I got an extended warranty from Acura (when I had one) but they recommended that I get it before the first warranty expired. Since Acura and Honda are related, give Honda a call and see if they can hook you up.

 

Im very angry as I am just 10,000 miles out fo warranty, thought I had an extended warranty and wasn't warned that I didn't have one when I was on for my 30,000 major service.

I for sure remember writing the check for the Honda Extended Warrenty....$1,200ish for the commercial policy. Not sure if Honda will write a policy after the original is over. Aftermarket warranty suppliers can be a "can of worms" ......What will they pay for? Some are major repairs only....if you can even get them to pay in the first place. Some only apply at the dealer who sold it. Some you need an okay before work is performed. etc, etc.

The service writers in the service lanes are not compensated to sell warranties. They only care if you have one to help pay the bill they are writing up.

Try calling around to other dealers for their price to replace the switch.

 

At 7 bills to replace a switch... I'd try to get one myself and pop it in.

 

"Honda said it wasn't getting power to the switch and wants to charge $700 to replace the switch."

This statement confuses me. I can't imagine a switch costing that much to replace. The seat heater unit inself maybe. If no power to the switch, the troubleshooting should be locating a bad fuse, poor ground, short in the circuit, bad relay etc... They should be going the other way in the circuit to solve the problem. Maybe I am missing something here?

 

Yesterday morning I tried to turn on my seat heater and the light came on for a split second then went out. Same thing when I tried to push it twice for low heat.
Honda said it wasn't getting power to the switch and wants to charge $700 to replace the switch.
Im very angry as I am just 10,000 miles out fo warranty, thought I had an extended warranty and wasn't warned that I didn't have one when I was on for my 30,000 major service.
Passenger side is working fine, only driver side affected.

Can anyone help?
Anyone recommend a good extended warranty program I can purchase>

Thanks

What year and trim level for your Ody?

I sure hope the technician diagnosed your issue correctly. You can run the seat heater tests in the service manual to make sure.

Honda is currently aware of the following issue and is investigating:

2011 Odyssey Driver’s Seat Back Seat Heater Wire Broken

American Honda (AHM) is investigating certain 2011 Odyssey EX-Ls & Tourings with a complaint of the
driver’s seat heater not staying on or not working.

 

.

Honda is currently aware of the following issue and is investigating:

2011 Odyssey Driver’s Seat Back Seat Heater Wire Broken

American Honda (AHM) is investigating certain 2011 Odyssey EX-Ls & Tourings with a complaint of the
driver’s seat heater not staying on or not working.

Very, very common issue with GM cars. Ask me how I know.

 

The switch itself costs approx $650 , I looked it up myself.

Unfortunatley the switch is part of the whole A/C heat panel that installs on the dashboard and
I'm glad they are investigating the problem ( I have a 2011 Touring) Should I report to HONDA directly or something?

it turns on for a split second then goes out again.

 

If that's the case, that is one expensive luxury to repair!

 

Sounds like the switch is making only momentary contact then it opens up. Assuming this is a rare issue, discuss it with the service manager. Maybe he can cut you a deal. I mean, a $700 repair on a 2011 Ody...it's not right.

 

My 2011 started doing the same thing last month. I'm so frustrated because this is the most "buggy" van I have owned. I've had the windshield problem, bad rotors, the XM radio failed, now the seat heaters. Do you think the 2014's will be any better?

 

Do you think the 2014's will be any better?

Statistically I'd say yes (just check the TSBs for each year so far) , but if you get a bad one, you do get a bad one regardless of the year

 

I noticed this once it got cooler here. The drivers side heater for me will stay lit for about 30 seconds and then go off. If I hit the button a second time it stays on perhaps 10 seconds or less and even less time if pressed a third time. Seems like there is a short or something in the system where the current flowing is heating up the switch then it fails open. Is it really a switch or some other relay? I have a hard time believing that a heater for a seat would be controlled by only the dash switch. The dash switch likely controls a high current relay and that may be the more likely candidate to fail.

Did anyone resolve this yet other than the $700 switch? BTW - 2011 Touring model with the leather

Anyone have a link to the schematic for the heater?

 

I looked through the Owners Manual as well looked for schematics on the seat heater... nothing so far. I do see some relays listed in the electrical/parts lookup table. The 20A fuse in the passenger well was fine and I figured it was probably OK given the passenger heater seems to still work. So knowing the fuse is located on the passenger fuse block I'm assuming a couple of the relays in that same block are likely used for the seat heaters. Would be good to know which one so I can determine the root cause. I have a hard time believing that the heater switch assembly for $700 is the only problem. That page of the parts lookup also lists B38 over in the drivers foot well. Any idea if that is directly related to the heater switches? I guess I could get one of my kids to push the button on the dash while I listen for a relay click!

