stratguy

I read online that all Boxsters have the heating elements in the seats, but only had the switches installed if your car was spec'd with heated seats. A simple installation of the switches gives you heated seats.

Is this total nonsense???

Macster

My 2nd hand info is Porsche didn't make it a habit of putting in options only to stop short of the last step to make them functional.

There is a cost involved in putting a heated seat or seats in a car and the extra price for the option is intended to cover this cost and leave Porsche (and the dealer) with a bit of extra profit.

But easy enough to check. Raise the seat and use a bright light and a mirror on a stick and look for the heating elements. The few times I looked under the seats of my Boxster and Turbo I never spotted anything that looked remotely like heating elements. And the wiring that they need.

stratguy

Thanks Macster, I thought it sounded ridiculous.

Shawn Stanford

More likely that the wiring harness to support the heated seat elements is in place in all cars.

Macster

I'm not so sure. There have been discussions about swapping a Tip into a manual equipped car or a manual into a Tip equipped car and my recollection is the wiring harness to support the new transmission in the car does not have all the connections. One has to get the wiring harness from the donor car.

But a peek under the seats should spot the wiring for the heated seats. And removing the center console will also give one a chance to confirm if the wiring for the switches is present.

Shawn Stanford

I know that in the Cayenne there are options in the wiring harness regardless of if they're purchased, like the tow package. The Boxster will support the two additional gauges on the 996 instrument cluster. So, it's worth a look.