Hi Gents:

I am finally back in a 997, having sold my 2005 Carrera four years ago for a BMW M3. This go-round I am in a 2006 Carrera S cabriolet, which I bought on an online auction for a steal. The previous owner was either Nosferatu or a raccoon, but the end result is the same - the interior is pretty scratched up and the seats are worn out of all proportion to the mileage (why, oh why, are some people soooooo hard on car interiors?).

So, I will go about changing various parts of the interior and/or restoring them until the car is returned to its former glory. One step in that process came this weekend, when I won an auction for two barely used sand beige front seats from a wrecked car with 24,000 miles. The only difference I can tell between my car and the donor car is that the donor car had the memory function and mine does not, although both cars have power seats (power up/down, fore/aft, lumbar, etc.). My concern is that the lack of the memory in my car will cause problems with the donor seats - is this the case? If so, is there a way to swap the electronics from the old seats to the new seats? How about airbag warnings? Can I avoid that if I don't have the ignition on when I swap them? Anything else I should know? The "new" seats arrive by truck tomorrow.

Thanks!

Pete

 

I swapped seats with no problem in my 2009 997.2 car. My car came with fully manual seats (no memory obviously) and I changed them out for 21 way adaptive sport seats that had memory. The harness connections were the same. I recall there was one connection on the drivers seat and two connections on the passenger side, the extra connector on the passenger side was for the airbag weight sensor. Your swap should be a simple plug and play swap provided the seats you are getting are also from a 997.1 car.

Tip: Do not put the key in the ignition when you have the seats out or you will trigger the airbag light. Once the swap is made you will get an airbag light warning on your dash but it should go out within the first minute of driving.

 

Great news! Thank you sir!

 

Just FYI -- I sold the adaptives from my 997.1TT to someone locally with a 997.1 Carrera S (I think it was that). Unfortunately, the wiring harnesses were not plug and play! I think the fact mine had memory settings caused a problem. In the end, short of hacking up his harness it wasn't an easy swap so he decided not to proceed.

My advice is to take pictures of your harness plug and a picture of the "new" seat's to at least do a visual comparison first (if you aren't buying it locally).

 

I disconnected my battery when swapping mine and had no issues with warning lights. PSM light comes on but goes away after the first few minutes of driving.

 

Hi guys - thanks for the feedback. I dropped the car off at my local mechanic to get the front control arms and sway bar links replaced. I also had him look at the seats and he said "yup, no problem, those will be plug and play in your car." Without me asking, he added that he'll disconnect the battery before connecting the seats; it seems he's well aware of the airbag problem so I think I'll be fine! Fingers crossed!

Thanks again,

Pete

 

Nice, let us know how it turns out.

 

Hi guys, just checking back in with a recap. My mechanic installed the seats while the battery was disconnected. Voila! The seats work perfectly and look sooooo much better than the roachy ones they replaced. Since then I've repainted he headlight and ignition key bezels, and re-dyed the steering wheel, shift **** and boot, and door pulls. It looks and feels a thousand times better! Now to tackle those damn worn hvac buttons!

Thanks,

Pete

 

Pics please!