 

curious to follow the 'aware of' seatback heater issue in 2011s. seat on both sides is fine but the driver seatback does not seem to work....getting two TSBs (battery low and keyless fob cracks) done and will ask the dealer about the seatback issue then

 

I did see the proper schematics http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...SEY&year=2014&trim=&keyword=&path=&dbkey=AK81114EM&country=1&lang=0&s=1&frame=0 and it looks like both seat heaters are controlled via a CAN BUS controller under the passenger seat. If your 20A fuse is good over in the passenger foot well then the next step is to start looking for the control module. I plan to play with mine this weekend. If it's CAN controlled then it could be a number of issues that potentially are at fault. Number one is the seat heating element may be open.

Plan of attack:

Measure current going to seat when first enabled. In my case I can get it to turn on for about 5 seconds before it pops off. If low current then check continuity. If an open is detected then a faulty heating array is likely the problem. There is a thermal over temp sensor in series as well to shut off the heater if it should exceed a set temp (think it's 150F). Not likly for that to fail open but I've heard some strange problems.

 

dealer said yesterday that the driver's side seatback registering at 81 degrees...suggested it was within specs for the low level of heat the back is supposed to produce compared to the seat. anyone have any validated knowledge on the relative difference? might this low level be what honda is looking into?

off topic, the key fob TSB for 2011 i referenced above earned me an OEM order of Driver 1 and Driver 2 fob shells. both had been weak and the driver 2 had actually broken. picking them up when they come in to the dealer.

 

dealer said yesterday that the driver's side seatback registering at 81 degrees...suggested it was within specs for the low level of heat the back is supposed to produce compared to the seat. anyone have any validated knowledge on the relative difference? might this low level be what honda is looking into?

It seems like 81 degrees could just be ambient heat from the seat bottom, are you sure the seat back is generating some low heat versus no heat at all? I have a similar issue on my 2014 TE where the passenger side is significantly weaker than the driver side.

 

Here are excerpts from the 2011-2014 Honda Odyssey Electrical Troubleshooting Manual (ETM) and the service manual with the wiring diagrams and seat heater tests:

2014 ODYSSEY - Seat Heaters System Description:

The seat heater system consists of the seat heater control unit, the driver's seat heater (seat cushion and seat-back), the front passenger's seat heater (seat cushion), the seat heater relay, and the climate control unit with built-in driver's seat heater switch and the front passenger's seat heat heater switch.

The seat heater system controls the driver's seat heater and the front passenger's seat heater operation based upon signals from the ignition switch, the seat thermistors, and the climate control unit

Seat Heater Control Unit
The seat heater control unit is installed under front passenger's seat, and controls the seat heaters.

Climate Control Unit
The climate control unit is located on the center of dash, and sends a seat heater switch signal to the seat heater control unit using the B-CAN line.

Seat Heaters
The seat-back heater is installed in the driver's seat, and the seat cushion heater is installed in the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat. Also the thermistor is built into the seat cushion.

The thermistor outputs the seat heater temperature signal to the seat heater control unit.

 

I have the same issue in my 2012 exl. Would it be possible to change the switches and have the passanger switched with the drivers? Could this solve the problem for the drivers seat? Drivers seat obviously always occupied passengers seat not always.

 

Not convinced it's the switches in the AC control unit. I didn't have a chance to look it over last week but plan to tear into it this weekend. Will update the forum with results.

 

OK got to thinking about this so hopped out into the car with a flashlight tonight. The heater in the seat back was tested first. I have the leather seats so needed to first unhook a black elastic band under the seat that was wrapped around one of the seat springs. That let the fabric rear flap swing up a bit. There is a couple of black plastic strips sewn into the flap and that engages with a plastic piece on the seat frame. Pry the pieces apart at the end and it will come apart. Reached in along both sides and found the zipper ends for the seat back. Unzipped the rear cover on both sides and now with the fabric loose it can swing over the seat toward the front.

