Jeep Commander Seat Heater Failure Fix Guide

I had a similar heater failure in my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel last winter. With some experience in automotive repair, I knew right away it was likely the seat heating element when the warming function stopped completely. My seat warmer issue showed similar symptoms, no heat output and an error code. The workshop diagnosed a defective heating mat in the seat cushion. Total repair cost was 390 Euro, which included replacing the heating element and labor. The whole repair took about 2 hours. The seat heater systems are quite similar between Commander and Grand Cherokee models, so you might be facing the same issue. These heating elements tend to fail in specific spots, creating a break in the circuit. To help diagnose your specific case, could you share: Which seat is affected (driver, passenger, or both)? Does the issue occur at all heat settings? Can you hear the switch clicking when activating the seat warmer? What error code is stored in your system? This information would help determine if your heating element needs replacement or if its possibly just a wiring or control module issue.

Thanks for sharing that info. My Commander has 144691 KM on the clock, and the main issues started right after the last service. After checking the error codes more carefully, the thermal sensor appears to be faulty, not the entire heating element. The temperature readings are erratic on the driver side seat cushion. This makes me think the heating repair might be simpler and less costly than a complete seat heater replacement. The clicking sound from the switch is normal, which rules out switch problems. Only the drivers seat is affected, and it fails across all heat settings consistently. Has your Grand Cherokee needed any further heating repairs since fixing it? Just wondering about the long-term reliability of the replacement parts.

Thanks for the additional details about your Commander. That mileage point is actually when many seat heater components start showing their age. The timing after service is interesting, sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting components during maintenance can expose existing weak points in the system. My Grand Cherokee heating repair has held up perfectly for 14 months now with daily winter use. The temperature control functions exactly as it should, and no error codes have returned. The thermal sensor replacement alone ended up being the right call in my case too, it was reading wild temperature swings that made the system shut down. The fact that your seat warmer switch clicks normally and the issue is isolated to the driver side does point toward the thermal sensor, just like my situation. My repair was significantly cheaper than a full heating element replacement, around 180 Euro including labor since they only needed to replace the faulty sensor in the seat cushion. One tip: make sure they check the wiring harness connections while doing the repair. In my case, they found slight corrosion on the sensor connector pins that could have caused future issues if not cleaned during the fix.

The thermal sensor diagnosis makes a lot of sense, and its really helpful to hear about your successful repair experience with a similar issue. The 180 Euro price point for the sensor replacement sounds much more reasonable than a complete seat heating element swap. I will schedule the repair soon and ask them to inspect those wiring harness connections too. The consistent problems across all heat settings on my drivers seat warmer definitely align with your sensor diagnosis. My main concern was getting stuck with an expensive heating repair bill for replacing parts that werent actually faulty. Having confirmation that the thermal sensor can cause these exact symptoms in Jeep seat heaters gives me more confidence going into the repair shop. The long-term reliability of your fix is also reassuring. I typically use the seat heater daily during cold months, so knowing the repair has lasted over a year with similar usage patterns is valuable information. Will update once I get the sensor replaced to confirm if it resolves my heating system errors as well.