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      09-17-2021, 10:15 PM   #1
Egoy936
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Retrofitting Ventilated and massaging seats

Hello everyone I wanted to share my experience of retrofitting ventilated and massaging seats in my 2016 535i xdrive. My car already has Napa comfort seats with stitched seam. I will be upgrading to the same seat style except with ventilated and massaging feature. I just received my seats today from Minnesota.

Additional besides the seats the 3 following parts are needed a new HVAC control unit with ventilated options. Driver and passenger memory switch with massaging button. In my case I went for a driver’s memory switch with the gentlemen function.

Lastly this retrofit will require VO coding for the new options. I will be doing a full install video on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/EvanGoyuk


I will also update this forum post along the way.
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      09-17-2021, 11:29 PM   #2
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Very interested in this project. Good luck!!
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      09-18-2021, 12:32 AM   #3
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Massaging is probably a bit of a stretch. The seats gently push on your ass. Rhythmically. That's about it lol
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      09-18-2021, 03:58 AM   #4
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Quote:
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Massaging is probably a bit of a stretch. The seats gently push on your ass. Rhythmically. That's about it lol
I know right? lol I don't even use it and I drive 2 hours every other day.
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      09-18-2021, 08:52 AM   #5
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I agree the massaging function is very weak. However I more wanted the ventilated feature which still isn’t amazing however I just want this to stop my back from sweating on a Hot day.
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      09-18-2021, 12:47 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Egoy936 View Post
I agree the massaging function is very weak. However I more wanted the ventilated feature which still isn’t amazing however I just want this to stop my back from sweating on a Hot day.
The ventilation is actually quite good. It gets good airflow on your back and ass, and helps prevent bad swamp ass lol. I like having it on when driving with the windows down.
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      09-18-2021, 05:19 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Egoy936 View Post
I agree the massaging function is very weak. However I more wanted the ventilated feature which still isn’t amazing however I just want this to stop my back from sweating on a Hot day.
May I ask where you purchased the seats from?
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      09-18-2021, 05:50 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Egoy936 View Post
Hello everyone I wanted to share my experience of retrofitting ventilated and massaging seats in my 2016 535i xdrive.......I will be doing a full install video on my YouTube channel.....
I did this retrofit in a '14 535 but with ///M5 seats, merino dashboard, full-merino door cars....kind of for the color, but really for the ventilated seats...

Can't wait to see the OP's YouTube video....
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      09-19-2021, 09:13 PM   #9
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May I ask where you purchased the seats from?
I bought everything besides the gentleman function from a junkyard in Minnesota. I paid $300 for shipping to have them freight shipped to Massachusetts.
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      09-19-2021, 09:15 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M_Bimmer View Post
I did this retrofit in a '14 535 but with ///M5 seats, merino dashboard, full-merino door cars....kind of for the color, but really for the ventilated seats...

Can't wait to see the OP's YouTube video....
Very nice! Did you run into any problems?
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      09-19-2021, 10:34 PM   #11
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Many.....too numerous and boring to post...I did a lot of other upgrades simultaneously, such as 4-zone, B&O, rear sunshade, rear heated seats, heating steering wheel, full leather dashboard...etc...but I did manage to get through it all....

Again looking forward to your YouTube video....and your E46 videos make me miss my 2006 330 cabriolet ZHP......
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      09-20-2021, 08:17 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Egoy936 View Post
I bought everything besides the gentleman function from a junkyard in Minnesota. I paid $300 for shipping to have them freight shipped to Massachusetts.
I drove to Chicago from NJ to pickup mine. Kind of regret, lmao
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      09-20-2021, 09:47 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Egoy936 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by zvery777 View Post
May I ask where you purchased the seats from?
I bought everything besides the gentleman function from a junkyard in Minnesota. I paid $300 for shipping to have them freight shipped to Massachusetts.
Which junkyard? I live in MN and would be nice to know, please.
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      09-20-2021, 11:47 AM   #14
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Which junkyard? I live in MN and would be nice to know, please.
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      09-23-2021, 01:41 PM   #15
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How much did you pay for the seats and how much for the AC panel with the extra buttons?
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      10-13-2021, 11:14 AM   #16
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New seats are in and video will be out soon.
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      10-17-2022, 09:30 PM   #17
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passenger side memory panel wiring

Hi Evan,

Loved your video, very informative. I wanted to do the same seat upgrade on my 2012 528i with electric seats. My car has driver memory seat panel but does not have the passenger side memory panel. Do you know what it would take to add the memory seat panel on the passenger side? Would I need to additional wiring in order to add the panel?

Thanks a ton!!
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      02-08-2023, 07:51 PM   #18
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Reviving this thread since it seems to be the most followed on the topic and my question is the same as the last one posted but hadn’t been answered .

I have an LCI F10 with base seats, heat, and driver memory only. I am upgrading to ventilated comfort seats. I ordered the climate control and the new driver memory switch. My question is with the passenger side. Since my car didn’t come with passenger memory, will the harness be present in the door for the memory/massage switch? If not, do you have any idea what is involved to run the wiring? Lastly, if it’s not easy to do and I skip it will there be any issues getting the passenger seat to work since it has a memory module and my car didn’t? I realize coding will be involved and plan to use protool.

Thanks in advance for any knowledge anyone may have to share!

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      02-08-2023, 11:49 PM   #19
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Wires are not there. You would have to run them. There’s only 3 wires. One is ground which you can tap to the ground junction in the door harness. Other is power and then one K_LIN wire. It is not required to have the button to install the seat. You just can’t activate the active seat feature.
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      02-09-2023, 11:11 AM   #20
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Does anyone know if I need the massaging seats (active seats) function to be able to code and use the gentleman function? Does a switch without the massaging seats function even exist? If I just installed the switch without having massaging seats, will it cause any issues? I don't really care much about the active seats, but the gentleman function I'd really like to have especially now with my wife being pregnant.
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      02-09-2023, 01:50 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrippledLucifer View Post
Does anyone know if I need the massaging seats (active seats) function to be able to code and use the gentleman function? Does a switch without the massaging seats function even exist? If I just installed the switch without having massaging seats, will it cause any issues? I don't really care much about the active seats, but the gentleman function I'd really like to have especially now with my wife being pregnant.
You do not have to have active seats to code gentleman feature. Extra button will not cause any error. It just won’t do anything when you press it.

There are gentleman button and seat memory without active seats. It’s more rare because most of them comes with active seats.
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      02-09-2023, 02:03 PM   #22
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Where could I find a pigtail for the memory switch (besides a junk yard)? Installation doesn’t sound that bad and I’d like to have full functionality.

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