I left the heated seats on last night to see if they would be on when I remote start it this morning, but they didn't come on. Anyway to progam the remote to activate the seats ( I have top end dealer installed Ford remote fob, it has 2 aux. buttons which I'm not sure how to use them just yet)?

 

I doubt you could do that. The seats are activated by a switch on the console...pretty rudimentary just a switch hooked upto heating "pads" no way to program anything I don't think.

 

There are aftermarket modules to perform similar tasks. For example, when you turn off the traction control in an '03 Cobra, the car turns it back on next time you start the vehicle. Someone made a module that 'remembers' the traction control setting so you don't always have to mess with it.

It may not be something you can program via the stock electronics, but it is definitely possible to accomplish if you know how to build small electrical components. Not many of us are capable, but there are folks out there that know how to do it. My wife has an Acura TL and there are guys on Acura forums that have made a few nifty little relays for those cars.

It's all about finding the right person and convincing them that there would be enough of a demand to make it worth their time to design a module for you.

 

So how come the heater works when you remote start the vehicle?

 

Heated seats? Its 100 degs here in Cali! But ya I doubt you would be able to find a way to program it to work.

 

I know this doesn't help you but for 2011 the new remote start is installed at the factory and will start the heated seats I hear.

 

sorry but it can't be done with the factory rmst system. I thoroughly looked into it back in early 09 when I got my truck and the 6-button fob system. For 09/10, the heated seats are tied into the can-bus data network system and you would need an interface module to tie into that network but nobody makes one. We even found the heated seat switch wires in the harness and tapped into them but it didn't work. On the 04-08 F150's, you could make it work by tapping into the heated seat switch wires.

as Rambo mentioned, the new 2011 systems are supposed to be able to turn on heated or cooled seats and also rear defrost automatically but I'm not sure quite how? The new systems are on the 2011 Superduty already and I looked in their owner's manual and I don't see anything mentioned about turning on heated seats. I also noticed that we might not be able to install the factory systems ourselves anymore, or at least get them to work. the 2011 Superduty rmst installation instructions show that the rmst brain unit easily plugs right into the truck (without having to splice any wires) but then it shows that the truck's computer/ecu has to be programmed by the dealer for rmst to actually work.

 

Yeah, hopefully Ford will give more detail on stuff like that for the 2011's. My understanding was that the truck would always be brought up/down to an ambient temp of 72 degree's. And that depending on a certain start-up temp trigger, the rear defrost and heated seats would start/the AC seats would start). Can't recall where I saw all that, though. And I would assume the front defrost would kick-on as well in cold conditions. Surprising no one with the new SD has been able to provide any insight on how this system works in reality yet. Perhaps most people are just buying stripped-down SD's for work duty, not ordering RMST and such.

 

WOW, you guys know your F150's, thanks for sharing this info.

 

I now noticed they have the 2011 F150 rmst installation instructions uploaded. like I said about the Superduty, the braint unit for the system appears to plug directly into the truck behind the glovebox and then it has to be programmed/activated by the dealer. It does come with an integrated key/fob now. But this file does not say anything about how it functions or turns on certain features (heated seats, etc.). Cometflash, I agree and I think I read the same thing about a certain temperature threshold that would trigger which feature it would turn on.

If you want to view the install file I'm talking about, go here: http://www.fordaccessoriesstore.com/GfaWeb/techSpecs.do

Then select "Installation Instructions (Genuine Ford Accessories)" and then select "Electronics" and then select "Remote Start System - Truck". A list of files will show up and select the file "Remote Start (2011 Model Year Vehicles) -- Truck" From there, you'll see the 2011 F150 listed.

I doubt this could be retrofitted into a 09 or 10 F150?

 

Cool. In the 'testing' part of that, they don't make any mention of MyKey problems (i.e. vehicle shuts off soon as door is opened).

In fact, they talk about getting in the vehicle and making sure the system shuts off if you try to shift the vehicle into gear (without inserting the key and stepping on brake I would assume since there is no mention of that and that's how all my RMST's have worked over the years).

Hopefully that stupid MyKey issue has been resolved for 2011.

Don't they install these at the factory now? I would assume that means a seamless install without involving the dealer service dept. at all. I heard they had some company right near the factory install them because so many people purchase RMST as an add-on accessory at the dealer when ordering a vehicle. This eliminates all that hassle and frustration if the dealer can't get it installed properly.

 

yeah, some off-site installation center puts them in from what I read. The MyKey issue is no big deal, it's a very simple programming change within the rmst system settings and you can turn it off so it doesn't shut off when opening the door. Just most dealers don't have a clue about that, but myself and others on here have the programming files to share with everyone to fix that.

Not sure if the 2011 systems will be "factory" installed or at that install center.

 

So we can't have the heated seats on when starting the truck remotely but I found that when I remotely start the truck I can turn on the heated seats prior to inserting the ignition key.

I don't know how all this stuff works but would have thought that some of the accessories won't work until the key was in and turned forward, s#it what do I know!

 

2011 models do indeed have remote start activation of the heated seats. Sadly whoever designed it is an idiot (Or it presents some fire hazard I'm unaware of). It's set for 32 DEGREES hardcoded - no option to change it. So unless someone knows of a module to reprogram factory defaults 32 degrees is where it's at. It's almost designed to make you hope it'll be a few degrees colder so they'll turn on!!!

 

Goofy. Would you be pre-starting your truck if it wasn't cold out? I mean it may be above 32° yet cool enough to warrant the seat heaters, maybe use the 60° mark since that is the lowest setting on the climate control. If it is too warm, let's say above 75° in the cab, then maybe the AC ought to kick on to start cooling things down a bit. I'm also baffled that the remote start supposedly does not work if it is below 20°. If I could get the truck started while I was scraping the windows that would be fantastic. Get the snow and ice cleared from around the door sill so I don't get a seat full before bailing in to override the remote start system. It must not get cold enough in Dearborn for these geniuses to figure this stuff out.