it.

Next suggestion would be to replace the seat heater fuse ANYWAY, even if you checked it. They're cheap, and maybe the fault isn't visible.

 

[DonC]

I'd think any reputable seller would take care of this for you. It's hardly a wear item and it's understandable why you could check it.

 

[Dutch]

replace the seat heater fuse ANYWAY, even if you checked it. They're cheap, and maybe the fault isn't visible.

This. I've seen many fuses that looked good, and were blown anyway.
If you have a multimeter and know how, you can also unplug the seat and check continuity on the feed circuit. If that is good then it's probably the heater itself. Is it just one seat or both?

 

[Joe67]

I bought a beautiful off-lease 2013 Volt that had about 50K miles on it. Checked everything, or so I thought. After the 30-day warranty ran out I discovered that the heated seats don't work. If I push the icon I hear the click sound but the icon bar does not light up. If I go into Climate and push the icon I can see in Climate where it changes from Automatic to Manual so the dash button is registering even though the little light beside the icon does not light up.
Here's what I've done so far to check it:

1. Checked 25 amp use panel - OK
2. Checked under both front seats for signs of loose wiring or loose connectors - everything OK
3. Checked fuse panel under hood to see if there was any secondary fuse - none found

I figure that if I go back to my dealer it's going to be $300 just to drive it into their service bay and I'm not disposed, especially this time of year, to spend hundreds of dollars on a repair for what is, in-essence, a luxury item.

I saw that there was some issue with 2011 Volts, a radio programming function of all things, but mine is a 2013 so I don't think this applies to me..

Any thoughts????

Thanks in advance,

Chris R.

Did you buy it through a GM dealership? Was it CPO (Certified Pre-Owned)? If so, you should have a 12 month / 12K warranty from the time of purchase.

It will not be $300 to drive into the bay. If the issue is not covered under warranty, you would owe any diagnostics and repair costs, of course. Nothing shady there.

 

[Prohidium]

If all looks like it should be working, try disconnecting the 12v to reset the computers and see if it fixes the issue.

 

[voganni]

If the seat icon does not register from 1 to 3 bars on successive presses I would suspect a software issue as Prohidium mentions. Also, try enabling auto seat heat in your config, and doing a pre-condition cycle with outside temp below 45°F. Seat heat should run during pre-condition. (It doesn't work above 45°).

 

[WopOnTour]

So you're saying you checked the 25A fuse #4 in the REAR fuse panel correct?
If so you'd be best to at least let the dealer scan the entire system for DTCs

Even the seat heaters are a multi-plexed function with 3 networked modules involved (seat heater module, radio, HVAC module)
These types of body systems don't typically bring up any sort of warning message even if a DTC is set, and simply rely on the lack of functionality as indication that something's wrong.

You should be able to ask them to "check and advise" for a 1/2hr minimum charge
Good Luck

Welcome to gm-volt.com
WOT

 

[bsquarewi]

We had a similar thing happen to one of our Volts a while back. The passenger seat would turn on but then would turn off exactly 60 seconds later. It was under warranty and the dealer had to replace the heated seat controller or something to that effect. It wasn't just a fuse, but rather something right within the seat itself.

 

[Rampage_Rick]

Mine is acting up too. I get the audible click registering the button press but no amber LEDs for either seat. Will troubleshoot tomorrow.

*edit*
Took a few days with the snow we've been having here. Basically I have the exact same symptoms:

If I push the icon I hear the click sound but the icon bar does not light up. If I go into Climate and push the icon I can see in Climate where it changes from Automatic to Manual so the dash button is registering even though the little light beside the icon does not light up.

Checked 25 amp fuse in trunk, pulled 12V battery cable to reboot all systems, no change. I've got extended warranty so it'll be going into the shop this week. Will post outcome.

 

[terry735001]

1 thing to keep in mind .. my car did not come with heated seats but if i want to get a new center stack with a hacked radio for GPS or back up cam the button would be there but it would never work

if the car looks played with in any way its some thing to think about

 

[Rampage_Rick]

Update:

"Check and confirm no heated seat operation, find that there is no data communication with the heated seat module, check fuse okay. Remove seat module connectors and perform pinout test find all inputs to be okay. Cycle connections find system now operates if fails again would need module replacement."

The part number for the module is 13502042, I believe it's located under the driver's seat. They were able to get mine working again by monkeying with the connectors.