skippy911

I remember back when I joined this forum seeing an ad at the top about a remote start for the rx300. The thing which set this remote start apart from diy ones like at bestbuy or circuit city is that it was just a plug and play made specifically for lexus. Anyone know what I am talking about and a link to it??

Also, my 2000 rx300 did not come with seat heaters and my bum gets a bit cold (florida boy here living in Atl now). Does anyone know if it is possible to put rx300 seat heaters in a car that didnt have them originally. If so where can I purchase them and how do I do it? Thanks a bunch I can't wait to walk outside and hop into a nice warm vehicle.

bob2200

I think you'll find adding built-in seat heaters impractical. How about putting down a wool blanket, or maybe preheat with a water bottle

skippy911

Impractical as in costs to much, hard to find the parts, or impossible?

bob2200

Well, maybe if you found an RX300 with seat heaters in a junk yard and researched which parts you would need to add/swap out. After you check out all that would be involved, the idea of prewarming with a hot water bottle may sound better and better

Lil4X

Aftermarket remote start kits are available either as part of an alarm system or as stand-alones. You might want to research this a bit before committing.

Seat heaters (one of my all-time favorite options) can be retrofitted one of two ways - either by buying the Lexus parts and installing:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=100394

. . . or by simply purchasing an aftermarket kit. One of our CL sponsors, www.leatherseats.com offers a kit for $99, that can be installed. Either of these options requires you to remove your seats, pull off the leather upholstry to install the heating pads, then replace the leather, seats, and wire the controls. If you have a little experience with upholstry (hog rings and the like), you shouldn't have any trouble. It's a nice weekend DIY project for someone who has moderate skill with tools (HINT: you will need a helper to re-fit the leather - it takes us amateurs a lot of hands to get a good fit!)

bob2200

Thanks for the interesting link Lil4X. I guess maybe I was wrong. I don't have heated seats (I spend my winters in So. Florida) and have never seen an RX300 equipped with them.

I guess simple DIY is all relative. Taking the leather off the front seats and running moderate to high current wiring from some properly fused tap-off point to the controls and seats doesn't sound that simple to me. If you take a short-cut, like tapping into the cigarette lighter circuit, you're reducing the potential to use accessories (while using the seat heaters) without blowing the fuse.

Lil4X

Sorry about the double post, we took a power hit and things went a little wonky when I posted the first time.

I'm a little funny about fooling with the Lexus upholstry too - I had no problem doing custom interiors on some older US cars (using Volvo seats, no less), but I don't want to do something potentially stupid to my Lexus. If you elect to DIY these items, I understand most of the wiring is already in place, so you don't have to tap a circuit but simply use the furnished wire (if not the connection).

I always thought seat heaters were kind of a waste of money down here in the tropics, but in winter they can quickly take the chill off your backside on a frosty morning. Better yet, if you have managed to overextend yourself and mangle your back muscles, it's really a soothing experience. A co-worker and I faced a long five hour drive after some unexpected heavy lifting - and despite the fact that it was early fall, we turned up the seat heaters and avoided some potentially crippling pain by just the application of heat for the duration of the trip. Very nice!

skippy911

Thanks for the info. When you say remove the seats, do you mean I have to actually inbolt the entire seat just to install seat heaters?

Lil4X

I think you can slide it off the track, but don't recall how. You'll need to get at the underside of the seat to release the upholstry (and of course, to repkace it). This will probably tequire a service manual . . . anyone have one handy?