I then found the two pin connector as in the document above. Showed about 6 ohms between the two female pins on the connector. SO far that is good. Reversed the steps and put the rear of the seat back in place. I did not remove the drivers seat as the instructions say. I just moved the seat backward and I was able to easily reach up and disconnect the 5 pin connector. The drawing is a bit confusing as it makes it appear the female connector is to the right but it was on the left for me. I checked between pins 2-5, showed about 7 ohms. Between pins 1-2 also showed similar numbers. So this indicates both lower heater elements are good as well.

I next moved to the passenger seat or specifically the control module under the seat. It's mounted on a set of clips that engage into holes in the frame of the passenger seat. I managed to wrestle the box off the clips without hurting anything. Once the module is loosened from the clips you can take a tool and remove the clips so they can be put back on the module after it's been checked. There is a large connector (4 big pins and up to 10 smaller wires) that needs to be removed. A tab on the connector needs to be pressed upward and the end slides out. The seat controller is shown below:

Looks like the seat heater is made by WET Automotive. They supply most automotive seat heaters from what I can tell. The module appears to be a CAN bus compatible controller. I don't see anything obviously wrong with it. So with the seat heating elements OK and the controller appearing to be OK I may be a bit stumped. Is there a OBDII command to go interrogate the seat heater? I have a SCAN tool but it only shows engine parameters and emissions systems. Is there a different system for the body controllers?

 

The switches up on the AC control board (on the dash) really do not control high currents. They only give a signal to a small micro-controller that communicates on a common body ECU bus ((B-CAN bus). I have another post open trying to get help to see if we can scan the body ECU for a code. That may help narrow down the issue. The seat heater controller (picture in above post) is the device under the passenger seat. It communicates also on the B-Can bus and gets it's signals from the ECU. The ECU receives the request to turn on the seat heaters and then tells the control module under the seat to actually switch on power. The module below has a main power relay and for me that seems to be OK. The same module is controlling both the passenger and drivers seat heaters. The passenger side works fine for me so the relay must be OK as it supplies all power to the module. There are some large switching transistors on the board and I suspect there is a current sensing circuit built in there as well. My failure seems to be a current issue since the light will come on for a short time then goes off. I believe the over-current is being sensed and the ECU is alerted. Then the ECU tells the switch module on the dash to ignore the button press and turn off the LED. At least it's a theory! So I will plug the module back in and monitor the module under the seat a bit. Hopefully the B-CAN codes can be interrogated as that would certainly make this task a lot easier.

Any more news on Honda America and the investigation of 2011 seat heater issues? If they know there is a weakness this is bull we have to deal with this years later.

 

Honda released TSB 14-009 - Driver’s Seat Heater Shuts Off After Turning On. See the 2011, 2012, and 2013 TSB sticky threads for details.

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/138080-2011-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/150799-2012-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/155798-2013-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

 

Honda released TSB 14-009 - Driver’s Seat Heater Shuts Off After Turning On. See the 2011, 2012, and 2013 TSB sticky threads for details.

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/138080-2011-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/150799-2012-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html


http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/155798-2013-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

But Jnissen's post showed good continuity for both seat elements so his problem must lie elsewhere in the system.

 

So Honda at least admits there is a problem but I doubt I can get it repaired out of the 36,000 mile warranty period. It showed up at about 40K miles!

 

Just had the same problem, dealer replaced both bottom and back seat heaters in the drivers seat, fixed.

 

jnissen, what did you end up doing?

There is a Service Bulletin for this. 14-009. It also gives excellent instructions on diagnosis (a chunk of the seat-back heating element goes open circuit) and replacement of the offending partnumber.

I went through the 15-minute rigmarole to download the pdf, using instructions from here:
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-20...rums/54-2011-odyssey/138080-2011-honda-odyssey-technical-service-bulletins.html

I'd post the PDF here for the common good if this dumb website would let me upload a file bigger than 100k.


My '11 OdyTouring is suffering the same thing at the 38-month-old mark.... luckily, I was foolish enough to get an extended warranty.

 

(i was a poster from 12 months ago, they said it was within spec...just before it fully failed!) asked dealer a couple weeks ago for the TSB fix, i have an '11 at 60K miles. dealer called today and reported Honda would do a courtesy fix for $100 co-pay deductible. otherwise they quoted $400+. i'll do the deductible and keep my butt warm.

 

When you complained to the dealer a year ago: was the heater turning itself off?

 

no, about two months later the quick cut-off started. speculating that it is a short and cut wire somewhere, i wonder if the element broke in more than one place. so maybe it was partially warming and then some broken element wires worked their way into contact with the seat frame. or maybe the whole element died? anyone have the opportunity to see the actual broken element?