I have an 08 MCS with the red/black rooster seats. I've tried searching all over but can't seem to find any similar issues. My drivers seat hardly heats at all. Honestly, it might not even be working, might just be my body heat. The passenger seat will burn you lol. As for the driver side, all the lights come on on the switch, and stay lit. Anyone have any experience with this or any insight on where I can start troubleshooting? Would a faulty occupancy sensor do this and if so wouldn't that throw a code?

 

You may need to get in there with a meter and see if the pad is getting current. Could have snapped a fine wire from years of movement.

Not sure if it could have its own fuse? Worst case you may be able to just buy new generic seat heater elements and install it under the seat cover and wire it in...can be a lot of work though so just follow the electricity to start!

 

Update, the drivers side seat is heating. However, regardless of that setting the switch is on it feels as though it's only heating to the coolest setting. I wonder if the switch is bad?

 

Mine always seems to heat on hottest setting. I wonder if the ssswitch is connected to a rheostat of some type.

 

Just signed up for this forum because every problem I've googled today there are good results within this group...

I bought my first MINI today (2008 Cluman S) with just under 85k miles. Huge disappointment when the check engine light came on 50 miles into my trip home (had to travel 3 hours to get it).

But on top of the CE light, I have the same issue with the heated seats. Passenger seat gets HOT on high, and the drivers seat, only the base is getting barely warm on high. The back doesn't heat at all.

I read some people saying if there is a high voltage draw it could cause this, but I don't think that's my case. Battery is a year old and I was running the heater on 74 degrees at the lowest fan speed, headlights, and thats it!

 

On my 2011 MCS, the heated seats only warm the bottom cushion. Both sides. Bum-warmers is all I get.

 

It should be warming most of the way up the back. My passenger seat gets warm over half way up the back of the seat, but not at all on drivers side.

 

I just checked again, and I do get heating on both seat bottoms and at least halfway up the backs on both seats. Sorry if I mislead anyone.

 

For reference, my 2011 R55 S heated seats do the bottom and back.

 

I've had my driver's side seat bottom heater fail twice on my 2009 MCCS. Both times, a heating wire burnt out - literally, there were burn marks in the seat cushion. I didn't do the work, but the element was replaced. I believe that the dealer will want to sell you the entire seat bottom....the foam rubber, heating element, and the cover. I'm not sure about the labor, but I think it takes the dealer about an hour and a half. If you're handy, you could probably remove the seat bottom and replace the element or maybe just the wire section that's bad....if that's what is wrong with your car.

The symptoms when my heater stopped functioning were just that the driver's side seat bottom didn not heat....everything else was normal...the light on the switch came on and the seat back heated fine.

Good luck.