[Wingnutts]

I will be replacing the seat cushion on my drivers side sport seat shortly as the padding is wearing out on the outside bolster. The leather is still good so this is a preemptive repair to keep it that way. My car did not come with the heated seat option and it was never an issue with me. But since I will be disassembling my seat to do the cushion, my mind started wandering and I started searching.

There are many instances of people swapping seats, replacing the control unit and coding to get the end result. I've read where people have discussed using aftermarket pads and attempting to use the factory buttons. But I have not seen it done. One objection that keeps popping up is the look of aftermarket switches for the seat heaters being unsightly, which I completely understand. The last thing I would want is my car looking like Pep Boys on the inside. But what interests me the most is that I can not find anything on the internet regarding someone doing an aftermarket seat heater upgrade on an E9XXX anywhere. Because of this my curiosity increased and I called a few local automotive upholstery shops in the area and all of them said it can be done, but they all want $900 to $1000 do it. For those prices I would swap seats and do it the OEM way.

Anyhow, is there an underlying reason why no one does this outside of what I listed above?