Quote:
Originally Posted by M40i017
Hey everyone,
I currently have a 2019 x3 M40i and unfortunately got it with the ventilated seats not knowing that it will lack the adjustable lateral bolsters. Although the ventilation is noisy and not very efficient, its still a nice feature to have and was why I decided for it when first purchasing.
I am currently looking for some options to help make the seats more comfortable and provide better support while going through turns. Im a relatively skinny/athletic guy.
I am currently thinking about either purchasing a used seat off a 2018 x3 with sport seats- (w/ power bolsters but no ventilation ). My other option would be get foam added to the bolsters at an upholstery shop and possibly increase comfort of foam in seat back.
Which option would be more viable and work out better. Would I run into any coding issues using a different seat than what my car came with and would I be able to use the same modules in my ventilated seat in the non ventilated sport seat?
Anybody have any experience on this matter and or have gotten their seats worked on at upholstery shop to increase comfort and later support.
Cheers
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Hi
This is an old thread but it keeps getting new posts so to deal with some unanswered questions..
Firstly. It is true that most good auto electricians should be able to swap over airbags, modules and electrical parts so that you could retrofit almost anything into your car without the system knowing you are now sitting in grandpas leather armchair, the problem is system integration. Retrofits used to be easy because many functions were standalone, it is the total integration of parts that causes issue, there is a price to pay for your virtual assistant turning up the music volume because it detects you have reached a certain point of enjoyment using the vibrating seat function!. With the issue in this thread both seat options, the one bought and disliked and the one you wanted, are full of almost identical electronics so most integration issues, modules, wiring, sensors etc are the same or close enough, but losing the ventilation function would be detected, the missing part (the fan) would likely be assumed to have failed and the car would throw a fault, so..
If you were replacing the seats with genuine BMW X3 oem parts , so from electric power ventilated [hated uncomfortable] seat with to the beautiful comfortable stylish electric powered sports seats [that everyone else orderd] then the correct coding would be to change the car FA code from one option to the other using a BMW coding tool called E-sys or BMW workshop system called ISTA. The coding term is called VO coding. The rule is that the replacement parts must be genuine, correct for the car model and build date otherwise the switch could cause a problem when the car gets hooked up to BMW service software for an update. So this would require all seats with ventilation feature to be switched (I assume two front seats and not rears), you cannot mix and match and just change driver and not passenger seat if it is ventilated also. Some coders take short-cuts and just code out one function, this can allow a hybrid configuration but the problem is that this can get overwritten at service. A BMW main dealer could order the seats and fit and code them but they rarely if ever want to do it and usually give a 1001 reasons why you shouldn’t, BMW simply do not like retrofits.
Basically your car has what is called a VCM (vehicle configuration management) list in the car computer, it stores all your car VO (vehicle order) codes. If you change what is basically the factory ventilated seat option to the powered sport seat option, you can change the order references and code the car so the computer/iDrive etc thinks your car was built without ventilated seats. There are many people/companies that would be able to do this coding (even remotely) for you but the parts would have to be fitted first and connected and working correctly.
You can check online using a parts tool like realoem (which ican be VIN specific) or your exact car model and market. I would think for this swap, the connectors, rails etc would be the same [this would not be the case for say a manual to electric retrofit] so a matter of unplugging and removing old seats, and fitting in new ones. The issues you will probably have is that for safety reasons the airbags are nearly always removed from second hand parts and would therefore have to be swapped over. It is also the case that the battery has to be disconnected and allowed to discharge before touching airbag connectors otherwise they can go off. Imho, unless you can get exactly correct and complete used parts, then a qualified technician is a must. Any new seats fitted, (unless the airbags have been swapped over) will probably require the airbags to be registered to the car (on a BMW even a new battery has to be registered!). This requires a tool to be plugged into the car, so a different coder will need to be hired, in this case a qualified vehicle technician with bmw service equipment.
If you want to do a retrofit using genuine new BMW parts then you will probably find it cheaper to change your car to one with the spec you should have ordered [but next time take an adult along to help (only joking)
]. Doing the retrofit with used parts is cheaper and there are many sellers with complete sets of interiors (but note that in Europe especially) , there is a huge theft of new cars for a reason, they are stripped for parts so choose the seller carefully and ideally get the VIN of the donor vehicle. It is also the case that your insurer will need to be told the car has been modified, in most cases your premium will increase even if genuine new oem parts are used and fitted by a BMW dealership.
From experience 99.9% of people in this situation learn to live with the ordering mistake/disappointment, don’t ask me how I know.