Audi Seats In a MK7?

[Shiny_Rx]

I've had my 2018 Alltrack S for 3 years now, great car, just hate the seats. I get lumbar discomfort after 45 minutes in the seats. I will be regularly commuting again in a few months and I would like to get this swap done before then. I know the SEL seats are comfortable and relatively straight forward swap, but I am honestly not a fan of the aesthetic, and considering the prices I have seen them commanding, seems like they are not really worth it. Golf R seats (maybe GTI Autobahn) are also a contender, however they are not my ideal choice. I really like the look of the 8V S3 seat, and found a full set (front and rear) for a solid price.

I have seen a few threads on here and other VW forums reporting successful swaps, 8V S3 and RS3 seats into MK7 golfs. The threads I have gone through were not very helpful for anyone looking to replicate it. I understand there will need to be some wiring work to get the seats to plug in. I've been looking around to see if anyone makes such wiring harness to buy but no luck. Coding? Any custom parts? I think the seats (at least the fronts) should bolt in as they share the MQB platform (though I may be wrong). I have zero experience with wiring harnesses, but I am willing to learn, and I have a friend who is a trained electrician who also may be willing to help.

I think the seats have memory reset as an option, however I don't really care about that. All I would want functioning would be the power adjust, heated seats, and airbags.

Major concern other than the wiring and possible coding, is the rear seats. I would like to maintain the ability to use the lever in the trunk space to drop the rear seats, is the possible with the S3/RS3 seats?

Anyone who has swapped Audi seats into a MK7, I would really appreciate your input on the process!

 

[krvnked]

try GLI seats before you try audi seats .. the gli seats are wider and also have air condition + heat

 

[Shiny_Rx]

try GLI seats before you try audi seats .. the gli seats are wider and also have air condition + heat

Never thought about GLI seats, but vented seats would be amazing for the summer....

I will have to look into that, I am assuming all the parts are on the seat, just not sure how easy it would be to get that functioning on my Alltrack, I dont think vented seats were available on the SE, maybe they were an option on the SEL?

Do you have any experience with that swap?

 

[krvnked]

Never thought about GLI seats, but vented seats would be amazing for the summer....

I will have to look into that, I am assuming all the parts are on the seat, just not sure how easy it would be to get that functioning on my Alltrack, I dont think vented seats were available on the SE, maybe they were an option on the SEL?

Do you have any experience with that swap?

not me personally but

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/ventilated-memory-gli-seats-in-a-gti-r.367416/

 

[Mk7tsi3door]

I took Audi A4 seats from an all road (not sure the year, maybe a 2015?)and fit the foam and leather onto the metal seat frame of my 2017 golf (it’s a two door, couldn’t find 2 door seats for decent price). It fit exactly, all the plastic clipped on like it was meant to. So no swapping modules airbags etc, I was really surprised it worked so well. And I had it all done within a day.

 

[Shiny_Rx]

I took Audi A4 seats from an all road (not sure the year, maybe a 2015?)and fit the foam and leather onto the metal seat frame of my 2017 golf (it’s a two door, couldn’t find 2 door seats for decent price). It fit exactly, all the plastic clipped on like it was meant to. So no swapping modules airbags etc, I was really surprised it worked so well. And I had it all done within a day.

So you swapped the A4 seat to the VW rails?

Heated seats and power adjust works?
Are they comfortable?

 

[DV52]

@Shiny_Rx: Hi.

My advice is that it's probably better to go with your original choice. I love my A3 8V seats (in my Audi) - especially the lumbar massage feature - which is wonderful for my lower back on long journeys!

But the principal reason for sticking with the A3 seats is that both cars are built on the same MQB platform - which means that they share the same CAN network arrangement and they have similar designed modules. Of course this doesn't provide an iron-clad guarantee of plug-and-play, but it is a very good starting point IMHO.

Don

 

[Mk7tsi3door]

So you swapped the A4 seat to the VW rails?

Heated seats and power adjust works?
Are they comfortable?

Kind of, I took the seat cover and foam off the Audi seats. Did the same in my VW. Underneath the seat back and bottom there is a frame made of metal to hold the foam in position, hold the airbag etc. they are very very similar and all the foam clipped right on.

 

[Shiny_Rx]

@Shiny_Rx: Hi.

My advice is that it's probably better to go with your original choice. I love my A3 8V seats (in my Audi) - especially the lumbar massage feature - which is wonderful for my lower back on long journeys!

But the princial reason for sticking with the A3 seats is that both cars are built on the same MQB platform - which means that they share the same CAN network arrangement and they have similar designed modules. Of course this doesn't provide an iron-clad guarantee of plug-and-play, but it is a very good starting point IMHO.

Don

Yeah I am not sure how/if the massage feature would work (I am sure there is some way to get it to work), mostly just interested in retaining power adjust, heated seats and maybe a memory feature if possible. After doing some more reading, the wiring should not be a big issue if I have to do repining, but I may have to recode some modules.....Ill have to look into that part more.

I found a set of 8V S3 seats that seem to be in good condition, the only issue is the left hand driver seat has a blown airbag on the upper side bolster. A replacement airbag shouldnt be too pricey, but I am just not sure how easy it would be to repair the seam.... maybe a job for a professional upholstery shop.

 

[Shiny_Rx]

Kind of, I took the seat cover and foam off the Audi seats. Did the same in my VW. Underneath the seat back and bottom there is a frame made of metal to hold the foam in position, hold the airbag etc. they are very very similar and all the foam clipped right on.

Just replacing the seat cover and the foam was enough to improve the comfort of the seat?

 

[Mk7tsi3door]

Just replacing the seat cover and the foam was enough to improve the comfort of the seat?

Yeah like 1000%. The seat frames (the metal frame underneath the foam and leather/ cloth covering) were almost identical, comfort is now way way better. Honestly one of the better things I’ve done with my car for long drives (I was commuting 60klm to work each day when I swapped them)

 

[reverend_sean]

Yeah like 1000%. The seat frames (the metal frame underneath the foam and leather/ cloth covering) were almost identical, comfort is now way way better. Honestly one of the better things I’ve done with my car for long drives (I was commuting 60klm to work each day when I swapped them)

Can you share some pics, please?!

 

[Shiny_Rx]

Can you share some pics, please?!

Agreed, would be awesome if he has some pics from when he did it, never heard of this before.

Swapping the foam and leather onto the VW rails is a strong consideration for me currently, I am also interested with the GLI seat option which was mentioned earlier, although I could not find a ton of info on that either.....

 

[Mk7tsi3door]

Agreed, would be awesome if he has some pics from when he did it, never heard of this before.

Swapping the foam and leather onto the VW rails is a strong consideration for me currently, I am also interested with the GLI seat option which was mentioned earlier, although I could not find a ton of info on that either.....

Sure. Ive got a few. Last pic shows the seats on the Audi frame prior to install.The third picture shows I’m taking the physical seat heating pad off of my original seat, and putting it on the Audi seat foam, under the leather( this is what connects to the seat occupancy sensor, I have no idea how to use the Audi one or how it works, so I had to install that back onto the new seat). I consider myself unskilled when it comes to this, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it turned out!

 

[kyle_h]

Thought of doing A3 seats in mine but meh